This week, Renee Erickson opens a swanky new bar inside the Amazon Spheres, East Trading Co. nears an opening on Capitol Hill, and The Saint says goodbye. Plus, learn about an upcoming wizard-themed pub (selling magic wands!), a new bagel place in Ballard, and more food news for your weekend. For more inspiration, check out our full food and drink calendar.

OPENINGS
Convivial Cafe
This new cafe, which opened recently in Mercer Island and had its first Yelp review on August 18, serves freshly baked pastries, desserts, cookies, cakes, artisan bread, and light meals, along with Elm Coffee Roasters, tea from Steven Smith Teamaker, and masala chai from Aditi Chai.
Mercer Island

Deep Dive
Deep Dive, Renee Erickson's highly anticipated new bar inside the Amazon Spheres, quietly opened for friends and family only inside the Amazon Spheres last week and opened to the public on August 28. Inspired by a Manhattan hotel bar, the bar features dark, moody decor with luxe metallic accents and a collection of curiosities on display. The standout of the menu is an extravagant take on the Seattle dog, with pickled jalapeños, red onions, whipped cream cheese, pink salmon caviar, and a frank made with grass-fed, hazelnut-smoked Moses Farm beef, all on a Ben's Bread seeded bun. Other bites include house-made potato chips with fennel and dill dip, beef carpaccio, gruyere gougeres, Parisian gnocchi, crab tartine, and salmon rillettes. Previously, Erickson opened a lunch eatery called Rana E Rospo and a location of her General Porpoise Doughnuts inside the Spheres, both exclusive to Amazon employees. The opening of Deep Dive will be followed by an Italian restaurant inside the Spheres called Willmott's Ghost, also open to the public and currently expected to open in October.
Downtown

East Trading Co.
This new restaurant from I-Miun Liu (owner of Oasis Tea Zone and Eastern Cafe) and Michael Chu (previously the bar manager of Ba Bar), who recently opened the Dynasty Room craft cocktail bar pop-up in the International District's iconic Four Seas Restaurant, is set to open in the former space of Sun Liquor Distillery sometime in the next week, tentatively by September 5. The new bar will serve Chinese zodiac-inspired cocktails infused with herbs and tea alongside Korean and Chinese appetizers and have a "1920s Shanghai apothecary feel, "selling small sundries like cigarettes, preserved plums, and Tiger Balm. Electric Coffin designed the decor.
Capitol Hill

Rhein Haus
As of August 27, Rhein Haus has officially opened their new outpost in Leavenworth, a fitting home for the Bavarian-style bier hall. The new spot will serve the same selection of German beer, pretzels, schnitzel, and sausage as its other locations and will seat over 300 guests with two levels, an upper deck, fire pits, and a full bar.
Leavenworth

Dingfelder's Delicatessen
This "old-world authentic" New York-style Jewish deli from Vance Dingfelder and Stephanie Hemsworth of Nourish Catering opened its walk-up window on Capitol Hill today, August 31. Sit-down service will follow in coming weeks.
Capitol Hill

CLOSURES
The Saint
The Capitol Hill bar, which recently rebranded as "The Saint Social Club" and switched its turquoise paint job out for a coat of hot pink, announced via their email newsletter that they are now closed after a decade of business, writing, "We leave the space in the hands of good people with a great idea, and we look forward to our own (very fun) future endeavors." Update: Joe Heffernan and Tom Siegel, owners of The Independent Pizzeria, have announced they will be opening a new restaurant in the space. The restaurant, called Dacha Diner, will be open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch and will feature Eastern European cuisine with "some Jewish fare," and the two owners will take turns cooking at Dacha and Independent Pizzeria. It's currently slated to open in November or December.
Capitol Hill

OTHER FOOD NEWS
Wizard-themed pub coming to Ballard
According to MyBallard, a wizard-themed pub owned by "wandmakers" Piscataqua & Balch will open in the former space of the vacant Flatiron Building in Ballard in 2019. The new space will serve cocktails and bites and carry wands for sale. In their marketing materials, Piscataqua & Balch say they are European wandmakers who have "synthesized [their] magics with native North American magics," which Eater Seattle notes "sounds suspiciously like white people lifting elements of American Indian mysticism for their own purposes."

Brian Clevenger pasta restaurant coming to Denny Regrade
Brian Clevenger, chef and owner of Vendemmia, Raccolto, Le Messe, and East Anchor Seafood, is planning to open a fast-casual pasta restaurant aimed at the downtown lunch crowd inside Insignia Towers in Denny Triangle this fall, called GH Pasta Co. (The GH is short for "General Harvest," the name of Clevenger's restaurant group.) Like Clevenger's other restaurants, the eatery will focus on his signature contemporary Italian blend of fresh pasta and local seasonal produce, but in a more casual format, with a rotating daily menu and a selection of beer and wine. The opening date has not yet been set.

Loxsmith Bagels planning to open brick-and-mortar location
Matthew Segal's new pop-up Loxsmith Bagels, which features 48-hour fermented and lye-boiled bagels and popped up in Capitol Hill's Montana each Saturday for the month of August, will open a permanent location in Ballard this spring, near the intersection of NW Ballard Way and NW Dock Place. The new space will feature a production kitchen for wholesale orders as well as a walk-up window with a few sidewalk tables, and the unconventional range of flavors will include Szechuan peppercorn, seaweed sesame, black pepper and salt, an everything version with fennel and caraway, roasted beet with nigella seeds, charcoal poppyseed, and onion.

Revel coming back to Fremont
Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang's restaurant Revel, which vacated its original Fremont location last winter and took up temporary residence in the former space of Vestal in South Lake Union to make way for a development, appears to be planning its return to Fremont in spring. The original location will reside in the retail corner of a three-story timber-framed building called "Cedar Speedster" from architects Weber Thompson, due to be completed by late spring 2019.

Kurt Timmermeister considering selling Kurt Farm Shop
According to an email to members of Seattle Made (part of Seattle Good Business Network), farmer and writer Kurt Timmermeister, who ran Capitol Hill's iconic Septieme before absconding to his farm Kurtwood Farm on Vashon Island, says he has considered selling Kurt Farm Shop, his ice cream shop tucked away in Chophouse Row on Capitol Hill, but adds that it is not an urgent priority: "I am always looking to the future and have considered selling the shop, although I am in no hurry at all." Following the announcement, Timmermeister told Capitol Hill Seattle, "I have had a great summer at the Farm Shop with such a long, hot summer that continues. Although I did mention it to someone, I have no plans to sell at this time. The neighborhood has become the center of ice cream for the city and I am loving being a part of it." Timmermeister also posted on Instagram that the shop recently got a shout-out on KUOW from journalist Amy Ettinger, author of Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America, who praised the shop as one of the three best ice cream makers in the country.

EVENTS
SATURDAY, AUGUST 31
2018 Korean BBQ Cook-Off
The Korean American Coalition of Washington will compete with teams from other states in a kimchi- and fried egg- filled Korean BBQ cook-off. Taste it all for yourself and decide on your favorite dish.

Cooking Demonstration with Author Hsiao-Ching Chou
Hsiao-Ching Chou, author of Chinese Soul Food, will demonstrate a recipe from her book with veggies from the Magnolia Farmers Market, and copies of her book will be available for purchase.

SUNDAY, SEPT 1
Cooking Demo with Author Cynthia Nims
Local author, chef, and teacher Cynthia Nims will demonstrate how to prepare her recipe for Green Goddess Crab Salad, using seasonal produce and other ingredients sourced from West Seattle Farmers Market. Signed copies of her book, Crab, will be available for purchase.

Sparklefest 2018
This third annual "magical wine festival" on Vashon Island revolving around sparkly, bubbly vintages promises a "plethora of froth and freshness" and tasty food.

SEPT 1-3
Bremerton Blackberry Festival
Stroll along the boardwalk sampling doughnuts, scones, pie, and lots more treats and drinks made just in time for peak blackberry season.

MONDAY, SEPT 2
Free Burgers For Labor Day
Snag free burgers from the Capitol Hill, Ballard, and White Center locations of Li'l Woody's.

TUESDAY, SEPT 3
Coindexter's First Anniversary Party
Geeked-out Greenwood bar Coindexter's will cap off its first full year of business with all-day happy hour prices, raffles for local prizes and swag, a pinball tournament, and an opportunity to dunk bar staff in a dunk tank. All proceeds benefit the Greenwood Senior Center.

The Mexican Wine-Off!
Taste Washington vintages from Aluel Cellars side-by-side with wines from the Mexican wine region the Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California.