The block around 42nd SW and SW Alaska lost two restaurants on the same Sunday in October. Portage Bay Café and Kizuki Ramen both closed for good on Oct. 25. On the other side of the block, a coffee shop opened the day before, and two more counters are set to open in the next week or so. The places leaving served brunch and dinner. The places arriving open at 6 a.m. or stay open until midnight, on a block that West Seattle Blog describes as having few food options after 10 p.m.
Two closings, two different reasons
Portage Bay Café served breakfast and brunch at 4725 42nd SW for almost four years. Owner Amy Fair Gunnar told West Seattle Blog that her other four locations "are going strong." The West Seattle café had a problem the others didn't. It lacked enough indoor seating to carry it through fall and winter, and restaurant operating costs keep climbing. "We are really sorry to be leaving West Seattle," she said. She also cited the Washington Hospitality Association's count of about 2,000 restaurant closures statewide this year. According to the same report, the company is finding places at its other restaurants for "pretty much everybody" on the West Seattle staff.
That storefront has turned over before. Fresh Bistro ran there for nine years and Agave Cocina for three, then Portage Bay moved in in 2023.
Kizuki Ramen announced its own closing two days before its last day. The shop at 42nd SW and SW Alaska had been open for 10 years, and the news came as a surprise. A day later, the commercial broker representing the space told West Seattle Blog the move wasn't sudden. Kizuki had declined to renew a lease that was ending after a decade, and a new tenant is already signed. In the broker's words, it is "a very experienced local West Seattle restaurant group that will be doing a new fresh concept in the space," and it is expected to open sometime in 2027 after a remodel.
Those two closings leave three empty storefronts on one block. Rudy's Barbershop moved out in August, when the company folded its Junction salon into the Rudy's on Fauntleroy Way.
The new clock at California and Alaska
The openings are clustered along California Avenue at Alaska, around the corner from the closings. Lined up by opening and closing times, they cover more of the day than the businesses they replace:
- 6 a.m. Anchorhead Coffee opens every day in the former Starbucks space on the southeast corner of California and Alaska. It opened Saturday, Oct. 24, one day before Portage Bay and Kizuki closed. Proprietor Jake told West Seattle Blog the regular hours would be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with a 7 a.m. start on opening weekend only. Anchorhead is a Seattle mini-chain, and Junction regulars may remember its pop-up at Summer Fest in July.
- 10 a.m. Dave's Hot Chicken opens daily at 4706 California Ave SW, the former Haymaker space. That storefront has been split in two.
- 11 p.m. Dave's closes Sunday through Thursday.
- Midnight Dave's closes on Fridays and Saturdays. Gong Cha, the bubble tea shop in the other half of the old Haymaker space, plans to start out matching those hours.
Dave's and Gong Cha are both franchises run by the Keshap Group, a family business based in Kirkland. Sana Keshap runs the Dave's stores and her sister Prachi runs Gong Cha. Their Capitol Hill location pairs the same two brands.
Why the late hours are the real change
The Keshaps have numbers from Capitol Hill to plan around. Sana Keshap told West Seattle Blog that the Capitol Hill store served more than 2,000 customers during its opening days. The Gong Cha there is busiest from about 9 or 10 p.m. into the early morning.
The family isn't assuming West Seattle will keep Capitol Hill hours. Prachi Keshap told West Seattle Blog that Gong Cha will start with Dave's schedule "and kind of see where we land," which could mean opening an hour later or closing two hours earlier. Each store has its own entrance, so their hours can drift apart over time. Dave's plans to stay off delivery apps until in-person crowds settle down.
Here's what each opening brings:
- Dave's Hot Chicken serves fried chicken at seven spice levels, plus fried mozzarella, fried cauliflower, mac and cheese, shakes and Slushers. All of its stores run a fundraising program, and local groups like sports teams can apply online for a day when a share of sales goes to them.
- Gong Cha is a Taiwanese brand with more than 2,000 stores worldwide. The West Seattle shop will be only its second in Washington. It will also be one of a limited number of stores with a "Super Wu" machine, which reads a QR code on each order and measures out the ingredients.
The Junction's second new chicken counter this fall is a few blocks east. Starbird Chicken opened Sept. 28 in the former MOD Pizza space at The Whittaker, 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW. Its menu covers chicken sandwiches, salads, wraps, wings and vegetarian options.
Where the longtime tenants are going
A Junction regular will notice a different loss a block away on California Ave. Mashiko served its last dinner there on Oct. 19 after more than 30 years. It is moving to 9640 16th SW in White Center. Owner and GM Alix Yarrow told West Seattle Blog the team would "love to be open by the end of the year, but that's dependant on how fast permitting moves."
Mashiko's farewell note, published on the same site, talks about the restaurant's sushi chef and leader, Mariah Kmitta:
"Mariah, our sushi chef and fearless leader has been exclusively working at Mashiko going on 27 years. She has watched West Seattle grow up from her little window on California Ave longer than any of us."
The restaurant will reopen as Mashiko Tsugu. The note explains that "tsugu" means "to join," and says several staff members live in White Center. For Junction regulars, Mashiko is relocating, not closing for good.
Put the October news together and the block isn't emptying out. The Kizuki space has a local restaurant group signed for 2027. Mashiko is moving rather than closing. The new tenants are adding morning and late-night hours the block didn't have before. Sit-down brunch and ramen are the part that's gone for now.
Dates on and around the block this month
The new openings land during a busy two weeks in the Junction:
- Friday, Nov. 6 to Friday, Nov. 13. Dave's Hot Chicken plans its grand opening no later than Nov. 13, possibly as early as Nov. 6 if construction finishes in time. A soft opening happens the day before.
- Sunday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Applelooza comes to the West Seattle Farmers Market at California Ave SW and SW Alaska. The market runs every Sunday all year.
- Sundays, Nov. 8 and Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle collects toys for Toys for Tots at the south end of the farmers market, next to Easy Street Records.
- Thursday, Nov. 12, from 5 p.m. The West Seattle Art Walk is held at venues across the peninsula, including the Alaska Junction.
- Nov. 12 or 13. Gong Cha begins an extended soft opening. Its grand opening, with buy-one-get-one specials on select drinks, is set for Dec. 3 and 4.
- Friday, Nov. 13. HoneyDew Glassworks, Emily Chick's studio and shop, holds its grand opening with live glassblowing at the former Avalon Glassworks, 2914 SW Avalon Way.
That makes Nov. 12 and 13 the busiest stretch. If Dave's takes its later date, the Art Walk, both new counters and a new glass studio on Avalon all fall within about 24 hours of each other.
If you're wondering how the Junction's changing mix of tenants fits into your own plans, Trey Danna Real Estate Group would be glad to talk it through with you over a private consultation.
