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Blackwater Cafe to close in March 2009
 by Jake on 11/26/2008 @ 9:22pm |
The Blackwater Cafe building will be available for lease in March 2009. Which means Blackwater could be closing. Who is going to save it? |
 by jcbetty on 11/26/2008 @ 9:36pm | suckage. Totally. --Or, will the building change ownership, and the tenancy can remain, which is to the advantage of the owners? |
by Jake on 11/26/2008 @ 9:43pm | I don't have a lot of details other than the building is available for lease in March 2009. So it could be the owners of Blackwater didn't want to extend their lease. I am sure it could be possible for someone to buy the business, renew the lease and continue the coffee shop. |
 by ensie on 11/26/2008 @ 10:40pm | Massive suck. They have great coffee and a really nice atmosphere. I wonder if the opening (and extreme popularity) of Satellite put the hurt on them? |
 by Brooks on 11/26/2008 @ 10:55pm | Is the entire building for lease, or just the coffee shop space? The Blackwater isn't the only tenant -- there is some sort of art studio in the back. Not sure if anything is on the ground floor.
If it is true, it will definitely be a loss to downtown. The Satellite makes a good cup of coffee, but they charge more than the Black Water and the space is not conducive to conversation. |
by Jake on 11/26/2008 @ 11:23pm | The space coming up for lease is the coffee shop section of the building. It is possible that Blackwater is moving to a new location. |
 by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 11/27/2008 @ 12:34am | I can only hope they move down to St. Helens. I know One Heart is supposed to be moving in to the old Mocha Mountain location but the move seems to be going in fits and starts. I guess there is a lot of refurbishing to do with the space. Good news for St. Helens, the loss of the Blackwater is not good news. |
 by DumpsterDivingDiva on 11/27/2008 @ 8:18am | We need a coffee place on the Commerce Street level of Sanford and Son Antiques.
It's right across the Link. That would be FAB! |
 by Erik on 11/27/2008 @ 9:14am | The space coming up for lease is the coffee shop section of the building. It is possible that Blackwater is moving to a new location.
Let's hope they move to a nearby location or simply end up renewing their lease. Blackwater is currently functioning as one of Tacoma's central hubs of civic and artistic life. Plus, Blackwater Cafe is the flagship of Tacoma's coffee scene. Only Satellite can come close to their coffee but with the small fraction of the space. Here's a few Blackwater moments: 
Here's my Blackwater coffee photo set: www.flickr.com/photos/tacoma-urbanist/se... SAVE BLACKWATER COFFEE!!!!1! |
 by FunkomaVintage on 11/27/2008 @ 11:10am | uh, yes, we need really good coffee within one block from funkoma vintage.....tapping fingers.....waiting.....I'm sorry, but I can only abandon the shop for 1 minute to get local coffee......we buy about 30 cups a week.....and we really don't like Tully's ..... |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 11/28/2008 @ 10:23am | One Heart Cafe should be opening on the 700 block of St. Helens at some point. Don't know how well that works for Funkoma Vintage, but it will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. |
 by fredo on 11/30/2008 @ 6:58am | I don't know the reasons for the Blackwater closure, but today's economy is very problematic and restaurants seem to be getting the worst of it. What we need is a "bailout" for small businesses, screw Citigroup. |
by Brooks on 12/1/2008 @ 11:08am | The gang from Exit 133 posted a small piece about this earlier today. The Blackwater is not closing. Article here. |
 by morgan on 12/1/2008 @ 11:53am | Thanks Brooks-
Hmmm... that one didn't come through the Feed, did it? |
by Jake on 12/1/2008 @ 11:56am | So it sounds like they will be moving (NOT closing). Anyone think they are going to move to the One Heart Cafe location? |
by Erik on 12/1/2008 @ 1:33pm | The gang from Exit 133 posted a small piece about this earlier today. The Blackwater is not closing
That's good to hear. To Jake's credit though when he started this thread, he simply stated that the lease would come up and used the word "could." |
by Jake on 12/1/2008 @ 1:43pm | "1250 sq. foot. Currently a coffee shop. Available March 2009. Industrial deco building with roll-up windows, charming! ADA compliant bathroom, one office. Highly visible on Fawcett Avenue. Four dedicated parking spaces, street parking also available. 747 South Fawcett Avenue "
That is what I went off of. |
 by izenmania on 12/1/2008 @ 3:43pm | Well, "big changes" (as mentioned in the 133 post) could easily be "moving". |
by morgan on 12/1/2008 @ 4:02pm | It sounds like Rachel has a plan. I would hate to think of there being no Blackwater!
Jake: link? |
by Jake on 12/1/2008 @ 5:06pm | seattle.craigslist.org/tac/off/935678908... |
by morgan on 12/1/2008 @ 8:40pm | Jake: thanks! |
 by NineInchNachos on 12/1/2008 @ 8:46pm | what's the deal with the 'ajax electric' painted on the back of the blackwater? |
by Erik on 12/1/2008 @ 8:51pm | what's the deal with the 'ajax electric' painted on the back of the blackwater?
I think that's the historical reference. BW might benefit from having signage at the back of the building though. |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/1/2008 @ 9:29pm | Ajax Electric, Small Appliance Repair was located where Blackwater is today. Back in the old days you could buy small home appliances that could actually be repaired and have parts replaced. When it was open they actually repaired a number of kitchen appliances for me at very reasonable rates. Today you buy an iron or a blender and you'll never be able to get it repaired for the money it costs to replace it. |
by NineInchNachos on 12/1/2008 @ 9:42pm | cool memory. Thanks Crenshaw! |
 by Dave_L on 12/1/2008 @ 9:50pm | Thanks, I totally forgot that's where Ajax was! Yeah, Ajax was THE place. Even my mother had taken kitchen appliances there for years. Recently it took me forever to even figure out how to take a modern plastic iron apart. They intentionally hide the fasteners these days. At least we still have those places on G St. by Lincoln for parts and friendly free advice. But I digress... |
by morgan on 12/1/2008 @ 10:51pm | A number of years ago, I got a replacement glass blender jar for my mom after I dropped hers. Sometimes it feels wierd going there to drink coffee. Just as it does drinking a glass of wine at Maxwell's- where I used to get my hair cut! |
by NineInchNachos on 12/1/2008 @ 10:59pm | phantom limb |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/1/2008 @ 11:52pm | Next door to Ajax was the Maefair Apartments (721 Fawcett) until the Hamilton's Candy factory in the basement of the building caught fire and burned the building down. One Tacoma's most tragic fires. 19 people died in the blaze. A young Richard Brautigan lived there for a while, before the fire, with his mother.
Ajax was one of those Tacoma institutions that I wished would go on forever, not unlike the still operating Tacoma Rubber Stamp and the defunct Stationers which was located in the old Trib building on St. Helens. |
by NineInchNachos on 12/1/2008 @ 11:56pm | Tacoma Rubber Stamp... now they have quality products! |
by Brooks on 12/2/2008 @ 11:14am | For more information on Brautigan's time in Tacoma, see www.brautigan.net/chronology3040.html. Even though he left 60 years before the Blackwater came to be and that he lived here during a very different time (see his short story about talking place in a support the WW II troops paper drive, it can be found in Revenge of the Lawn), I've long thought it appropriate that he lived on the same street as the Blackwater. |
by morgan on 12/2/2008 @ 12:19pm | Brooks: interesting link, I hadn't seen that before.
Anyone have a copy of that January 1969 Rolling Stone with "The Ghost Children of Tacoma" in it? |
by Dave_L on 12/2/2008 @ 12:43pm | Thanks, Crenshaw, I just read-up on the Maefair. Interesting and very tragic. |
by Brooks on 12/2/2008 @ 12:52pm | Morgan: If you just want to read the story, it is in Revenge of the Lawn which Powell's has for $6. A fair number of the short pieces in there are about his Tacoma years.
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 by Nick on 12/2/2008 @ 4:04pm | I have to admit, if I owned Blackwater and my lease was up in march, I'd be gunning for One Heart's old location.
It's a much more visible space, meaning more casual walk-in customers, it's not so far away that losing existing customers would be a problem, it's right next to the Grand (more foot traffic), AND it is surrounded by denser residential blocks. Depending on the lease rate, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. We'll have to see if that is what was meant by "big changes" ... |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/2/2008 @ 4:30pm | The house that Richard Brautigan was born into still stands, it is located at 813 E. 65th St., the last time I saw it part of it was covered with a blue tarp. Not sure if the house will be standing much longer. Tacoma would be a good place to host a Richard Brautigan festival, probably on the street where the Black Water is and where the Maefair once stood. |
by Erik on 2/27/2009 @ 1:06pm | Blackwater Cafe is moving. They will close on February 28th and will reopen on 743 St. Helens in downtown Tacoma on March 6th.
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