Supporting local food economies, restaurants, and South Seattle neighbors, this program serves up more than just meals.
by Mark Van Streefkerk
In March 2020, restaurants were in trouble. Seattle was the U.S. epicenter of COVID-19, and a wave of shutdowns called for the immediate temporary closure of restaurants — some of which never reopened. Food scarcity was exacerbated as closures across all industries led to higher rates of unemployment. These disruptions also affected local farmers, many of whom lost half their major market channels instantly with the closures of schools and restaurants. In the South End, however, a handful of like-minded chefs made arguably one of the savviest pandemic pivots in the industry: They started the Seattle Kitchen Collective.
Last year when the Columbia City Ale House announced it was closing its doors for good due to the pandemic, bartender Emily Eberhart knew she had to do something about it. Having worked at the tavern for seven years, Eberhart wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her coworkers and South End community of regulars. Although a global health crisis loomed, Eberhart approached Ale House owner Jeff Eagan and asked to take over the business. He said yes, ushering in a new chapter for the Columbia City watering hole.
Eberhart remembered last year’s turning point that galvanized her into action: “[Eagan] made a statement about closing forever and my immediate response was, ‘No we’re not.’ I had an amazing group of regulars and people [who] came to me, ‘What are we doing and how are we going to do this? Let’s make it happen.’ I knew the support was there.”
For Chef Melissa Miranda, Musang has always been more than a restaurant. The popular popup found a permanent home in North Beacon Hill at the beginning of this year, and through the crisis of COVID-19, pivoted to a community kitchen as well as restaurant, offering free or pay-what-you-can meals during the pandemic. Musang is one of seven restaurants and popups that form the Seattle Kitchen Collective, a grassroots collective of like-minded chefs who provide meals for community members who need them. Now through Little Wildcats cooking classes, Miranda, Chef Amelia Franada, and Chef Marizel Yuen are sharing Filipinx culture with the youngest in the community.
Over the last two months, a vibrant mural has spread steadily over the corner of the building on South Hanford Street and Beacon Avenue, now known as Feed The People Plaza. Chef Tarik Abdullah and artist Malcolm “Wolf Delux” Procter , co-creators of the plaza, have curated “an outdoor art incubator space” by and for the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Over 80 artists and community members of all ages have contributed to the evolving mural on the north, east, and west sides of the building, which houses Victrola Coffee Roasters and the Mexican restaurant El Quetzal. In addition to being an organic community collaboration, it’s also an homage to the former site of Kusina Filipina, which closed in 2017. The Paraiso family’s beloved Filipino comfort food restaurant was a cornerstone of the neighborhood for almost a decade. Feed The People Plaza has hosted two socially-distanced events so far, featuring local musicians, poets, pop-up chefs, and vendors.
