The Blocks North of the Junction Are Filling With Places to Make Things

At California and Bradford, a set of stairs climbs from the sidewalk to a converted house holding three small businesses, each with its own outside door. In September, the owner of the newest one said she was adding a handrail to the lower flight. Cindy Beaver explained in a West Seattle Blog comment thread that every entrance in the building involves stairs, so the handrail was the fix she could make.

That staircase leads to Delphinium Delicatessen and Goods. It's the first of several new businesses on the stretch of California Avenue SW between Bradford and the Alaska Junction core. The national chains this fall are landing at the corner of California and Alaska. The places opening a few blocks north are small and owner-run, and most of them ask you to do something once you're inside. You might build a loom, drop in to make a project, or pick up the one sandwich the deli made that day.

Up the stairs at Bradford

Delphinium sits at 3902 California SW, in a space West Seattle Blog reported was formerly West Seattle Tattoo. Beaver told West Seattle Blog in May that the shop is "an homage to a shop on Orcas Island that has since closed (the owners retired) called Roses." Her plan was bread from Seawolf in Fremont and Wallingford, wine, cheese, charcuterie, kitchen goods, and a sandwich and soup of the day, with a vegetarian option always available. She also said she aimed to carry "items that aren't readily available at Met Mkt, as well as some staples," with West Seattle goods on the shelves alongside national and international products.

The opening took longer than first planned. In May, Beaver hoped to open before the end of June. By mid-September she had set Friday, September 25, as the official date, pending an inspection. On September 26, a reader posted under that article about a sandwich bought there, and the shop's own site lists the address and Tuesday through Sunday hours. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the shop is closed Mondays.

The same comment thread asked what "deli" means here, and readers settled on a working answer. This is a specialty food shop with one daily sandwich and one daily soup.

Two craft studios on the same stretch

Head south about five blocks and CraftLab Seattle sits at 4411 California SW. Proprietor Laura Duris and her family cut the ribbon on Saturday, October 3, with free crafting during the open house, according to West Seattle Blog's coverage of the grand opening.

CraftLab began in a West Seattle home. Duris and Kathleen Sande founded it in 2022 as a mobile crafting service, after Duris left a 25-year career in architecture. West Seattle Blog reported in May that the company runs in about 12 to 15 afterschool programs around Seattle. For the storefront, Duris planned two to three workshops a week, year-round, for adults, kids and families. Her ideas included a weaving class where you build your own loom, jelly printing, linoleum printing, and a leather wallet class using scraps she picked up at Seattle's Zero Landfill event. Materials come secondhand "as much as possible," and she planned community garage sales in the space to raise money for the afterschool programs.

A little over a hundred address numbers south, The Works Seattle is building out 4540 California SW. That storefront previously held Click! and then Seattle E-Bike. Owner Kellie Phelan lives in West Seattle and founded The Works in 2018. It started in her kitchen and grew into a Fremont studio serving more than 5,000 students a year. In West Seattle, Phelan told West Seattle Blog, she plans workshops in printmaking, natural dyeing, embroidery, floral arranging and stained glass. She's also adding a drop-in Maker Bar where you "pick a project, and leave with something you're actually proud of, all for under $50 bucks."

Phelan's explanation for the move is the clearest statement of what this stretch offers a small business:

Our current Fremont studio is tucked away on a lower level with an alley entrance. You can find it if you know where to look, but you don't stumble across it. Alaska Junction puts us on the main drag. What if people could just walk by and see us?

The May report gave a fall target. The business's own site now says it's aiming to open the new studio in November 2026, with no exact day set. The Maker Bar, the larger retail section and set open hours are all new compared with what The Works offers in Fremont. Those hours weren't finalized as of the May report.

The stretch, north to south, as of October 11

Meanwhile, the chains took the corner

At California and Alaska, the arrivals look different. Starbird, a chicken chain, opened at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW on September 28. The next week, Dave's Hot Chicken put up its sign in the former Haymaker space at California and Alaska. West Seattle Blog reported a planned opening of November 12. Tea chain Gong Cha is set for the same space, with no opening date announced. Anchorhead Coffee is taking the former Starbucks spot.

Together, these openings fill storefronts at the center of the Junction that had sat empty. They also show how the two zones work. Brands people already know take the high-visibility corner. Businesses that need people to see them and walk in are taking the slightly quieter blocks north, where rents and spaces fit a studio or a single-owner shop. The rent comparison is an inference; none of the owners described their lease terms. What Phelan did say on the record is that walk-by visibility was the point.

Bagels arrive in May

The 4448 California SW building was described as almost done in September, when Andrew Rubinstein, owner of Hey Bagel in University Village, signed a lease for a ground-floor spot. He told West Seattle Blog the shop would be "just north of the Alaska Junction" and that he expected to open in May. He didn't give a year, but since he announced it in September 2026, that most likely means May 2027.

Hey Bagel is the second bagel shop announced for West Seattle this year. The first, Royal Bagel, is planned for 6045 California Ave SW in Morgan Junction. West Seattle Blog's May report gave its target as "late this year." If Hey Bagel opens on schedule, the north end of California gets a morning stop next spring on the same block as CraftLab.

Before you walk it this month

Delphinium is the easiest stop to plan for. It's open Tuesday through Sunday, and you reach it up the stairs from California and Bradford. Some parking appears to be available behind the building, according to a reader in that comment thread. CraftLab's regular class schedule wasn't published in the coverage of its opening, so check CraftLab Seattle's site before you go. The Works is still under construction at 4540.

If you'd like to add a seasonal stop, Camp Long at 5200 35th SW hosts Trail or Treat on Saturday, October 24, from 3:30 to 7 p.m., per the West Seattle Blog event listing. By the time Dave's Hot Chicken's planned November 12 date comes around, The Works may have its doors open too. Then both kinds of new opening will be operating on the same few blocks of California.

Storefronts like 3902 and 4540 tend to change hands quietly, and Mara has watched this stretch of California for more than two decades. If you own a home near these blocks and want to understand how new businesses on your walk factor into a future sale, Mara Haveson can talk it through with you. Schedule a Consultation.