Three Snoqualmie businesses closed their doors this week.
The biggest surprise to many residents was when Ana’s Mexican Restaurant owner Anna Sotelo unexpectedly announced via the restaurant’s Facebook page that she’d made the decision to close.
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To many community members the restaurant is considered to be a Ridge pioneer business, having just celebrated its 12-year anniversary at the corner of Kinsey Street and Center Blvd. It was the first and only business to occupy the corner spot and was a favorite of many residents.
Anna has been actively involved in the community – including supporting numerous fundraisers and school organizations – since relocating her family to Snoqualmie to open the restaurant in 2007. Prior to that Ana’s had been located on Mercer Island.
The Facebook post read: “I feel so fortunate to have been a part of your families and the Snoqualmie Valley Community. I have enjoyed watching your children and our community grow, contributing to our schools and our community, and serving you these past 12 years. However, after much reflection, I feel it is time for me to move on, focus on my own family, and turn my attention towards new projects. For these reasons, I have decided it is time for Ana’s Mexican Restaurant to close.”
Ana’s was the longest tenured, one-owner restaurant in the Snoqualmie Ridge retail area, where high rent is often blamed for business turnover and ownership changes. Anna received hundreds of supportive comments from well wishers for her efforts and contributions to the community over the years.
Just up the street, Ming’s Garden – located near the original Starbucks on Snoqualmie Ridge – also announced with a sign on the door that they would close at the end of March.
And in downtown Snoqualmie, Bella Vita Salon also closed. Bella Vita has been a longtime business in historic Snoqualmie, originally operating out of the Carousel Gift Shop space on Railroad Ave before relocating to Falls Ave.
But its stylists are staying local and moving to new salons around the Valley. According to their latest Facebook post, two of the Bella Vita stylists are now moving the salon inside Mirror Mirror in North Bend at 213 Bendigo Blvd.
Shelby’s Salon at the corner of Railroad Ave and Park Street also closed its doors in late February due to retirement.
For those wanting to grab some Ana’s food, it was announced that Happy At the Bay (7328 Better Way SE) is selling their Famous Salsa, Coco Picoso Sauce, and the rice and beans which are frozen and ready for the oven.
Comments
Well at least we will have a bigger winery and no parking downtown.
Well planned city of Snoqualmie and Matt Larson
Poor Planning of the Ridge as well as downtown corridor that will soon have no parking but will at least have a bigger place to drink wine.
Who would have thunk it? Businesses have a hard time thriving in Snoqualmie. Thus the revolving doors for business. — No parking in downtown will soon enough effect those businesses as well.
Who would have thunk it? Businesses have a hard time thriving in Snoqualmie. Thus the revolving doors for business. –
The original original Bella Vita was actually started by Jolene Everett Kelly and in the location behind the Snoqualmie Candy factory, before she, and her aunt Marie Everett and Angie Riley outgrew that location and moved to the corner on Falls Ave.
At the last city council meeting the “snarky” Sean Sundwall went on and on about the new downtown park and his ideas of how to get people to stay in Snoqualmie after visiting the falls. He was however oblivious to the homeless living in the flood plain houses and the need for more soccer fields.
The last thing I want is to see a downtown like Leavenworth with drunk tourists and xmas gift shops. I have only gone downtown once in the last year and find it far easier and more enjoyable to just drive the 10 minutes into Issaquah.
BTW 1/3 of the city budget came from development and now that Div II is finished that goes away so I wonder how they will pay for city services going forward? We won’t need the huge planning dept any longer with all of the no growth advocates