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
I was informed today that dear daughter had to have a new sketchbook and that Artco was the place to go! Well, OK. We went to the Artco on Sixth Avenue and purchased the sketchbook, some Halloween decorations, some art paper and some markers. I looked longingly at the art inks, but really don’t have a use for them at this time. Maybe later!
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
Today’s new place is the Starbucks at the corner of Sixth and Pine (601 Pine Street, Tacoma). It looked much like all the other Starbucks, warm and comfortable. The service was friendly and fast and the coffee especially good for some reason. The breakfast roll was warmed and very delicious. There is a reason that Starbucks has a following.
Update 2/2015 This location has closed, which surprises me since it was always busy when I went.
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!
Satellite Coffee at 2813 6th Avenue, Tacoma
I’ve heard such good things about Satellite Coffee and was glad to stop at their Sixth Avenue today, even though I’m going to be awake way into the night now! (Note to self, decaf after 3!). It was smaller than I expected and really flows into the adjacent restaurant, MASA. Although there is a walk up ordering window, I choose to go inside where it was warm. My Americano was good and reasonably priced (under $3 for a medium sized one). My barista was friendly. There was plenty of parking right out front, but I can see where parking has the potential of being a problem.
Their coffee is Stumptown Coffee, out of Portland, OR. http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/
They get their baked goods from Corinas Bakery. http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2063
Satellite Coffee Co.’s main web presence is its Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/tacomasatellite
In addition to this location, there are two other Satellite Coffees in Tacoma, one downtown and one near Wright Park. (Updated note, there is now only one other location, the one in the Stadium (see blog entry http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=5790)
Here is an article about Satellite Coffee, though more about its downtown location. http://www.tacomaweekly.com/news/business/satellite_coffee_combines_with_smooth_and_juicey_on_market_street/
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/
