Volunteer Park Cafe Neighbor Fights Outdoor Dining Area
Zoning issue plague the restaurant’s patio plans.
Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jun 24, 2010 at 02:59PM
7 Comments
As we reported back in April, Ericka Burke and Heather Earnhardt, chef/owners of Volunteer Park Cafe, have been building a patio and backyard garden. Their hope was to offer outdoor dining on the new brick patio, around which they’ve started growing veggies for the restaurant.
Not if their neighbor can help it. On June 24 (today), Burke wrote a group email detailing an unhappy situation with a Capitol Hill resident who wants to prevent the cafe from serving outdoors.
The neighbor researched the property’s permit history, discovering that it was zoned as a grocery store (the building housed a grocery for many years) and not a cafe. Burke says her lease indicates the property to be a cafe. A lawsuit could be forthcoming, she writes, but she hopes to keep her 90-year-old landlady out of the situation by buying the building outright.
Burke asked recipients to help VPC staff see their backyard dreams become reality by sending letters of support, expressing affection for the cafe (and the patio and garden in particular), which she will in turn deliver to the Department of Planning and Development. (If you wish to send such a letter, the cafe address is 1501 17th Street E, Seattle, Wa 98122.)
According to the DPD website, a complaint was filed on May 18 with the following note: “The grocery has expanded its use with a cafe.” The complaint is unresolved.
Say it ain’t so! This is one of Seattle’s culinary gems!
VPC is not only a culinary gem but also a great supporter of local and organic cooking. Including a garden (though not the issue at contest right now) is not only supporting conscientious cooking but making it more tangible for diners. VPC is very aware of their neighborhood: fighting against the potential closing of the Volunteer Park Conservatory and kick starting other local restaurants (Oddfellows), just to name a mere few of their efforts. Ericka, Heather, and their staff are a huge asset to the neighborhood and the city. If one neighbor is complaining you will quickly have 20 other neighbors only saying the best things about VPC and the expansion, if not more. I say these remarks as a neighbor, diner, and lover of the cafe.
Antje B: If the VPC’s owners were truly “aware” of their neighborhood, they would have consulted nearby neighbors before deciding to build a patio to seat (apparently) 2 dozen or more outdoor diners.
They did not.
So, it’s not surprising that at least one neighbor who had tolerated VPC’s 3-year expansion (including adding dinner service, currently 5 nights/week) decided to challenge this attitude by alerting the city to zoning and other violations. Sure, the owners have supported community organizations and seem genuinely interested in their customers … but their culinary talents have outgrown the building. There’s no reasonable way to transform this former little grocery into an 80-seat “destination” restaurant.
To my friends next door:
I read all the comments. Some pro some con….
I think you guys should keep your heads up, stand firm in your beliefs.
They are the ones in the wrong, if they had a legal business license it wouldn’t even be an issue.
The old lady that owns the building mislead them, its not your fault.
When ever I have built anything I get a permit, they should have too, before they started working in the back garden, and they should have walked the neighborhood and talked to everyone to see if it was acceptable to make an addition to the business.
When I have visited you lately I have a hard time getting in your driveway its blocked by people illegally parking, I wouldn’t like this at my house!
Its been noisy when I visit and I would not have this at my house. I know you lived there before any restaurant was there!!! From what I’ve read they aren’t coming up with a solution just a lot of bashing, it shows the true personality….dog eat dog, not just a simple quiet eatery as they are trying to portray themselves.
You custom built the house in a quiet little part of Capitol Hill to raise your kids in a residential neighborhood close to the public elementary school and the local church you go to.
I know how sensitive you are, but don’t let it get to you, its not your lively hood its theirs.
Be strong, stand firm and everything will work out to be the way it should be.
No matter what….. they need to get licensed its up to the city, if you don’t want a restaurant next door let them know about it, its freedom of speech, most of the people that wrote in wouldn’t like it next door to them either, its easy to say they would until some one started building a restaurant next door to them. YOU are the only family next door no one else can know the true impact it has on your household!
If anyone wants to be next to a restaurant and city life I have a condo for rent in Belltown, Macrina bakery is just as good as VPC!!!!!
We have been happy customers of this restaurant, enjoying the benefits of having a great destination for dining within walking distance of our home. However, the restaurant has outgrown the current location. With the increasing success of the restaurant, there has been an increase in trucks and traffic down the narrow streets of this neighborhood. With the increase in traffic, there has been the accompanying accidents. In addition to the truck-crunching-parked-car accidents, we have also had two neighborhood children hit by cars over the past few years. My concern is the increasing traffic will increase the number of vehicle accidents as well as increase the risk of accidents involving people of all ages.
The restaurant would be better-situated in an area that has more parking, and more street capacity for handling the increased traffic.
We have lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years and have seen many changes since arriving. As new younger families have moved in, there have been quite a lot of improvements. “Drive by’s” are no longer an issue! People have improved their yards. And it has become a really nice place to live.
We loved the “little yellow store” when it was a store. We loved it when it was a deli-grocery, too. Since this became the VPC, we have had trouble with being able to park our car. The traffic can be awful at times. And the noise on Friday and Saturday evenings has become somewhat of an issue for us.
Who wants a party every night in their back yard? We certainly don’t! And I want to be able to park in front of my own house.
I am also thinking that VPC has outgrown it’s space. They not only need a decent parking strip, but they also need a real bathroom or two. They certainly do not have the proper permits in place. So why are they complaining? They need to go through the proper routes like everyone else!
To all but Antje: thank you for being “ahead of the curve” in understanding the realities of living next to a culinary jewel. I hope you plan to participate in the public process that will begin as soon as VPC files their paperwork. The city gave them a ’compliance date" of July 1, ’10.
To Antje B: it sounds as if your reasons for supporting VPC are based in how you see them interact with the community.(Most supporters simply say they make good food.). However, I do not agree with your assertion that they are good neighbors.
Good neighbors follow the law. In addition to operating outside of their zoning permits, in addition to blowing off the filing date by (as of today) two months, they are expanding. Without permits.
Good neighbors listen when their good neighbors come to them with reasonable complaints.
Good neighbors don’t publicly slander (“The neighbors wants to shut us down!”).
The only one saying that the neighbors want to shut down VPC is: VPC.
We neighbors are saying: expand in a way the infrastructure and zoning of the neighborhood can support, and clean up your messes.
Cooks should know: “clean as you go” saves you from a facing a pile of dirty dishes at the end of your shift.