A few weeks ago, on one of my many drives past the corner of
Rainier Ave South and South Henderson Street, I recalled a failed effort two
years previously to draw in a name brand business. The grocery store located in
the strip mall had gone out of business, and there was a call on the NextDoor blog
site to come help make a video to send to the Trader Joe’s home office.
The hope was to attract the corporation’s attention and
bring in one of their stores. Over one hundred of us showed up at the abandoned
grocery store. We came with banners, I along with many others clutching my TJ’s
grocery bags. Many were interviewed for the video, and we all chanted: We want Trader Joe’s. The cheerleaders
from Rainier High School across the street represented the younger generation,
and added some glitz and pizazz to the event. We were on fire!
Nothing came of our effort.
A Dollar Tree Store, a gym, and small businesses moved in –
the strip mall remained faceless and dull.
That same day I drove on Othello past MLK, crossed over the
light rail line, just a few blocks from my home. This is a road I have
travelled countless times, and I mused on the four restaurants on that corner
that have come and gone since I had moved in ten years ago. There seemed to be
no long-term traction with businesses in the area.
And I asked myself: why is it that the big names don’t come
to poor and not always safe neighborhoods like this? It seemed to me that if
Trader Joe’s were to move in, they would have a profitable business – and they
would raise the quality of the neighborhood immensely.
And what about restaurants? How would it be to have a Tom
Douglas restaurant move into the Othello Station building? Why would that be
such a big stretch? He has his ardent followers – which include me, and many
others who live in this neighborhood – and we would come out in droves to
support a venture like his. And, most importantly, with one or two big names in
the area, it would pave the way for other lesser-known restaurants, ethnic
restaurants, because the big names would bring in the “chic-ness” and the
traffic would follow because more people would be drawn to the area.
This would be a risk, true, for the big names, but really,
they are doing so well already – in the chic parts of town. Tom Douglas has sixteen
restaurants in the Seattle area – all
of them in upscale neighborhoods. Could he not step into and help restore the
more downtrodden areas of the city?
These ideas
percolated in my head for several days, and then this past weekend I walked
three blocks to the “Othello-Bration,” a gathering of different neighborhood
groups and entertainers.
I spoke to a spokesperson
for HomeSight a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create strong
equitable communities. They are the developers of the Othello-MLK corner lot
where the celebration was being held. I chatted with the spokesperson about
wanting a big-name Tom Douglas restaurant to go in there – he said he was in
contact with the Monsoon restaurant owner about just that. We had a good laugh!
He shared that Columbia City was a scary place a dozen years ago – unsafe and with
nothing much there. La Medusa, a very popular and well-respected restaurant was
an early settler. Now that historic landmark neighborhood is thriving. I felt
encouraged -- there is hope for the Othello
neighborhood!
I also spoke to an
Assistant Principal of the Rainier Leadership Academy a Green Dot Charter
School. They are housed in temporary huts on the Othello- MLK lot and their
students are flourishing. A permanent structure for the school is breaking
ground in the next year.
I went inside a converted
shipping container, which housed the community organization called Beet Box. This
group of volunteers created a world herb garden, and they provide all kinds of
gardening tips and materials. They also host gatherings such as book swaps and
free barbeques.
Across the street,
the SEEDArts group hosted a booth. This is another nonprofit whose byline is The Power of Art in Building Community. The
organization supports an arts center, a loft for artists, a radio station, and
they just funded the creation of a gorgeous mural on the side of the Othello
Safeway store.
I am glad to have
seen the upside of my neighborhood after being exposed to some of its underbelly
– the sirens wailing several times a day – and through the night, the random gunshots,
the unkempt figures muttering and swearing as they plod up the hill past my
home, the cars revving and blaring expletive hip-hop, the bands of young men
hanging about, heads bent together, pants hanging off their butts. Their
piercing looks as I drive by send a frisson of fear into my gut.
Despite the underbelly, our community is out and about. I
love to walk and jog and greet my neighbors along the Chief Sealth trail. I
take my grandchildren to the park down the block from my townhouse and chat
with other families. In the height of summer, my granddaughter frolics in the
sprinklers at John C Little Park and in the wading pool at the Van Esselt Park.
I love having a library branch a block away, and there are many, many community
functions, block parties, and potlucks.
I believe my neighborhood is in transition, and I want it to
flourish. I am grateful for all the good work that has been done to date, and
which continues to improve our community.
There is more to be done.
I call on Tom Douglas, the leaders of Trader Joe’s, and
other upscale businesses to take a risk. I challenge them to do their part to
help make the Othello/ Rainier Valley neighborhoods flourish.
Rest assured that you will find support here.
What have you got to lose?
Right with you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth!
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