Seattle is reemerging, slowly: Today So Far

Seattle dining is starting to return to normal. But don't let easing restrictions fool you. The effects of the pandemic are still with us.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for March 22, 2022.

Coffeeshops and pubs are where I've done a lot of my best off-the-clock work. My wife Nina feels the same way. She's back in school for a career change. So with pandemic precautions easing up, we decided to leave home for a study night out — it wasn't easy.

A handful of coffee shops and restaurants are now closed on less-busy Mondays. One local pub has stopped serving food early in the week, due to staffing shortages. And the one coffee shop that was still open in the evening (because hey Seattle, money still works after 5 p.m.) was thriving with no tables free. And this was a coffee shop that still requires masks and proof of vaccination.

RELATED: Are you going back to the office?

It's an anecdotal experience from a corner of North Seattle. But downtown Seattle shops and restaurants also tell KUOW that while things are slowly returning, they aren't at pre-pandemic levels yet. Foot traffic is still slow. But employers and employees have their fingers crossed that crime will go down, and the pandemic will ease further, as sports games start back up. Could this year be when business comes back?

Robert Rodriguez is one such entrepreneur who is leaning into optimism for Seattle's future. After starting a successful coffee shop in a challenging corner of Puerto Rico, he has chosen Pioneer Square to launch his next business — Yellow Butterfly Coffee. He has spent recent days painting his new shop and preparing to open. With the help of a dancing panda (yep, you read that right), he has high hopes for his Seattle endeavor.

Rodriquez's business arrives as Seattle's foodie scene is evolving. Seattle Times' food critics won't be dishing out reviews based on star ratings anymore. Food writer Bethany Jean Clement tells KUOW that takeout / delivery has been dominant for so long (I know I've discovered a lot of new spots through delivery apps), the restaurant scene is not the same as in the Before Times.

"Things are really different out there," she told KUOW. "There are severe staffing shortages and supply chain issues. Service can be difficult out there. Staff people are working really hard. I want to urge everyone to be empathetic."

RELATED: Maskless in Seattle

Businesses aren't alone. We are all aiming to get back to some level of "normal." But it should be noted that while masking rules and other precautions phase out, Covid-19 is still very much with us. And experts are speculating that yet another wave is on the horizon. As Seattle Now recently discussed, masks have come off across the region and that may be contributing to some peer pressure to not be the only person in the store with a mask on. I get that. But also, I'm old school Seattle, so I really don't care what people think. My mask is staying on, for now, while I listen to Mudhoney and The Supersuckers. For those feeling any pressure, know that you aren't the only one out there keeping their mask on.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Olena Bidovanets protests in Seattle in solidarity with her home country, Ukraine. Bidovanets is a psychotherapist and a Fulbright scholar at the University of Washington pursing her Masters in Public Health. After Russia invaded Ukraine, she decided to join a humanitarian aid group and return to her home country. (Courtesy Olena Bidovanets)

DID YOU KNOW?

On this day in 1886, Seattle turned the lights on. It was March 22 when a steam-powered generator, located in Pioneer Square, went online and became the first incandescent-lighting plant west of the Rockies.

Thomas Edison had sent agents of his electrical enterprise to Seattle one year prior. They gathered investors and worked with the city for months to set up powerlines and light poles. Electricity was also intended to be used to power streetcars. Though it didn't come without local criticism. Apparently, locals said the generator should be located up the hill from Pioneer Square. That way, gravity would naturally send the electricity downhill, and therefore, it would not require any extra force to move it around town.

Edison's power plant would soon face competition as other organizations began constructing power plants on nearby rivers, notably at Snoqualmie Falls.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Here are the CEOs who were briefed by the White House on the war in Ukraine

President Biden met with a small group of CEOs from some of the biggest U.S. energy, food and manufacturing companies at the White House to talk about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They also discussed the need to "mitigate price increases on American consumers" and the need to address disruptions to energy and agricultural markets.

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