The barrel truss building at 1601 6th Avenue in Tacoma was constructed in 1929 and contains 7,600 square feet. When it opened it was the Raudenbush Motor Co. / Gas-Way-Inn and in 1942 it became the Gunnar’s Grocery, Store No. 2. In 1951 it became a Shop Rite Food Center. The listing page shows that it is currently mostly leased by Trinity United Presbyterian Church http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=5466
Today was 13th annual Art on the Ave and today’s new place is the Sixth Avenue Business District. We knew from reading status updates that parking was going to be tough, so we went to the TCC transit center and caught the #1 bus to Sixth Avenue. It let us out withing a block of the festival. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been to this festival and it has really grown with lots of quality art for sale. We purchased some 253 (the local area code) tshirts and I bought two hair clips. We watched Vicci Martinez (recently on The Voice) belt out a couple of songs and then we had a cool drink and went home. I think my favorite photo below is the guy who was filming Vicci Martinez on his iPad!
The website for Art on the Ave is here http://on6thave.com/art-on-the-ave.html
I’ve been meaning to stop at Sixth Avenue’s newest coffee shop since it opened in April 2011. Bluebeard is located at 2201 6th Avenue, Tacoma in the 1928 building which had previously housed Rector Antiques, Cafe WA and a Ford Dealership. They really have a lovely, open space with plenty of natural light. My iced Americano was very good. Service was a tad distracted, but pleasant. I might have had a treat, but there were only eight in sight. But if I had known they were from Corina’s Bakery I probably would have had one any way! Bluebeard roast their own beans, which can be purchased for home enjoyment.
http://www.bluebeardcoffee.com/
The not so cheerful folktale of Bluebeard can be found here. I wish I had asked the guy behind the counter why they picked the name!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard
It is finally farmer’s market season and today I stopped at the Sixth Avenue Farmer’s Market at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street. It is a lovely little market, with enough of everything — produce, flower’s, informational booths and art & crafts goods. I look forward to visiting it again soon!
http://www.tacomafarmersmarket.com/Markets.aspx
I was in the market for a vet to handle the medical needs of my two pups. My last vet retired and closed up shop and I wasn’t too keen on the mega-vet I went to before that. It use to be that people usually went to the closest vet (or dry cleaner, or hair dresser, etc.), but nowadays we search for reviews. That’s what I did, I looked on Yelp and eliminated some vets with less than stellar recommendations. That lead me to Columbia Veterinary Hospital at 5916 6th Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98406-2016 (253) 564-7927 .
It is a relatively small building and four veterinarians are listed as working here. They really seemed to love the animals and were good with them. My dog (unloyal animal that she is) would have happily stayed! They were kind enough to clip her nails, I job I truly hate! And the bill was somewhat less than I expected. So, all in all a good experience.
We topped it off with a trip to PetSmart for a new collar. I’m pretty sure the dog that I took went home and gloated to the dog that stayed home this time!
Today’s new place is the Safeway in the Highland Hill Center, 6201 6th Ave, Tacoma, (253) 564-7029
Store Phone: 253-564-7029
Store Hours: Open 24 Hours
Their website provides the following store details: Ad Region (whatever that means!), Bakery, Deli, Floral, Liquor, Meat, Pharmacy, Produce, Seafood, Starbucks, Video, Fuelstation, DryClean, Sushi Bar, Olive Bar, Digital Photo, DVDPlay Kiosk, Coinmaster, Jamba Juice, Adult Immunizations, Travel Immunizations, 24 hr PayPump, Wi-fi, , Home Grocery Delivery
So, pretty much is a somewhat larger than normal Safeway. The store was clean, had everything on my list and the check out guy was pleasant.
Rental information on the Highland Hills Shopping Center can be found here http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=16670837
We ordered a latte for me, a vanilla Italian soda for the teen and a full monty bagel sandwich minus the bacon to share. They forgot the drinks, but felt bad about it and not only gave us our drinks but a get two free card. In addition to coffee, they offer wine and beer. The sandwich was very tasty and so were the drinks once they arrived.
http://beyondthebridgecafe.com/
http://www.facebook.com/bbc4life?ref=ts&v=info
Note: I’m sad to say that Beyond the Bridge Cafe closed its doors on May 14, 2011.
http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/spew-blog/2011/05/The-last-day-of-Beyond-the-Bridge-Cafe-tacoma-coffee-shop-closes-ben-and-patricia-rubke/
Today’s new place of the day is the “JuNkTaStIc SuNdAyS” Market, which is held on Sundays through December 19th from 9am — 4pm. The market is located at the Studio 6 Ballroom, 2608 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA, 98406. There were plenty of interesting vendors and the owner told me that they switch out regularly, keeping the stock of available goods fresh. We were enchanted by the vendor selling Hex Bugs, delightful mini robots! We picked up two as stocking stuffers and a larger one as a holiday present. I need to go back after payday to pick up some of the fun jewelry!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=103801409691637
