The Bellevue Square Hallmark store has announced that it will close in June. The store is offering a sale from 20-75% off all the original prices (exclusions apply to greeting cards, Father’s Day & Graduation gifts).

Hallmark is located on the second leve of Bellevue Square within the Macy’s wing.

For those of you worried about being able to find greeting cards don’t fret, as there is still Papyrus & Moxie Paper Goods & Gifts.

Paula’s Hallmark Bellevue Square
260 Bellevue Square, Bellevue WA
(425) 451-4366

Ristorante Luciano has gone out of business at Bellevue Square on Bellevue Way, according to an article on eater.com.  The Italian restaurant will be replaced by the Spice Route Indian cuisine, which currently has a restaurant within Bellevue’s Crossroads area.

Ristorante Luciano owner, Luciano Bardinelli had owned and been involved with many Seattle restaurants over the years. The Bellevue Collection location was his last. According to the article, Bardinelli was quoted saying, “I owed a lot of money, but Mr. Freeman released me. And he gave me a going-away party. He paid for 60-70 people.”

There is not currently a projection on when Spice Route will open.

2 new cars have been added to the Downtown Bellevue Zipcar fleet.  The newest cars, ‘Atom’ and ‘Igor,’ are located at the 989 Elements apartment building.  Atom is an Audi A3 and Igor a Honda Insight Hybrid.

To celebrate the new cars, Zipcar will be hosting a launch event in the 989 Elements lobby May 22nd, 5 PM -8 PM.  The event promises to have food and beverages for visiting guests.

With the addition of these 2 cars, there are now a total  of 8 Zipcars in Downtown Bellevue. The cars are located in 3 locations: Skyline Tower parking garage, a surface lot across from The Bravern at NE 8th St. & 110th Ave., and now 989 Elements parking garage.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Zipcar and memberships, go to their website.

Kate Spade opened last Thursday at Bellevue Square.  The store is hard to miss, as it’s filled with bright colors and neon lights.  The women’s designer is best known for its luxury handbags, clothing, jewelry, shoes, and other accessories.

Even if you’re not interested in shopping at Kate Spade, the store is worth a visit, as its design is innovative and unique; even the gift boxes are tastefully stacked behind the cash register on the wall as if they were art.

In celebration of their grand opening the Bellevue Square store has a limited edition clear cosmetic case with “Bellevue” on the outside of it.

Located on the 1st floor across from the Microsoft Store, the store takes over what used to be the Movado store.  Since Movado left Bellevue Square, the space has been occupied by Oh Chocolate, an art gallery, and the Macy’s Holiday Store.

The Bellevue Square store is the 2nd Kate Spade in the greater Seattle area. Their other location opened in August at Pacific Place.

139 Bellevue Square
Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: 425.453.6245

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It has only been a few weeks since the Greek restaurant Orexi went out of business, but the landlord has wasted no time replacing the tenant.  Taking Orexi’s place is Araya’s Vegetarian Place, a Thai Vegan restaurant. It is their 2nd location in the area; their original location is in the University District on 45th Ave and has been open for 26 years.

Araya’s has been looking to expand in Bellevue for over a year. The reason they wanted to expand to Bellevue was due to many of their Seattle customers living on the Eastside. This is the 1st strictly vegan restaurant in Downtown Bellevue. To celebrate their grand opening, for the entire month of May they are offering a 10% off to customers.

The menu features many dishes with noodles, rice, and curry.  Many of these dishes often include some of their popular ingredients such as tofu, banana, pineapple, mushrooms, and more. One of their most popular items on the menu is the ‘Drunken Mushroom’ that features wide rice noodles stir-fried in garlic and chili, mixed in with a variety of flavorful mushrooms. The dish is famous because it was featured on Food Network!

During a trip to the restaurant this week, the staff was very attentive and friendly.

You can view their menu online at their website.

Araya’s Vegetarian Place
http://arayasplace.com/
31 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue WA 98004
425-453-1366

The wait is over. The Bellevue Square Top Pot Café opened on Friday of last week.  The first thing you’ll notice is the space is much smaller than the location at Washington Square.  Also, the interior of the space is unique and integrates elements of an Airstream travel trailer into their main counter where customers checkout. The glass case where doughnuts are displayed is built into the side of the Airstream frame, which gives the space a distinctive character.

This marks Top Pot’s 2nd store in Downtown Bellevue. The grand opening on Friday was celebrated by an in-store appearance by Fredy Montero of the Seattle Sounders FC.

Get ready, it’s Farmers Market season again.  The Bellevue Farmers Market starts up on Thursday, May 10th.  It’s the same days of the week and at the same locations as last year.

You can view a list of this year’s vendors on the Bellevue Farmers Market website.

- Locations -

Thursdays
3 – 7 PM
May 10 – October 11
First Presbyterian Church
1717 Bellevue Way NE
(The only pets allowed are service dogs at this location)

Saturdays
10 AM – 3 PM
June 2 – November 17
First Congregational Church
752 108th Ave NE
(This is a dog-friendly location)

Open for just under a year, Amazon Grill in Downtown Bellevue at 530 112th Ave NE has closed for business.  A piece of paper on the restaurant door states “Restaurant closed until further notice.” A peek inside the restaurant shows many of the lights still on, and all the furniture still in place.

The outside restaurant signage currently has a large “For Lease” banner hanging over it.

Amazon Grill specialized in traditional food from the Amazon River regions of Peru and Brazil.

I came across a post online that listed somebody’s wish list of the stores they wish were still around at Bellevue Square. This prompted me to create my own.  In no particular order, here is my list of the 10 stores that I wish would come back at Bellevue Square:

1. New Jake O’Shaughnessey’s – If you were looking to celebrate a special occasion in Bellevue, New Jake O’Shaughnessey’s was a popular choice.  The restaurant went out of business a long time ago and is now occupied by the Cheesecake Factory.
2. The Nintendo Store – Many long hours were spent playing Super Mario Brothers and several other games in the dimly lit store. It was located where Seven Salon currently occupies space.
3. Nordstrom Garden Terrace Restaurant – Nordstrom used to have a fine dining restaurant on the 3rd floor when they opened up their expanded store to the size it currently is today.
4. FAO Schwartz – It’s a small world after all…We’ll all miss the oversized stuffed animals. FAO Schwartz declared bankruptcy in 2009. The brand has since been purchased by Toys ‘R’ Us, which closed all stores expect for the flagship store in New York City.
5. Frederick & Nelson – It goes without saying that Frederick & Nelson is likely one of the most cherished department stores in the Seattle area that is no longer in businesses.  Luckily for Nordstrom, Freddy’s went out of business and Nordstrom now occupies enough space to make Bellevue the 2nd largest Nordstrom store in the country (the Flagship Seattle Store is 1st).
6. The Frankfurter – It’s hard to find a great hot dog in Bellevue without them.
7. Jungle Jim’s – Who could forget this burger joint that had the back of a pink Cadillac stuck into the front of it and a jungle theme inside?  Abercrombie has since replaced it.
8. K B Toys – Okay, maybe I don’t really care about this one coming back, but I just have great childhood memories buying Nerf toy guns from here.
9. Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream – The brand has seemed to successfully expand in international markets. I’m hopeful it will come back to Bellevue Square in the near future. The Baileys Irish Cream milkshakes were the best!
10. Schwartz Brothers Restaurant – This was one of the best (and quickest) restaurants at Bellevue Square, with a nice selection of high quality foods.  It was similar to how I now think of the Nordstrom Café that is the 3rd floor.

What are the stores you miss from Bellevue Square?

Goodwill is accepting donations in a temporary location in Downtown Bellevue at the old Cadillac dealership at NE 10th St & 106th Ave NE. The Goodwill truck will be collecting on Saturday’s & Sunday’s 9 AM – 5 PM. The truck is in the Diamond Parking lot east of Sherman Clay Pianos.

The drop off location will accept reusable clothing, household items and electronics.  The site is not able to accept larger items such as furniture or large appliances.

Previously there was a pickup location at the South Bellevue Park & Ride, but has been gone for the last couple years.

Downtown Bellevue Goodwill donation site:
10447 NE 10th St.
Bellevue, WA 98004