Nearly 3 years ago, several Main Street businesses were closed and relocated to make way for a condo tower at the corner of Bellevue Way and Main Street. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the project never started, leaving a vacant KFC and the boarded-up remnants of Main Street Florist, Postal Express, Toy’s Cafe, and others. What should be a charming highlight to Downtown Bellevue instead looked like a vacant urban failure.
Finally, merchants are being allowed to renovate and rent out these abandoned storefronts – and signs of life are coming back to all of Main Street.
First up: Work-Shop, which just opened last Saturday in time for The Taste of Main. At the farthest end of Main Street, this nationally renowed clothing designer, originally from Bellevue, is using this tiny space to sell her Jarbo line and workshop some new designs.
Next: Glassy Baby, who is taking over the former Sophisticated Swine space after their move to NE 8th. Glassy Baby opened in June and features the glass designs of a local glassblower. It’s a highly colorful shop and a great addition to Main Street.
The Yang Sheng Tang Green Health Center is now open, in the former Essex Presentation Center, tucked behind Main Street. This Chinese natural health center provides reflexology, tai chi lessons, Asian cosmetology, and healthy tea and snacks.
And there’s even more coming up. In the fall, in the former Main Street Barber Shop location, will be a locally owned gift shop. Come to Main Street and support these new, local merchants!
AWESOME! another FASHION BOUTIQUE STORE HERE 🙂
Denise- I’m really glad to see that they’ve started making some ground on these dumpy old shops that have been covered with newspaper for the last couple of years. It’s a shame to see this great real estate go to waste!
This is great! I have always thought the old downtown was a sweet little location, it’d be a shame if we lost it, I’m thrilled to see “new life”!
You should all know that kudos for some of the recent attention to the corner site (have you noticed they swept it, removed the semi trailers, etc). goes to Joseph Brazen, who brought this whole situation to a bright light for us here at the BDA. We then approached the City to see what could be done to clean things up (the property owner would not respond to our inquiries). Although the property owner won’t respond to us, they apparently have decided to lease out the empty buildings, and these new storefronts are indeed a great improvement. Now if we could just get all those 55-gallon drums moved out!
Green Health is a good way to keep your body healthy,”`
my dad is an expert in Tai-Chi and i am taking lessons from him this coming winter~*’
reflexology can really soothe those very stressed joints and muscles`:,
i love Green Health because i think this is the way that it should be’-`
i find tai-chi a bit harder to learn, but i am really interested in learning tai-chi-‘.
i wanted to study reflexology but i haven’t have the free time to dedicate on studying it ;