Staple & Fancy Mercantile To Open Sunday - New Restaurant From Chef Ethan Stowell

Chef Ethan Stowell, along with his wife and business partner, Angela Stowell, will officially open their latest venture, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, on Sunday, August 15.

Staple & Fancy Mercantile, located at 4739 Ballard Avenue NW in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, is one of the anchor tenants in the newly renovated Kolstrand Building. Built in the early 1900's and home to Kolstrand Marine Supply Company for nearly 80 years, the Kolstrand Building acts as an historic landmark for this growing neighborhood.

"Everyone wants to know about the name," says Stowell. "At some point, the building was home to a mercantile that offered both staple and fancy products for Ballard residents. The contractors uncovered a brick wall with a hand-painted sign during the renovation. The bummer is the sign is on the second floor, but we liked the history."

Staple & Fancy Mercantile is open for dinner seven nights a week from 5pm - 11pm. The dining room seats 35, and the small bar accommodates eight guests. Stowell, who will be in the kitchen five or six nights each week, is offering two menu options that showcase his restrained style of Italian cooking that focuses on clean flavors, stellar products, house-made pastas, and seasonal ingredients. One will be a limited a la carte menu that is printed daily. And the other option, which Stowell encourages guests to partake in, will be a chef's choice dining experience of four-course for $40. These items will be created off menu and served family style. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at 206.789.1200 or booked online at www.opentable.com.

Elwood Thompson, who has been a part of the Ethan Stowell Restaurant family for over four years, is the chef de cuisine at Staple & Fancy Mercantile. Sennen David, who runs the wine programs at Anchovies & Olives, Tavol�ta, and previously at Union, is taking on general manager and wine duties.

The wine list is Euro-centric with a respectable showing of Northwest wines and has an emphasis on older vintages and esoteric wines. A thoughtfully selected wine by the glass list includes 3-ounce pours to complement the chef's choice style of dining. The bar offers a selection of aperitifs, spirits, and house cocktails.

The design of the restaurant is a collaboration between Stowell, Mark Wolf of Wolf Design, and Henry Walters of Drome Design. The 1500-square-foot space occupies the street level of the south side of the building and the interior plays off the buildings architectural features. The long space boasts high ceilings, exposed ducts, and industrial lighting, as well as original hand-painted brick walls, hardwood plank floors, and leaded glass. Wood booths with metal footing run down the center of the room with a deep grey banquette taking up the north wall. Wood tabletops, incased in metal, were created from materials reclaimed from the restoration of the building. The bar and large open kitchen run the length of the south wall with Industrial metal bar stools highlighting the other accents in the room. A large metal cog, also reclaimed, acts as the hosts stand. The front of the restaurants has a large accordion style glass door that will open in warm weather, creating additional seating. A small larder area at the entrance showcases Italian centric products, including Lagana Foods, Stowell's line of traditional bronze cut pastas.

The Kolstrand Building, located at the south end of Ballard Avenue between the thriving historic district and industrial core was primarily used for metal machinery and distribution in its day. The two-story building continues to display its original architectural features with exposed hand-painted brick, masonry block walls, and exposed old growth re-sawn lumber throughout the building. A full height ba