Food & Drink

Capitol Hill Tea Cafe Closing After 11 Years

Soon Modern Steep's cafe will hit the lights for the last time, but you can still get its organic teas.

By Michael Rietmulder August 15, 2017

modern-steep-780

Capitol Hill’s bar and restaurant scene is an ever-evolving beast. One day, we get word a gay bar institution is moving, the next we get a sneak peek at a snazzy new brewpub.

But today we bear the not-so-happy news that a longstanding café is calling it quits. Modern Steep Tea Company is shutting down its café and retail shop at 15th Avenue East and Harrison Street. In a Facebook announcement, owners cite a handful of reasons for the closure, including slow winter sales (at least partially attributed to building construction), equipment failures and “landlord-related expenses.” Plus, more people are buying their tea (and just about everything) online these days, which is why Modern Steep will continue the online retail portion of its business.

“Plain and simple, it’s a different world,” the steepers write.

Good news is owners Christopher Glenn and Rich Irish will continue the online portion of the biz, keeping the pu’er party rolling in one form at least. The brick-and-mortar location will remain open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Aug. 26.

While the Modern Steep name came about during a rebranding earlier this year, the business’ Seattle roots run much deeper. The tea shop launched 11 years ago as Remedy Teas. Founders Anthony and Andrea Arnold sold the business back in 2014, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

Regardless, there will soon be one fewer place on the Hill to get sconed and sip organic tea-infused smoothies. And that, Seattle, is a bummer.

Read the full announcement below.

 

Follow Us

Seattle Restaurant Week Starts Sunday

Seattle Restaurant Week Starts Sunday

Get some great deals while supporting favorite establishments

For two weeks, you can eat your heart out in Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods during Seattle Restaurant Week. From April 14-27, prepare for exclusive, budget-friendly menus at over 200 restaurants throughout the city.

The Region's Best Mexican Food is in a Snohomish County Parking Lot 

The Region’s Best Mexican Food is in a Snohomish County Parking Lot 

Hidden Gems Weekend Market is again open for business

Among the 20 aisles of some 300 vendors selling everything from Native American beadwork to the classic flea market assortments of knickknacks and hardware, sits the Northwest's biggest and best assortment of regional Mexican cuisine, street foods, and snacks.

Tastes of Oaxaca

Tastes of Oaxaca

Alebrijes Oaxaca Kitchen food truck rolls into White Center 

Colorful strands of papel picado flutter above the new turquoise Alebrijes Oaxacan Kitchen food truck in White Center, as if flagging down bystanders to stop in for memelas, tlayudas, and masa-thickened mushroom soup.

Kitchen Conversations With J. Kenji López-Alt

Kitchen Conversations With J. Kenji López-Alt

The Seattle chef discusses online feedback, appropriation, and his goals as a noted food writer

Currently, he's juggling projects for his YouTube channel, working on a new cookbook aimed at everyday cooking, writing another children's book, and launching a podcast with Deb Perlman of Smitten Kitchen.