I sit at the window and catch a whiff of sizzling garlic. Across the room, a slender blonde is intently writing in her notebook. Everyone looks as if they've been coming here forever, and in a sense they have, since the GC has been on Capitol Hill for about 10 years--an impressive tenure in the volatile restaurant world.
This current cozy scene is such a different picture from the situation a couple of months back. Pedestrians passing the Green Cat could see nothing but a bolted door and darkened, dusty interiors. Signs bearing vague legalese were slapped on the door, and the place seemed at a total standstill. Everyone peered in curiously. Was it closed for good? What happened? What about the real estate?
Now, with everything more or less back to normal, the menu proudly announces that the Green Cat is "open under its original management." I talked with "current/former" owner Mark Edmison over coffee, and he explained what this means.
"Basically, I sold this place in March of 2001 [under a contract agreement]," he said. "The new owners... had never been in the restaurant business before--but they were really interested. They were a husband-and-wife team from Mercer Island, and they were pretty anxious to do it. So I trained them, and went on about my business," which is as a co-owner of Sapphire, a more upscale restaurant in Queen Anne.
But it wasn't long before the once-enthused new owners showed signs of serious struggle. As Edmison tells it, the place "had kind of lost its edge. Hours were squeezed back, [the new owners] quit making pastries, and they kept taking items off the menu." Most telling of all, the original Green Cat staff--employees hired under Edmison--were either fired or quit as the months progressed.
According to Edmison, financial problems ensued and business seemed shaky, so he stepped in and took back the reins, making up back-rent and paying delinquent accounts. With support from a loan and some trusted partners (including Paul Garber and Stephanie Speer--you'll find both of them working behind the counter--and local music promoter/booker David Meinert), Edmison regained control of the cafe in mid May, and immediately revamped the space. Under his careful watch, the Green Cat was soon reopened, with favorites back on the menu.
On a lunch mission last week, I sampled a few items from the Green Cat's robust vegetarian menu, which features eggs or tofu scramble, granola and fruit, smoothies and juices, salads and sandwiches, brown rice and veggies. I was surprised, I admit, to find everything appealing and delicious--even without meat. The penne special was enlivened with a bright confetti of mushrooms, roasted red pepper, garlic, fresh chopped herbs, and minced vegetables ($7.50), served with addicting garlic toast. My chunky tomato-tahini soup ($4/$6) was tangy and flavorful, thickened with a touch of cream, leaving that nutty, pleasant finish only tahini can produce. The special salad ($5/$6.75) was a verdant pile of spinach, clean and tender, with a citrus dressing and marinated tofu. Pablo's Potatoes ($5.50), a GC classic--rosemary-and-garlic-roasted potatoes with Tillamook cheddar, sour cream, and salsa--were the epitome of comfort food (and, by the way, a perfect hangover cure). Friends have complained in the past about slouchy service and mediocrity at the GC; but my lunch arrived quickly, the room was humming, Garber and Speer were happily running around, and it was hard to believe the place was ever in trouble at all.
Edmison was pleased to hear me say so. "It seemed like I wasn't going to get any partners," he said. "Like no one was going to be able to come up with the cash. But when things got to their worst, in the end, everyone came through. It was just meant to be."
Green Cat Cafe
1514 E Olive Way (Capitol Hill), 726-8756. Open daily 8 am-6 pm.
