🗳️ Ballots Due Tonight. U Village Has a New Owner. Are the Sonics happening?

Happy Election Day! If you haven’t rocked the vote yet, today’s the day. Skip the mailbox, since pickup times vary and today’s postmark is the cutoff. A King County drop box needs no stamp and stays open until 8pm sharp. In our neighborhood there are drop boxes in Magnuson Park and by the Lake City and Northgate libraries.

🛍️ U Village is getting a new owner. On Friday, the center announced that Simon Property Group has agreed to buy it. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and the price wasn’t disclosed. U Village opened in the 1950s and has roughly doubled in size since, to more than 100 shops and restaurants. Nothing has been announced about changes for shoppers or tenants. Whether a national landlord keeps it feeling like our shopping center is what a lot of us will be watching. The announcement

🏀 The Sonics are no longer a sure thing. ESPN reports that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told team owners a Seattle franchise is “no longer a guaranteed lock,” and floated Mexico City as an alternative. Las Vegas looks like the favorite, with bids reportedly reaching up to $10 billion. Seattle’s leading group, headed by Kraken owner Samantha Holloway, has offered around $6 billion. Our best argument is that Climate Pledge Arena is ready to go. The league could still announce expansion by the end of the year. The details

🥯 Some better news: Pinehurst is having a moment. Zylberschtein’s took home Silver for Best Restaurant in North Seattle and Bronze for Best Bagel in The Seattle Times’ Best in the PNW awards, which readers vote on. If you haven’t been, the deli is at 11752 15th Ave NE, a few blocks from Enat, my Karen’s Pick two weeks ago. It’s open Friday through Sunday, 8am–1pm, so plan your bagel run accordingly.

🚧 The Ship Canal Bridge is finally back to normal. WSDOT reopened the repaired northbound lanes of I-5 late Sunday after a final weekend closure, which ends the lane squeeze about two months early. And what a difference it makes! The express lanes also go back to their regular schedule, though you’ll still see some overnight closures for cleanup work. Crews return in early 2027 for the southbound side. And because the final closure landed on Halloween weekend, WSDOT marked it with a Thriller-themed reel. Someone in that comms office is having a great year.

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I’m putting together a holiday gift guide for December, and I want it to come from you. What’s the local shop, maker, or small business you’d send everyone to? It could be a bookstore, a bakery, someone selling candles out of their garage, or the place you always find the perfect gift. I’d love to keep it focused on Northeast Seattle, but any Seattle-based business worth the drive (or online visit) counts too. Hit reply and tell me what you love and why. I’ll share the best picks in a few weeks!

🚻 Dahl Field’s restroom: finally a timeline. The restroom at Dahl Playfield has been closed since a fire, and “when will it reopen?” has been one of the most common questions in the neighborhood. Here’s the answer from Seattle Parks, via the Wedgwood Community Council: construction bids close this Wednesday, Nov 4. Parks expects to have a contractor by early 2027, start work in winter or spring, and finish by summer 2027. Expect less parking at the field while crews are working. So, one more season of planning bathroom breaks around soccer practice.

🏛️ Wedgwood Community Council’s November meeting is Tuesday, Nov 10, at 7pm on Zoom. It’s pushed back a week for the election, and if you see “Nov 7” in their post, the 10th is right. Details and Zoom link

🎭 Romeo & Juliet at Nathan Hale | Thu–Sat, Nov 5–7, 7pm, plus a Sat 2pm matinee (Nathan Hale High School Performing Arts Center, 10750 30th Ave NE)
Nathan Hale Theatre’s fall production is a classically staged Romeo & Juliet, and from the looks of the credits, they’re taking it seriously: there’s a choreographer and a fight director. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and $7 with an ASB card; pay cash or check at the door to skip the card fee. Saturday’s matinee is ASL-interpreted. Rated PG-13 for stage violence.

🎨 Best of the Northwest Fall Art Show | Fri–Sun, Nov 6–8, 11am–5pm (Magnuson Park, Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St)
We went to the spring show in April, and it’s the kind of place where you go in for a quick look and come out an hour later with something you didn’t know you needed (or maybe you didn’t need it, but.. why not support local artists?). More than 120 Northwest artists fill Hangar 30, with artist demos, food trucks, and coffee. Vote for your favorite booth for a chance at a $200 PCC gift card. With the holidays coming, it’s an easy way to knock out a few local gifts. Parking is free.

🎻 Sabre Dance: Free Family Concert | Sat, Nov 7, 2pm (Aurora Community Church, 1900 N 175th St, Shoreline)
Worth the short trip north. The Seattle Festival Orchestra plays Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance, and afterward Ted Brown Music runs an instrument “petting zoo” where kids can try string and wind instruments for themselves. It’s free, but reserve tickets ahead.

🏘️ ReVision Seattle 2.0: Land Use Forum | Mon, Nov 9, 7–8:30pm (Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, 10005 32nd Ave NE)
If you’ve been trying to make sense of the One Seattle Plan and what upzoning could mean for our blocks, this is a chance to hear it laid out. Seattle Residents for Thoughtful Growth, a coalition of 30-plus neighborhood groups including Wedgwood’s, is hosting a free forum on the city’s zoning changes and on different ways to add more modest, middle-income housing. Organizers say their June forum was standing room only, so register ahead.

Got something happening in the neighborhood? Submit your event here.

📚 Lovestruck in Seattle | 8507 35th Ave NE. Wedgwood’s romance bookstore is holding its first-ever overstock sale this weekend to make room for new titles. It’s in-store Saturday and Sunday, Nov 7–8, and whatever’s left goes online for a one-day sale Monday. While you’re there Saturday, PNW author Sarah Estep is signing her holiday advent book, Who Needs Mistletoe?, from 11am–3pm.

👶 Cirandinha | A new four-week pilot of Brazilian Portuguese songs, sensory play, and movement for babies 0–2 and their grown-ups, at the Capoeira Malês North Seattle studio. Saturdays at 10:30am: Nov 14, Nov 21, Dec 5, and Dec 12. No Portuguese needed. It’s $100 for the series or $35 per drop-in, and capped at 10 families. Reserve a spot.

🎻 Fiddler’s Inn | Live music every Thursday at 9219 35th Ave NE.

🥕 Lake City Farmers Market | Saturdays, 10am–2pm, through Dec 19, at NE 125th & 28th Ave NE.

☕ Co-Working Wednesdays at Cafe Blameless | 5751 33rd Ave NE, Wednesdays 9am–2pm.

🎂 A reader wrote in about two Northgate spots that weren’t on my birthday party guide: Ninja Quest Adventures, a Ninja Warrior–style gym for kids, and Bricks & Minifigs, a LEGO shop with bins of loose parts and a party room. Turns out they share a building at 507 NE Northgate Way, which is either a coincidence or a very good rainy-Saturday plan. I added both, along with three more reader picks I’d been holding since spring. The guide is up to 21 venues. Keep them coming.

🍽️ 3118 NE 65th St (Bryant): The Bryant Corner Cafe is serving dinner again, Thursday through Saturday from 4–8pm. The cafe has new owners, a family running both the front and the kitchen, and they brought dinner back after regulars asked for it. One neighbor who went last week says the food is “the same but better than I remembered (very fresh).”

🧺 Rooted & Growing is a brand-new local business from Heather, a mom of three boys who spent years making her own laundry and dishwasher powder because she wanted something safe that actually worked. The laundry powder has three ingredients, and so does the dishwasher powder, all of them things you can pronounce. The fun part is delivery, like a milk route for your laundry soap. She drops off a full, reusable container on whatever schedule you choose (every 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks, and subscribers save 10%) and picks up the empty one. Delivery covers 98115 and 98105, plus parts of Shoreline and North Seattle.

Each powder runs $11. Delivery to 98115 and 98105 is free on orders of $30 or more, or $4 otherwise. Launch special: use code ROOTED15 for 15% off your first order through Nov 15.

🏈 Saturday is a big one. The Huskies host Penn State at 12:30pm, so expect heavy traffic around Husky Stadium and Montlake into the evening. If you’re heading to the art show, the Lovestruck sale, or the Romeo & Juliet matinee, stay off Montlake Blvd and leave extra time on Sand Point Way and 35th.

🏟️ Seahawks host the Cardinals Sunday at 1:25pm. Downtown and SODO will be busy.

🚧 I-5: the northbound lane reductions on the Ship Canal Bridge are gone. You’ll still see occasional overnight closures and early express lane closures while crews finish drainage work.

2685 NE Village Lane (University Village)

I’m not usually one to pick a spot in a shopping center, but Mr. West is the exception. It’s a little upscale without being stuffy: good-looking enough for a nice catch-up, relaxed enough to show up in whatever you wore to run errands. And not a bad place to work if that’s your thing. I love their matcha latte and the avocado toast, and it’s become my go-to for an early drink with a friend in the neighborhood. Happy hour runs weekdays 3–6pm. They have a pretty robust wine selection too!

Open 8am–8pm Sunday through Thursday, until 9 on Fridays and Saturdays. Cashless.

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 in our house

🎂 Where to Host a Kids Birthday Party Near NE Seattle: Updated! A list of 21 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 bath, 1,775 square feet

$975K
$1.15M
$1.3M
$1.5M

🧑 Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center | Ultimate Frisbee Drop-In (ages 9–13, Wednesdays 3:30–4:30pm), Teen Kitchen Creations (Tuesdays 4:30–6:30pm), Teen Baking Club (Wednesdays 4–6pm), and Pokémon/Minecraft Club (Tuesdays 5:30–6:30pm).

🏟️ Seattle Sports Schedules

📌 Holiday season is the best time to reach Northeast Seattle shoppers. Reply to this email to ask about sponsoring an issue.