The Italian Riviera Comes to Amazonia

Cinque Terre (five lands) is a beautiful area of the Italian Riviera which comprises five villages. 

Cinque Terre promises to bring the seafood-focused cuisine of the Italian Rivera, courtesy of brothers Leo, Salvio, and Roberto Varchetta. They'll blend the influences of the picturesque Cinque Terre villages with Pacific Northwest products. Expect oysters, branzino, and octopus along with grass-fed beef and plenty of pasta made in-house. The restaurant also sports a custom Neapolitan gas-fired pizza oven.

For the past 20 years, brothers Leo, Salvio and Roberto Varchetta along with their parents, Melina and Pasquale Varchetta have owned and operated some of Seattle’s most beloved Italian restaurants. Serving the role of the quintessential perfect hosts, the Varchetta’s share their Italian warmth. From the time you walk in the door until the time you leave, you’ll sense that you are a part of the family.

Western Neon fabricated three beautiful signs designed by Graham Baba Architects.  The curved sign that drapes over the railing, the vestibule sign inset into the concrete wall both have push-thru custom colored resin letters internally illuminated with LED's.  There is also an unlit under awning sign. 

Cinque Terre Ristorante now open in the Amazon Doppler building

2001 Westlake Avenue, (206) 456-6300

http://www.cinqueterreseattle.com/modernitalian/

Remodeled Nike Store in Seattle - Now Open

 

Don't forget to look up when you visit Nike's redesigned Seattle store. A custom neon sculpture hangs from the ceiling of the second floor mezzanine.  

At the direction of Guild in LA and Nike, Western Neon fabricated and installed the 12 x 18 foot ceiling of Seattle icons at the totally remodeled store on 6th Avenue in downtown Seattle.  There is over 700 feet of neon and fifteen transformers in the sculpture, which can be seen from the street.  It is spectacular!!

It's one of several unique touches for the downtown store, which also features an art installation that honors the city's rabid football fans, known as the 12th man.

Sandwich Environmentalism - Good intentions equal good sandwiches

THEY’RE HOMEGROWN, all right.

Brad Gillis and Ben Friedman. Born months apart. Met in Mrs. O’Neill’s kindergarten class on Mercer Island where (bet you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) they were the kids most likely to succeed.

Don’t know Homegrown? Imagine a sandwich shop with a social conscience. A very green machine: certified organic ingredients when available, local when possible, packaging that’s recyclable or compostable.

Yeah. These guys grew up here, apples falling from fruitful trees.

“Both our dads were entrepreneurs,” in real-estate development and biotech, explains Friedman. “We grew up around startups, risks. That was always the discussion around the dinner table.” Ditto for nonprofit work and philanthropy.

They call their calling “sandwich environmentalism.”

“Our market is not an economic market, it’s an idealistic one,” says Friedman. And Seattle idealists are voting with their pocketbooks.

These two dynamos just opened their fifth Homegrown shop at 208 Westlake Ave. North today.  It's a beautiful space and the food is very tasty.  Stop down for lunch, you won't be disappointed.

SODO was rocking last night . . .

Western Neon partied down last evening with customers, friends and family.  Everyone was on hand to celebrate the new Rainier R, prior to it being placed back on the old Rainier Brewery later this month.

There was food, live music provided by Tip to Base, and enough Rainier Beer on hand to float a ferry.  Guests were able to see glass bending demos and walk through WN's metal fabrication area, as well as get pictures taken with the soon to be famous new "R".

Oh, and the famous Rainier Beers made an appearance.

Check out a little of the action.

 Western Neon Fabricators and Installers

 Old Rainier Sign from Tacoma Brewery

 Glass Bending Demo

 Fred Stray - Eastside Ice Machines

Best Ice Man on the West Coast

 Cupcake Royale Special Cupcakes

Original Sign from WN 

The Yard Cafe in Greenwood

Are you looking for a neighborhood joint that lets you laze in the sun as you sip a microbrew, munch on tasty Mexican and pub fare and keep tabs on a Mariners game?

The Yard Cafe is that kind of hangout. To spot this ultracasual Greenwood bar and bistro just off busy N., 85th Street, be on alert for the sign — or you might think this fenced-in spot with a grouping of picnic tables is, yes, somebody’s no-frills yard.

Western Neon designed and fabricated a projecting vertical sign with rusted 

steel cabinets and perforated returns. The routed out face is backed with 

white acrylic and illuminated with clear red neon.

Actually, it’s a joint with an open patio, a small sports bar and another area of tucked-away indoor seating that nobody bothers with in sunny weather. There’s good grub, and 18 microbrews on tap.  

Stop in and say "hi" to Jamie Butler or Travis Eaton and try the quarter-pounder Yard Burger with pico de gallo, aioli, and butter lettuce.

Rachel’s Ginger Beer takes prime spot in Pike Place Market

Rachel Marshall is set to open a flagship Rachel’s Ginger Beer soda fountain and bar in one of the prime storefronts of Pike Place Market. She’ll be in the spot that housed a Seattle’s Best Coffee storefront for more than 25 years, a tourist icon for its giant neon coffee cup.

Marshall has made a name for herself with another kind of brew, the zingy ginger beer that she started developing a few years back. What started as a side business when she was waitressing at Seattle restaurants like Delancey and Lark soon exploded into a drinkable mini-empire. The nonalcoholic soda has been a favorite at fine restaurants and in the refrigerator cases at specialty shops. Fans fill growlers of the beverage and buy bottles at Marshall’s farmers market stands, and the soda’s a base for cocktails at hip local establishments, including Montana, the Capitol Hill bar Marshall and partner Adam Peters own with friend Kate Opatz.

Once open, Rachel Marshall says her place will be a combination of soda fountain and bar, serving floats using Cupcake Royale ice cream by day, and Moscow mules and other ginger and not-so-gingery cocktails by night.

If you buy a 32 oz. growler, keep the bottle and cap, it will save you money when you go back in to fill it up with more of the tangy nectar.

Local Heroes come to the rescue . . .

A couple of my favorite customers, Tom Douglas and DoubleDown Interactive came to the rescue of the July 4th fireworks display that was in jeopardy of being cancelled.  

Production company One Reel announced earlier this month that the fireworks would be cancelled due to lack of funds. The fireworks show has faced several years of last-minute funding efforts in order to keep the tradition going.

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Seafair announced Tuesday that several companies have stepped up to fund the fireworks show this year and for several years to come, including presenting sponsors Amazon.com Inc., DoubleDown Interactive and Microsoft Corp. Other major sponsors include Starbucks Corp., Wells Fargo and Tom Douglas Restaurants.

Hats off to these generous local heroes, stop by and thank them.

Cupcake Royale to open Downtown on Pine Street

Western Neon is excited to be working with our favorite cupcake chain on their new signage.  


The local cupcake chain will open its sixth outpost at 108 Pine, formerly home of the Chocolate Box and Molly Moon’s.  Owner Jody Hall plans to introduce a new line of ice creams, and a sign on the door claims we’re in for “the most amazing transformation in the history of chocolate."  The Chocolate Box is moving into the space next door.

Beard Foundation names Douglas 'Outstanding Restaurateur'

In the biggest achievement of his career, Tom Douglas was named "Outstanding Restaurateur" by the James Beard Foundation on Monday night in New York. The awards are considered the Oscars of the food world.

The national award encompasses Douglas' body of work, not just any single restaurant.

The honor is a defining award in Douglas' celebrated career, chef Eric Tanaka, an associate of Douglas', said in a phone interview after the award ceremony. "It is clearly, easily our biggest honor."

Congratulations to the Man, not only is he a great guy, he is outstanding!!!   

Zombie Studios to team up with Hollywood on transmedia project.

Mark Long of Seattle’s Zombie Studios will help produce a transmedia project called “Rubicon” about U.S. Navy SEALS in Afghanistan.

Announced at New York’s Comic Con last week, Long will partner with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie — who wrote "The Usual Suspects" and is currently directing the Tom Cruise movie "One Shot" — and co-producer Dan Capel, a founding team member of Navy SEAL Team Six and Red Cell. The project will include a movie, game and graphic novel.

No more Chinoise!!




Now the restaurant is known as Jae's Asian Bistro and Sushi. A modern mix noodle bar and pan-Asian bistro in Madison Park ... Jae, the chef knows his stuff AND the regulars names!

New digs for the Chef in the Hat!

Rover's jaunty "Chef in the Hat," Thierry Rautureau, has longed to hang his chapeau at a little bar-centric bistro, something far less formal than his four-star restaurant, Rover's.  

Luc, named to honor his late father, will have a menu that reaches beyond his native France to embrace global influences. "I don't want to be just a french bistro, even though it'll be a French bistro," he told me, sharing his vision for Luc.   Wonderful outside seating for those glorious Seattle evenings.


What a charming very french sign, ooh, la, la!               


www.thechefinthehat.com

Retrofit Home's Fab New Location & Yummy Neon Sign

http://retrofithome.homestead.com

Retrofit home is the baby of Jon Milazzo and Lori Pomeranz, two artists turned decorative painters turned concrete floor finishers turned color consultants turned designers turned shop girls~~ friends and business partners for the last 18 years, they decided to open a home furnishings store 5 years ago, rather than reproduce like other proper girls their age.    


They really take a design approach, the store constantly changes and evolves, and as always, they leave the attitude to others~~ this is a neighborhood store.   

Important facts to remember . . .

• Studies have proven a neon sign is visible and legible from a greater distance than any other type of
  on-site sign in both daylight and evening hours.

• Dollar for dollar, neon is virtually the most cost effective on-site advertising available.

• There is always a need for attracting more visual attention to your business, especially during slower         economic periods.

A junkyard of vintage glitz and glamour awaits you in Las Vegas

Established in 1996 to preserve Las Vegas’ under appreciated neon heritage, the Neon Boneyard houses many of the city's historic casino signs on a three-acre site at the edge of the city. The core of the collection of unrestored signage came from the pioneering Young Electric Sign Company, one of the first to produce neon signs in the area; but, in recent years, it has grown through donations from businesses and individuals who appreciate the key role played by neon in the growth of Las Vegas.  

Click here to see where old neon signs go to die?