One year, a Wallingford writer filled an entire advent calendar with finds from Hawai'i General Store. In her essay for Wallyhood, she describes how graduation leis, birthday gifts and last-minute Christmas shopping there turned into traditions. She also recalls one of her first visits, when the woman behind the counter took her toddler by the hand and showed him around the shop.
She was writing because the store is closing.
None of those errands needed an appointment. That's what makes this autumn on N 45th Street worth a closer look. The two long-running businesses leaving the corridor before December are drop-in places. You browse, you eat, you chat with whoever is at the counter. Most of what's arriving is a different kind of business, one you book in advance, on a schedule, with indoor-only shoes.
Two last days, six days apart
Here is the calendar for the end of November.
Hawai'i General Store, 258 NE 45th St. Gail Stringer opened the shop in 1998 to bring the aloha she grew up with in Hawai'i to the Pacific Northwest. FOX 13 reports that the last day is November 23. Wallyhood's announcement just says "the end of November." The date isn't completely fixed, either. Stringer told FOX 13 she hopes a new owner will buy the business and keep it open. If you have errands there, plan around the 23rd and treat anything later as a bonus.
The shop sells fresh leis, island snacks, aloha shirts, books, art, music and gifts. It's also known for its pineapple Dole Whip and for Duke, the shop dog. Holiday shopping there this year has a hard stop before Thanksgiving weekend ends.
Pam's Caribbean Kitchen, 1715 N 45th St. Pam Jacob's Trinidadian restaurant, known for jerk chicken and curries, closes permanently on November 29. "This restaurant is my life, it's my bread," Jacob told FOX 13. She's asking customers to come in before the end of November, and she hopes to keep cooking through catering later. No farewell event has been announced, so the plan is simple: go to dinner. No successor has been named for either space.
What's moving in, and what it asks of you
Two new businesses have recently opened or are about to open on the same stretch.
| Address | Business | Status | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 258 NE 45th St | Hawai'i General Store | Closing Nov. 23 unless a buyer steps in | Walk in, browse, get a Dole Whip |
| 1715 N 45th St | Pam's Caribbean Kitchen | Closing Nov. 29 | Walk in, eat |
| 2205 N 45th St, at Bagley | Jazzercise | Open since late summer | Sign up for a class |
| 1905 N 45th St, beside Cedarhouse Flowers | Coeur Pilates | Target opening Nov. 9 | Join the waitlist, book small-group reformer classes |
| 2301 N 45th St, at Corliss | Max's Burgers | Under construction | Walk in, eat, play pinball |
Jazzercise took over a former occupational therapy clinic at the corner of Bagley, with a target opening date of August 31. Wallyhood visited and found owner and instructor Amy Williams-Derry teaching about 20 people in a class called Power Sculpt 60. Many of them seemed to know each other already. That makes sense, because the class isn't new to the area. For the previous four years it met in a classroom at the Phinney Neighborhood Association. Williams-Derry and her team carried 5,000 pounds of new wood flooring into the Wallingford space themselves, which is why the studio requires indoor-only shoes. Phinney Ridge's loss is 45th Street's gain. The studio arrived with its own regulars.
Coeur Pilates is a small-group reformer studio from founder Iva M., who came to Pilates from a career in tech and user-centered design. In Wallyhood's coverage, she said she chose Wallingford for her first location because it's "local, walkable, and neighborhood-driven." She's also talking with Wallingford and Fremont businesses about joint events. The studio's website gives November 9 as the opening date, with sneak-preview Reformer Fundamentals workshops beforehand. If the date holds, Coeur opens two weeks before Hawai'i General Store's last day.
These two studios join a street that already offers plenty of ways to work out. In the same post, Wallyhood listed Aditi, Studio Evolve, Orangetheory and Commune Yoga as established studios in the neighborhood, plus Emerald City Athletics and the Bouldering Project as the big gyms. Add Jazzercise and Coeur, and Wallingford has a well-stocked fitness scene. Its stock of places to walk in and buy a lei is about to drop to zero.
The counterweight is still behind construction paper
One project would push the other way. Max's Burgers is going into the former Kabul space at 2301 N 45th St. It comes from Max Genereaux and Kim Kobata, who are connected to Al's Tavern. Wallyhood described the plan as a retro fast-casual burger spot with pinball and a patio, and in early July the opening was expected "later this summer." By mid-July, WhatNow Seattle reported that construction was about halfway done and no opening date had been set. Summer has come and gone, so plan on it opening when the doors actually open.
Once it does, Max's will be the most drop-in business to arrive on 45th this year. Until then, the scale on this stretch tips toward booked classes.
This started on Stone Way in February
November isn't the first time this year a long-running drop-in spot has shut down. Blue Star Cafe & Pub at 4512 Stone Way N served its last day on February 1, 2026, after 50 years. According to Wallyhood, owner Wendy Morales cited operating costs, fewer diners and the lack of a workable lease succession. The same post had better news, too. Kostas Opa Greek Restaurant had reopened at 1924 N 45th St.
Kostas Opa came back. Blue Star, Hawai'i General Store and Pam's add up to more than a century of walk-in business between them, and all three ended within a single calendar year. The newcomers that have actually opened their doors so far are fitness studios. Restaurants are still on the street, and Max's could change the math. Even so, the corridor's mix this year has moved toward businesses you plan your visit around.
A late-autumn route along 45th
If you'd rather visit these places than read about them, here is how the next six weeks line up.
- Now through November 23: Hawai'i General Store at 258 NE 45th St. Leis, aloha shirts, island snacks and the pineapple Dole Whip. This is also your last chance to do holiday shopping there.
- Any evening before November 29: Dinner at Pam's Caribbean Kitchen, 1715 N 45th St. Jerk chicken and curries, cooked by Pam Jacob.
- Around November 9: Check Coeur Pilates' website for the opening and the preview workshops at 1905 N 45th St, then pick up flowers next door at Cedarhouse.
- Whenever the schedule fits: Try a class at Jazzercise, 2205 N 45th St at Bagley. Bring clean indoor shoes.
- Keep an eye on 2301 N 45th St at Corliss for Max's Burgers, the drop-in place this stretch is still waiting for.
Stringer told FOX 13 what she'd say to the neighborhood if no buyer comes forward: "Mahalo for being here. For coming and supporting us." Her last day is about a month away, give or take.
If you'd like to talk through how changes like these on the corridor play into your own plans, Michael Green follows the neighborhood one block at a time. Let's Talk Today.
