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.
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.”
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.
Nevzat Cankaya’s green drive-through espresso stand in a Skyway parking lot has been the community’s only coffee shop for years and a staple for commuters.
With luck, Cankaya will be able to fulfill a longtime dream of opening a sit-down cafe this summer. While construction has been delayed by the pandemic, the eventual space will be a game-changer for Skyway.
In response to prolonged difficulties for small businesses caused by COVID-19 quarantine measures, City Councilmember Dan Strauss and Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez introduced a bill early last week that aims to support small business as well as allow for more flexibility around land use codes and operating out of garages and residences.
“There are home-based businesses in my neighborhood currently operating out of compliance with current code,” Strauss said in a statement. “While they have not been reported or cited, it is important we provide an even playing field for them.”
“Finger-licking good!” Gail Thompson laughed as she described the first time she got a taste of Hallelu-jah! Sauce. She was eating hot and crispy chicken wings with the sauce drizzled on it.
“It was so delicious,” she said. She rubbed the wings into the sauce. “I just could not get enough of it.”
It was the mid-1990s in the Central District of Seattle. Her husband, Carl Thompson Jr., the owner of the now-closed southern Creole restaurant, Thompson’s Point of View, wanted to “distinguish [their] hot wings from everyone else’s in the community.”
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
‘Tis the season to #SpendLikeitMatters. It’s important we do our part — no matter how small it may seem — to help our South Seattle eateries stay afloat as they continue to navigate the loss in foot traffic due to lockdown restrictions. Gift certificates are the perfect, easy solution to get something thoughtful for everyone on your list. Whether it’s to their favorite restaurant or a new dessert place you know they’ll love, buying your loved ones a gift card to a small business is a win for everyone.
Starting at noon today, the City of Seattle will accept a new round of applicants for small business stabilization grants, meant to assist small Seattle businesses and economic opportunity nonprofits that have suffered financially as a consequence of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Though a comprehensive report detailing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Seattle economy has yet to be published, preliminary data shows that 2020 has been nothing short of horrific for the local travel and tourism industry.
According to a Visit Seattle Annual Report from February, the tourism industry generated $11.7 billion in total economic impact and 80,317 jobs in 2019. But this year, practically every event that usually brought tourists into the area was cancelled — and cancellations at the Washington State Convention Center alone account for a $379 million loss to the local economy.
As more South Seattle small businesses reopen amid the ongoing pandemic, a new program led by a local chamber of commerce wants to ensure that customers and employees feel as safe as possible.
The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce last week announced the launch of the “Southside Promise” campaign, an effort to equip local businesses with information and guidance to safely reopen. The program, a partnership with the City of Tukwila, provides face masks and other personal protective equipment and offers a reopening toolkit — essentially an in-depth slideshow presentation — aimed at helping businesses navigate the sometimes dizzying process of reopening.
