SEATTLE INSIDER

Friday, October 16, 2026

I haven't exactly had the Seattle week I was hoping for.

I've been home under the weather, which is particularly frustrating when October is putting on such a good show outside.

Last week I told you about a perfect fall afternoon spent photographing Volunteer Park, Washington Park, and Pioneer Square. This week has looked a lot different.

But staying put gave me time to think about something I care about a lot: the people who make our neighborhoods worth living in.

Not the homes. The people. The owners who pour their time, energy, and resources into creating a room where neighbors actually want to gather.

Some of them are just getting started. Some have been at it for more than three decades.

I have one of each for you this week.

Let's get into it.

ON MY RADAR

The new cafe inside a church

There's a new cafe in northeast Seattle that I've been excited to tell you about.

It's called Cafe Blameless, and I finally had the chance to visit yesterday. I was genuinely impressed by the concept and had the opportunity to meet Sam and Jeff, the people behind it. They couldn't have been kinder.

This is exactly why I started Seattle Insider. I love discovering the people and places that make our neighborhoods special, and I love being able to share their stories with you.

It's called Cafe Blameless, at 5751 33rd Avenue NE, and it soft-opened in late September. The unusual part: it operates inside an existing church building. The cafe itself is an independent business, not a religious one. It shares the building with the congregation and describes itself as a gathering place for the whole neighborhood. A third place, in their words. Somewhere to meet neighbors, work, and spend time that isn't home and isn't the office.

I find this genuinely interesting, and not just because I like coffee.

I spend my working life thinking about buildings and what they do for the blocks around them. Most of the time, creating a new gathering place means new construction. Here, a building that already anchors its street is simply being used more. That's adaptive reuse at the most human scale, and I'd love to see more of it.

They're running soft-open hours for now, Wednesday through Sunday.

​Cafe Blameless​

ONE TABLE

The football-sized calzone and the family behind it

This one is personal.

My friend Kosta Varlamos is one of the people I had in mind when I was thinking about what holds a neighborhood together. His family's restaurant, Varlamos Pizzeria, has been serving the neighborhood near University Village and Laurelhurst since 1994.

Thirty-two years. Same family, same neighborhood.

I've known Kosta for years. He's been incredibly kind to my family and me, and he's exactly the kind of person you hope is behind the places you love. The menu runs deep, but the detail I love is the calzones. They are the size of a football. Order one, plan your afternoon around it, and thank me later.

A new cafe takes a leap of faith. Staying open for three decades takes something else: showing up every day until the restaurant stops being a business in the neighborhood and becomes part of it.

Varlamos crossed that line a long time ago.

Varlamos Pizzeria 3617 NE 45th Street, Seattle

​Varlamos Pizzeria​
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​Places like these two are exactly what I'm documenting, neighborhood by neighborhood, in our Seattle and Eastside Neighborhood Guides.

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MARKET FROM THE STREET

Fewer condos for sale is not the same as more condos selling

Two weeks ago I showed you the condo overhang shrinking and said one week isn't a trend. Last week it snapped back. This morning, Seattle condos sit at 8.9 months of supply, a touch under last Friday's 9.0.

Call it flat. The more interesting part is underneath: there are fewer condos for sale than there were a week ago, while completed sales barely moved. The numbers don't say why; homes may have gone pending or simply come off for the season.

Read it both ways. If you're condo shopping, your leverage is intact, but your selection is thinning. If you're thinking about selling next spring, the field you'd compete against got a little smaller. That's an observation, not a forecast.

Houses remain a different story, at 3.9 months of supply and still moving quickly. One of the homes I'd shortlisted for this very issue went pending six days after it hit the market.
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​Source: NWMLS listing data via Tideline, pulled the morning of October 16, 2026. Seattle condominium and single family closings from September 16 through October 16, and active listings as of the pull. Months of supply is active listings divided by the trailing 30 day closing pace.
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​HOMES WORTH WALKING THROUGH

Three very different answers to the same question this week: a storybook cottage in Laurelhurst, a true loft in South Lake Union, and my newest listing in Bellevue.
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Laurelhurst

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THE HODGSON COTTAGE

​3938 NE Belvoir Place, Laurelhurst $1,895,000 | 4 bed | 3.5 bath | 3,190 sq ft | Built 1933 | MLS 2589187

An English cottage on one of Laurelhurst's storybook streets, designed by English-born architect Henry Harold Hodgson per the listing. Whitewashed brick, leaded windows, a timbered living room with a balcony overlooking it, and Laurelhurst Beach Club access. It also sits in the same corner of the city as Varlamos, which feels right this week.

Listing courtesy of Jeri Smith, Windermere Real Estate Co.

South Lake Union

THE VEER LOFT

​401 9th Avenue N #616, South Lake Union $499,000 | 1 bed | 1.5 bath | 911 sq ft | Built 2009 | MLS 2555395

A genuine two-story loft, and this is one: a top-floor, two-story space with 18 foot ceilings, polished concrete floors, and oversized windows. A balcony off the main level, a secluded patio off the second. For under half a million, it's a whole architectural experience, not just an address.

Listing courtesy of Jennica Lynn, Real Broker LLC.
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Bellevue

THE DEVONSHIRE

​1796 Bellevue Way NE #11, Bellevue $2,295,000 | 3 bed | 3 bath | 2,322 sq ft | Built 1987 | MLS 2587128

This one is mine. What makes it interesting is the combination, because each piece is common and the set is not: true single level living, a gated community, real privacy, and downtown Bellevue a short drive down Bellevue Way. The owners remodeled with unusual care, down to a butler's pantry they designed themselves and a climate-controlled wine cellar that sits behind the dining table.

Listed by me, Jeff Reynolds, Compass.

IF I WERE HOME THIS WEEKEND

Here's how I'd play it.

FRIDAY NIGHT | HUSKIES AT PURDUE

Washington plays at Purdue tonight at 5 p.m. Pacific on FOX.

A Friday road game is the flu recoverer's dream: couch, blanket, Dawgs. If you're healthy, consider it a free pass to keep Saturday wide open.

​UW game information​
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Last Friday, I got to take my daughter to her first Husky football game. It's something I've dreamed about doing for years, and watching her enjoy the experience made it even better. One of those moments I'll remember for a long time.

SATURDAY | GLASS AT THE MARKET

Refract, Seattle's citywide glass art festival, lands at Pike Place Market on Saturday. Artistry in Glass runs 11 to 4 at the MarketFront Pavilion, with Market glass artists working live: torchwork, one-of-a-kind miniatures, and a sculpture the crowd gets to help with. Kids can pick the colors and stamps on pieces made on the spot.

Watching something get made beats looking at it behind a rope, every time.

​Refract: Artistry in Glass at Pike Place Market​

SUNDAY | BENAROYA HALL, DOORS OPEN

Benaroya Hall is throwing a free open house on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., a first full look at its newly renovated public spaces. Performances all day, an Arte Noir exhibition opening, a National Geographic Live talk, and none of it needs a ticket.

The one exception: at 4 p.m., the full Seattle Symphony plays a free concert with members of The Head and The Heart. Tickets for that performance are handed out in person starting at 9 a.m., two per person, while supplies last. If the finale is your reason for going, go early.

​Benaroya Hall Open House​

HELP ME BUILD THE INSIDER LIST

This week got me thinking about the places we'd miss most.

What's one neighborhood business you hope is still here 20 years from now?

It could be a coffee shop, a restaurant, a bookstore, or somewhere that has quietly become part of your routine. I'm building a list of the places that make our neighborhoods special, and I'd love to know which ones matter most to you.

Hit reply and give me one.

Talk soon,

Jeff
Compass | @jeffreynoldsseattle

QUICK LINKS

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