Tag Archives: Family Business

Features

Beacon Hill Restaurants Baja Bistro and CheBogz to Reopen at Colina Apartments

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by Mark Van Streefkerk

Family-owned Beacon Hill restaurants Baja Bistro and Kusina Filipina were known for more than just their delicious, authentic recipes. Their customers and neighbors were welcomed like family when they came to dine. That was partly why the loss of both restaurants was so painful. After a change in building ownership led to a rent hike, the Paraiso family closed Kusina in 2017, and Baja shuttered after 25 years in 2020 due to the pandemic. The closures also reflected the decades-long trend of displacement and gentrification in Seattle. With the support of the Beacon Business Alliance (BBA) and a community-minded developer, these two legacy restaurants are planning to reopen in the same neighborhood they were previously forced out of. 

Baja and CheBogz — the latter is owned by Paraiso family sisters Trixia and Paula — are returning to Beacon Hill, splitting a storefront space in the new Colina Apartments. 

“It’s almost kind of like a fairy-tale story for People of Color,” Trixia said when reflecting on moving the restaurant back to Beacon Hill. “You don’t really get this opportunity to have a landlord say, ‘We want you guys here so that we can keep this community as diverse as it was before.’” 

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Community

Creamy Cone Cafe Brings Local Ice Cream to Rainier Beach

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by Mark Van Streefkerk

South End ice cream fans have good cause to celebrate — Creamy Cone Cafe officially opened in Rainier Beach on Memorial Day weekend. The Black-owned, family-run ice cream cafe at 9433 Rainier Avenue South features root beer floats, sundaes, in-house-made waffle cones, coffee drinks, and 12 rotating ice cream flavors from local creameries. 

Decked out in playful neon colors, including a small selection of outdoor seating, Creamy Cone Cafe brings sweet treats to a community that was in need of  another ice cream shop, especially as the summer heats up. Creamy Cone Cafe is one of two ice cream destinations in Rainier Beach, in addition to Filipino American-owned Laina’s Ice Cream in The Stonehouse Cafe on Lake Washington.

For owner and South End resident Ashanti Mayfield, her sister Alexis Jones, and their families, ice cream is a regular part of family time and celebrations. But getting to an ice cream shop can be a bit of a drive for people in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Ashanti and her family would frequent Full Tilt Ice Cream in Columbia City or Cold Stone Creamery in Tukwila. “Between those two, those were our cheer-up moments — going to get ice cream and just having a family outing together,” Ashanti said. “As far as ice cream goes, the South End needed [a shop].”

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Community

Intentionalist: Your Guide to Seattle Restaurant Week

by Kristina Rivera

Intentionalist is built on one simple idea: where we spend our money matters. We make it easy to find, learn about, and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. #SpendLikeItMatters

Showing support for your favorite local restaurants has never been so delicious thanks to Seattle Restaurant Week.

Throughout the month of April, dozens of Seattle-area restaurants are offering special deals available for takeout, outdoor dining, limited dine-in, delivery, or all of the above. It’s the perfect opportunity to support your favorite restaurants, find some new favorites, or explore a different neighborhood.

Community

Intentionalist: Spotlight on Seattle’s Chinatown-International District

by Kristina Rivera

Intentionalist is built on one simple idea: where we spend our money matters. We make it easy to find, learn about, and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. #SpendLikeItMatters

In the midst of rising acts of violence against Asian Americans across the United States, it’s easy for us to feel more divided than ever. Reported hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased by 149% since the beginning of the pandemic, with businesses being the primary site of discrimination. Small businesses in Chinatowns nationwide have also been disproportionately affected by anti-Asian rhetoric throughout the pandemic.

But there is one thing we at Intentionalist know for certain: Food and a sense of community have the power to bridge cultural differences and bring us closer together. Chinatowns across the U.S. have historically been places for both of those things, and Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (C-ID) is no different. 

The C-ID overflows with the rich history of immigrants from across Asia. And when you ask many business owners in the C-ID what their favorite part about their neighborhood is, the overwhelming answer is the feeling of community.

Food has always been a bridge and cross-cultural unifier, and now is the perfect time to embrace that. Here are three eateries you can support in the International District.