Sound Transit is kicking you up to the Brix Condominium building
at the north end of Broadway. When’s the move scheduled to
happen?
Right now our best guess is that we’ll be closing this location on
July 10, and opening at Brix on July 16. I’ll post a sign in the window
as soon as I know for sure. Sound Transit has been very flexible with
us, which is nice. I know a lot of our customers are sad that we’re
leaving this space, but I see it as a good thing. This area is public
domain and the city needs to be able to move forward.
How will the new location shock and awe loyal customers?
Well, Brix sold us the space we’re moving into, which means two
things: We’re there for good and we get to design the space from
scratch, like we did with Alley24 [the cafe across from REI]. It’s
going to be an absolute knockout store. We’re having Karen Eland, who
paints with espresso pigment, paint a 44-foot mural under the bar
depicting the 20-year history of Vivace on Broadway. We’re bringing
over all the marble we can from this location, as well as the
[monkey-sultan coffee] mural that was painted for us. I’ve always
wanted burnt yellow walls, and it works in the new space with our
roll-up front windows. Seating will spill out onto the sidewalk when
it’s warm.
Are you planning on hosting a 20th anniversary party?
We’re combining our anniversary party with our grand-opening party
in July. Our true anniversary, though, was April 19.
How did the drink Beautiful Stephanie [a tasty tea and milk drink
topped with cinnamon] get its name?
It was named after a gorgeous plus-sized model named Stephanie who
used to come in here and direct our baristas how to make it. It was a
special drink that only she ordered, so they named it after her.
