Business Comings: New Restaurant for Ridge, Winery for North Bend, a Growler Station & More

It’s been a busy summer so far for new businesses in the Snoqualmie Valley.  Mabel’s on the Ridge may have closed their doors, but a new restaurant is opening soon in its spot. Piccola Cellars is finally going to open its doors in North Bend after being delayed by almost three months.  Other business openings are nearing as well.  Here’s a recap of some recent Snoqualmie Valley business happenings.

Infusion Bar and Grill

Mabel’s on the Ridge announced it was closing on June 29, 2014, and the very next day new owners of Infusion Bar and Grill, Debbie Barrientes and Bille Sullivan, entered restaurant space with the big blue walls and went to work putting their own stamp on it.

The infamous blue walls are gone. New walls have been constructed.  The bar is being expanded.  TV’s now adorn every wall.  Concrete floors are being stained. The booths have been re-upholstered.

Lots of work has been done in a short period of time as Debbie and Billie prepare to introduce Snoqualmie Valley residents to Infusion Bar and Grill, which will serve American food and feature a sports bar.

Infusion had hoped for soft opening last week, but the remodeling work forced a postponement. Debbie, though, says they’re hoping for their soft opening at the end of this week.

For more info visit Infusion Bar and Grill Facebook page.

Piccola Cellars Ready to Open

Piccola Cellars is at last ready to open its doors inside the old North Bend Fire Station on 2nd Ave. Originally they had hoped to open in April, but those plans were delayed.

Currently Piccola Cellars is located in Woodinville. According to the owners, Woodinville is great and they will keep a satellite tasting room there, but they wanted to base the winery in an area closer to where employees and owners live and work – “a place where city residents and workers and visitors come and have a glass of wine after work and meet friends or just decompress.”

The old fire station has gotten a facelift with new exterior paint and the interior has been completely gutted and turned into an intimate, casual tasting room.

Piccola is most noted for its wine totes and, well, not bottling its wines.  Instead they focus on making quality wine in easy to tote and pour containers.

Piccola Cellars new wine tasting room will open right in time for the annual North Bend Block Party on Saturday, July 19, 2014 – and maybe even on Friday evening for a bit if construction goes well this week.

Regular tasting room hours will then be Tuesday – Friday, 4PM – 8PM and Saturday and Sunday 2PM – 6PM. For more information visit www.piccolawine.com.

The Growler Station

Have a favorite beer that isn’t bottled? A new craft beer “filling station” recently opened the Mountain Valley Shopping Center in North Bend (right next to Safeway) at 458 SW Mt. Si Blvd to help you bring that non-bottled, craft beer home.

Local owners use state of the art filling equipment to keep craft beer fresh longer.  They also feature hard cider and root beer.  Growler sizes run from 32 oz. to 1.5 gallons.

The Growler Station is open Tuesday – Sunday from 11AM – 8PM.  For more info visit The Growler Station’s Facebook page.

Ridge Pharmacy Opens Soon

Snoqualmie has been without a pharmacy for a year now, but that is about to change.

Signs recently went up for the new pharmacy that will be located inside the Snoqualmie Ridge IGA Supermarket. Ridge Pharmacy owner, Darren Augenstein, also operates SeattleMeds, a pharmacy located in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood.

Augenstein says he’s excited to bring a full-service, family pharmacy back to Snoqualmie, where many of his family members (including his parents) live.

Ridge Pharmacy hopes to be open by early August and is awaiting final paperwork formalities to be completed before the pharmacy can begin operations.

Store hours will be 9AM-7PM Monday-Friday and 10AM-2PM on Saturday.

Verizon Store Moving

It looks like the Verizon Store will be relocating from its current spot in the Mountain Valley Shopping Center to Borgen Plaza, right by Bartell Drugs and in the former Frankie’s Pizza location at the corner of Park Street and Main Ave. Frankie’s recently moved to a new spot in Borgen Plaza.

Borgen Plaza retail center received a big face lift after the opening of the North Bend Bartell Drugs in November 2013, when the backside of the building became exposed to street traffic. New siding and paint were added and street friendly back entrances were added to the remodeled retail spaces.

No word yet on exactly when Verizon will move.

North Bend Information Center Close to Completion

The new North Bend Information and Cultural Center at the corner of Bendigo Blvd and Park Street is almost finished. It was scheduled to open on June 26, 2014, but as is the case in construction, things have taken longer than expected.

According to Gina Estep, North Bend Director of Community and Economic Development, the Information and Cultural Center at the gateway to downtown North Bend is a collaborative partnership between the City of North Bend, the Downtown Foundation and a strong volunteer base.

The city is leasing the new building for five-years and helping fund the center with lodging tax revenues. The Downtown Foundation will also help cover staffing costs and grants are anticipated to help furnish the center and art gallery.