Open Resources

As King County settles in to Phase 2 of Washington’s Safe Start Plan, many South Lake Union businesses are welcoming back their customers with expanded services, while others are opening up for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown began this spring.

The South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in assisting neighborhood businesses and nonprofits during this unprecedented time. The SLU Chamber Small Business & Nonprofit Relief Fund has helped support several of the neighborhood’s establishments. Despite numerous grant resources available, the chamber identified a number of gaps that left some of our neighborhood businesses and nonprofits without relief opportunities. To date, the fund has raised $68,000 and is still accepting donations.

Now that many SLU restaurants, bars, gyms, and more can operate in Phase 2, the biggest support the Seattle community can offer is to patronize these businesses while following health and safety guidelines. To provide important resources for customers, residents, and visitors, discoverslu.com has redesigned its website and developed a new neighborhood business directory. The directory includes business and organization names, links to their websites, phone numbers, and Google Maps tags. In addition, the directory is filterable by business category and displays icons for “open” businesses and “new” businesses.

Read more below about how some of the neighborhood’s open businesses are operating, and explore the new discoverslu.com business directory here.

Evergreens, 1051 Thomas St., 2070 Sixth Ave., evergreens.com

Fresh salad lovers, rejoice! Evergreens at Thomas and Boren and Sixth and Lenora are now open. “The only thing we want people to worry about is whether you want a freshly made salad, wrap, or grain bowl for lunch and dinner,” said Jennifer Dimaris, senior project marketing manager at Evergreens. To assure customers it is operating safely, Evergreens has put thorough safety precautions in place. Employees wear gloves and masks at all times, greeters assist line flow and help facilitate pickup orders, daily employee wellness checks are mandatory, social distancing markers are in place, and many more safety and sanitation practices are in place. For the best experience, Evergreens recommends ordering through its app or on its website.

Veggie Grill, 446 Terry Ave. N., veggiegrill.com

According to Irene Chao, director of digital marketing at Veggie Grill, the new normal at this vegetarian favorite means communicating to guests that its online ordering options are available, along with delivery and curbside options. “Guests can expect the same delicious plant-based food, just our dining rooms may look a little different. Also, this summer, we have a lots of new menu items launching, so be on the lookout for that,” she said. Veggie Grill does daily temperature checks for its employees, practices social distancing by making sure all tables are six feet apart, and requires masks for all patrons upon entry.

Happy Lemon, 2245 Eighth Ave.,
happylemonusa.com

Neighborhood newcomer Happy Lemon, known for its delicious boba tea and bubble waffles, opened up shop on the northeast corner of Amazon’s Regrade campus at Bell Street and Eighth Avenue prior to the shutdown mandate. The café is operating without tables to maximize social distancing, includes floor decals to control customer lines, offers contactless payments, and more.

“Right now, we still provide to-go and pick up orders only. We plan to do this for a while to be cautious maybe even after phase 3. Our space is naturally set up for this environment as we share a ton of outdoor seating space provided by Amazon. We also dedicated a long open deck area for customers to wait for their orders during busy time. This outdoor setting adds maximum social distancing safety and an open-air environment. This deck area is covered, so even during rainy days, customers can still wait outside but not have to worry about the rain,” said owner Ting Yang.

“Being agile, adapting to the changes, and following health guideline has been the new normal for Happy Lemon. Another thing is being optimistic and sharing the positive energy with our customers. Our mission is to provide some “happiness” to our customers with our products and service in this tough time.”