Another Developer Walks Away From Wedgwood Center. The Seahawks Play on a Wednesday

Happy Tuesday — I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! As much as I've enjoyed our amazingly dry and hot summer, I'm ready for fall (and for my kids to be back in their school routine).

🍓 You know what else makes me feel like summer is over? Seeing the Spooner Farms stand disappear! So thankful for the Spooner Farms folks for having their stand in Wedgwood all these years — always the quiet signal that summer's really over, whatever the calendar says. If you didn't get your fill of raspberries this year, there's always next June.

🥯 Also: local bagel-obsessive Sean Keeley of It's a Shanda just updated his citywide bagel power rankings, and two familiar names are near the top: Hey Bagel (University Village) holds the #1 spot, and Backyard Bagel shows up twice — #2 for the Fremont location and #6 for the one right here in Ravenna. Good excuse to make the bagel rounds…no pun intended!

🏈 One more: the Seahawks are hosting this year's NFL Kickoff Game — a rematch of Super Bowl LX against the Patriots — on Wednesday, Sept 9 at Lumen Field. It's only the fifth Wednesday season opener in NFL history, scheduled that way because the Rams and 49ers are playing the league's first-ever regular-season game in Australia the following night. Mark your Wednesday, not your usual Thursday or Sunday.

🚴 A reminder: Saturday, Sept 12 marks the 55th anniversary of the Burke-Gilman Hike-In — the grassroots event that helped push the Burke-Gilman Trail into existence back in 1971. Fittingly, UW just announced $16 million in state funding to rebuild a rough stretch of the trail near campus, so the thing those original hikers fought for is still getting better more than five decades later. The anniversary celebration is at Matthews Beach Park (and free!) — more details below.

Here's what else is going on close to home this week.

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Erik and Storie have built one of the biggest cider selections in the country - 500+ bottles, mostly from small, farm-based cideries. While 95% of their business ships nationwide, local cider lovers are in for a treat. Fun fact: Press Then Press runs out of Erik and Storie's home and office right here in Wedgwood, and if you're local, pickup is free (or they'll deliver). They're both Certified Pommeliers who got into selling cider after serving it at their own wedding and watching everyone ask where to find more of it — so if you're not sure where to start, that's genuinely their favorite part of the job. Sign up for their email list for a welcome discount on your first order. → pressthenpress.com.

Use the discount code WIRE at checkout to get a bonus cider added to your first order!

🎶 All Voices: A Multigenerational Choir — Fall Session — Sundays, 3:30–5pm, starting Sept 13 (10 weeks: 9 rehearsals + 1 performance) — Seattle Waldorf School, 2728 NE 100th Street

Open to any vocal ability, any age (best for kids 5+) — sing with a live band alongside friends and family in a multigenerational setting. Learn more here! This will be the sixth session for All Voices, with the fall term tuition at $200 for one voice and $500 for three (scholarships available). All Voices is offering a free trial rehearsal on Sunday, 9/13 if you'd like to see what they are about! The season wraps with a performance at the Magnuson Park Theatre on 11/15.

📖 Martin Limón presents "Strip Rules" — Wed, Sept 9, 7pm — Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE

A local one: Limón, a retired Army veteran who lives near Seattle, is best known for his long-running George Sueño mystery series set in Korea. His latest is a standalone thriller about a blackjack pro pulled back into a Vegas revenge plot — a genre change of pace, but same sharp instinct for character. Free and open to the public.

→ RSVP

💆 Reminder: Body Collective Massage Studio — 2nd Anniversary Open House — Sat, Sept 12, 3–7pm — 3240 NE 45th St (Bryant/Laurelhurst)

Ann opened Body Collective two years ago as a women-owned therapeutic massage and bodywork studio, and she's marking the anniversary with an open house: complimentary 15-minute chair massages, studio tours, a raffle for a free 60-minute massage, a chance to meet the therapists, and light refreshments. She'll also be sharing some special treatment deals for the month at the event. A couple weeks out, but worth putting on the calendar now. → Visit Body Collective

📚 Year of Emily Henry Book Club — Happy Place — Wed, Sept 16, 6:30–8pm — Lovestruck in Seattle, 8507 35th Ave NE

This month's pick is Happy Place, and it's also the last meeting in this year-long Emily Henry series — book discussion plus a themed craft (decorating little succulent planters). Ages 18+, small fee for craft supplies, free parking. → Get tickets

🐦 Also on the calendar for Sept 19: It's a busy Saturday — the Wedgwood Community Picnic returns to Hunter Farm (3–7pm) the same day as the Rooted in Roosevelt Festival (Calvary Church parking lot, live music, clothing swap, food trucks).

Something happening in the neighborhood? I want to know about it! Submit your event here. I review submissions each week before sending.

Madison Development Group, the latest developer working to revive the Wedgwood Center redevelopment, has confirmed to the property owner that they won't move forward. Per the Wedgwood Community Council, the property owner is once again searching for a new developer. The white signs on the property will stay up while the Master Use Permit remains active, and current businesses — Wedgwood Broiler, Van Gogh Coffeehouse, Kawaii Nail Salon, and Wedgwood Hair Studio — remain open as usual. We'll keep watching. → Full update from WCC

UW hosts Utah State, Sept 12, 12:30pm: Add Husky Stadium traffic to the list of things happening that Saturday — between the game, the Burke-Gilman anniversary, and the SR 520 ramp closure, it's a packed one for anyone headed toward Montlake or the U District.

I-5 express lanes fully closed, Sept 11–14: From 11pm Friday through 5am Monday, WSDOT will fully close the I-5 express lanes (northbound only during construction) for drainage work on the Ship Canal Bridge. Expect heavier congestion on northbound I-5 and alternate routes all weekend. Ongoing regardless: the two-lane reduction across the Ship Canal Bridge continues through the end of 2026, and the Harvard Ave on-ramp to northbound I-5 stays closed until mid-October.

SR 520 eastbound off-ramp to Montlake Blvd closes for a full week, Sept 12–19: Starting 4:30pm Saturday, crews will remove the old off-ramp. Same weekend as the Burke-Gilman anniversary celebration, so worth factoring into your route if you're headed that way.

I haven't made it in myself yet, but I keep hearing wonderful things about Mojito — Latin American and Cuban food that's been a Maple Leaf fixture since 2001. The favorites that keep coming up: cubanos, vaca frita, empanadas, and the Parrilla Mojito (their signature citrus-marinated steak). It's the kind of place where the owner, Luam Wersom, might send your table a round of tequila shots without asking.

Speaking of Luam — a story made the rounds on Reddit recently: a driver hit debris on the freeway with her three kids in the car, too shaken to get out and clear it herself, and a stranger pulled over to help, cleared the road, and directed traffic to get her moving again — then mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that he owns Mojito. (He also cooks for the Mariners' and UW football's Latin American players and trainers on the side, and Mojito donated food to this month's Lower Maple Leaf Block Party.)

Consider this your nudge — and mine — to go check it out!

📍 8511 Roosevelt Way NE, Maple Leaf → mojitoseattle.com

🏦 Wells Fargo's Wedgwood Branch — Nov 4, 2026 — 8517 35th Ave NE

Customers began receiving closure letters in early August. Per the Wedgwood Community Council, branch staff confirmed it's a business decision on Wells Fargo's end — no word yet on what happens to the space afterward. Bank of America (8405 35th Ave NE) remains close by if you need an in-person branch nearby.

In case you missed them — a few guides worth bookmarking:

🥡 NE Seattle's Takeout Roundup — neighborhood by neighborhood, the order-ahead spots that keep coming up over and over in our house

🎂 Where to Host a Kids Birthday Party Near NE Seattle: 17 Venues — from our backyard to worth-the-drive

🌃 Date Night in Northeast Seattle — restaurants, bars, and spots worth staying out for

Can you guess the price of this real estate listing based on just one photo? Hint: 3 Bed, 2.5 bathroom, 1770 square feet

$1.20M
$1.45M
$1.625M
$1.85M

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