When we first moved into this space down in Pioneer Square in Seattle, one of the first important tasks was determining the nearest best spot for coffee. Not being a coffee person this wasn’t really a priority for me personally, but Jenny and Walter needed their fix. (They’d be blogging this themsleves, but they’re busy doing important stuff.) One of the first places we found was a little coffee shop called Stir. It was entirely hidden under the Alaskan Way viaduct, tiny, and adorable. They appeared to be sort of a coffee shop/art gallery. And I think Walter was even able to get a cup of coffee from them… once.

On successive visits things became a little more difficult. I’m all for not overdoing something. Restraining yourself and keeping things special. Not tiring people out with overdoing it, etc. The Stir folks weren’t always there, so they weren’t always open. OK. A little unpredictable, but we’ll call it quirky for now. Then they put a sign up saying they were busy at the home show for a few weeks. Fine. But their latest strategy of holding back to keep special seems over the top.

Right now the sign on their door says that they’re open the first Thursday of each month from 5pm – 10pm. I think it’s clear at this point that not only have they given up on being a coffee shop, but they’ve given up on being any type of recognizable retail entity. There’s such a thing as withholding to keep things special, and then there’s being open once a month for five hours at a time.

In the meantime we patronize Cherry Street Coffee, though despite the fact that we’ve adopted them as the Jackson Fish Coffee Shop they appear to be annoyed by us. Maybe we’re just being sensitive. :)