Small retail crossroads has something for everyone

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Residents don't have to drive to other sections of Seattle to meet many of their shopping needs. Sunset Hill's tiny business district at 32nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street has, among other things, a barbershop and hairdresser, a small green grocer with gourmet items, a video rental shop, a garden center and even a place to learn how to make pottery.

And there's Walter's Cafe, a neighborhood mainstay for nearly a decade.

Walter Pawelko, who used to work in a commercial photography lab, opened his cafe in a small room in the heart of the neighborhood business district nine years ago, selling mostly coffee to the locals. Since then he's expanded into adjoining space and now features pastries, juices and other treats. Two years ago he began serving lunches.

"It's a great little neighborhood," says the pony-tailed Pawelko, who lives just down the street.

"Normally it's pretty quiet. But when there's good weather on Saturdays, a lot of people get out and are walking around. It can be pretty hard to find a parking spot."

Pawelko's customers come mostly from the Sunset Hill neighborhood, but he draws some from Shilshole Bay Marina, down the hill.