Central Grind Closes: MLK Now No-Coffee Zone

23rd Ave E. has the same problem. Coffeeless from Union (Katy's is 3 blocks West) to McClellan.

We live right next to this location which suffers from low foot traffic. People who go to Catfish corner aren't interested in lattes, I think. We tried patronizing the place, But the owner was really incosiderate to my wife, saying some pretty stupid things about her weight while she was pregnant. I tried using his copier services (several times), and he was always out of toner and never fixed it. Sorry, poor service == no repeat returns.

There is a Starbucks at 23rd & Jackson.

The woman who used to run the coffee cart outside of Roger's at MLK and Union moved across the street and opened a teriyaki shop. She is still making great lattes and a part of her store seems dedicated to the coffee part. Teriyaki is great too! Stop by.

I also live very close to this location and walk by regularly. The problem with it was it seemed to be RARELY open, and when it was, it always rather strange hours. It's too bad, could be a good spot.

I always thought the sign was incredibly inviting. But the service and the product were a huge dissapointment. Decent space though. Gould be a great chance for somthing tasty and good.

There were two large For Rent signs up in the windows on either side of the Seattle Central Grind spot late last week when I passed by, but I noticed they were gone a few days later and assumed that meant the space may have already been rented out again. Anybody know more on that...?

As for 23rd Avenue, I would expect that the large and super busy Starbucks at 23rd and Jackson would count, unless that just is not "coffee" to some.

I hear their lattes are pretty good, although I have to admit I haven't tried them myself (more of a drip coffee fan)

Ok, egg on my face.

I honestly forgot about the Starbucks at the corner of 23rd and Jackson. It's a fine shop and I appreciate that it is open reasonably late year round (9 pm). I'll have to try 1st Cup which is the odd-shaped (drive through?) kiosk near the post office.

They do close early (6 or 7, I think)

Walking to Central Grind was a family favorite when my daughter was born. I think it was one of the first outings I made with her. The guys were great- friendly, plenty of whipped cream on the hot chocolate for my 3 year old. Over the next 13 years, things shifted- coffee was less consistent, we could walk farther than a couple blocks at a time... I know that Nova students and staff were daily visitors to shop. I wonder if the school's move impacted things?

I'm looking forward to a new coffee option on Cherry. And, I'll say it again- chocolate. I haven't recovered from the closing of Dilettante. Any truffle makers out there?

Dear Fuel, Tuogo, Vita, or other independent,

I am a resident of Leschi with my wife and daughter. If you open up a coffee shop I promise you I will swing by 3-4 times a week to buy coffee at your shop. I can almost promise you that a hundred other people in our neighborhood will as well because we are in desperate need of a good local coffee shop. We lived on Capitol Hill, one block from Fuel when it opened up. It was amazing what it did for that small microneighborhood. This can be done at the former central grind space as well. There is temporary parking and it is easy to get in and out of. Just think about how many people with disposable income are driving by that space on the way to work every day?

I live about two block from the Grind and I've never been. I always meant to, though, and the one time I walked down to get a cup it was closed during business hours. Most of the time I rode my bike either to Tougo's on 18th or Verite on 34th.

There's some action going on in those live/work spaces at 25th and Union, it looks like a fair amount of construction on the corner unit and I've heard rumblings of a coffee joint. Anybody else?

I'm crossing my fingers and saving my quarters.

p.s. No offense to the Post Office kiosk, they're super friendly and all, but the consistency isn't always there.

SOHO Coffee is on the corner of 20th and Yesler! Open Monday to Friday 630am to 7pm, Saturday 8am to 7pm and Sundays 8am to 5pm. They serve Stumptown and the people that work there are super nice!

Central Grind and the Ethiopean restaurant next door were the site of my grandparent's grocery store in the 1940s and 1950s. It was deja vu all over again when I went into those establishments. There's been a lot of turnover in those spots over the years, but I think the restaurant and Central Grind are/were two of the longest-running tenants. Somebody really ought to document the history of that strip of shops. In the mid-'50s, Catfish Corner's location was Sam's Drug Store. There also was a bar and a kosher butcher shop among the shops.

As the brother of the previous author, I fondly recall our grandparents "Mom and Pop" grocery in the Central Grind/Restaurant spaces in the 50s. I really can't believe the building is still standing...hope the electrical's been upgraded! If some investors had the cajones, they could really improve the building, keep the good long-term tenants and fill the empty spaces with (gasp!) independents like a coffee spot to bring in new and more customers. BTW, my brother is correct: Sam's Drugstore (with fountain drinks), J*****n's Grocery, W***e Kosher Butcher, Cherry St. Tavern. There were many of these block buildings in the area with independent merchants - the forerunners of today's strip centers. What an era!

I'll miss the Seattle Grind. The owner was always friendly and pleasant. The good news is that a new cafe has opened at Union and 25th, Cortona Coffee. The espresso there is very good.

Since I moved to the neighborhood in 2005, I enjoyed my visits to Seattle Central Grind. Sam, the owner, was charming and a strong, contributing member of the community. It was a place to see neighbors, talk to local political candidates, meet local businesspeople, and more. I can drive through the neighborhood, or shop at other stores, and constantly run into someone I met through Sam. Sam always remembered me, or any of my family, when we came in, and that's part of what I appreciate most about neighborhood/independent businesses. I wish him all the best in his next endeavor.

We lived on Temple Place just south of East Cherry Street & MLK Jr. Way (at thst time named Empire Way). Sam's was the drugstore's name when we first moved to the neighborhood in the 50's. Mr. Jordan ran the drugstore for several years after "Sam", then changed the name to Jordan's Drug Store and was there until he moved a few blocks west into the old Glazers Store location on East Cherry. Across the street from Glazer's was Bluma's Delicatessen, they sold the best corned beef and pastrami sandwiches. I believe they bought there bread and meat from Brenner Brothers Bakery which was located across the street from Sam's Drug Store on East Cherry & Empire Way. There was Sam's Drug Store, a kosher meat market, a cleaners, a neighborhood grocery store named Yee's and of course the infamous Cherry Tree Tavern. This was just a great neighborhood to grow up in, we also had a neighborhood movie theatre located across the street from The East Cherry YWCA at 28th & Cherry.