By Katie Melton
The former Seven Seas Restaurant, 8914 Lake City Way N.E., might soon become the newest bachelor party destination in the wake of Rick’s demise. According to a neighborhood flier (click to see a larger version), construction to turn the restaurant into a strip club will begin June 1.
“I found out yesterday when one of my friends went to the Seven Seas Restaurant and the doors were closed,” Marilee Catero, a resident nearby the proposed strip club, told us earlier this week. “She asked what was up and they told her they lost the lease and a strip club was now renting the space. Today was an incredible scramble trying to find out what happened.”
The permit, for an adult cabaret, has already been issued to the owner, Jack Johnson of Mill Creek. The strip club can be authorized for use in a commercial area because it’s located more than 800 feet from legally recognized or permitted public park and open spaces, community centers, elementary or secondary schools, or child care centers.
According to the Wedgwood Community Council, the Sacajawea Elementary School, 9501 20th Ave. N.E., is the closest school to the site at about 1,500 feet away. The closest child care center, at about 1,000 feet, is the Ryther Child Center, 2400 N.E. 95th St., which provides outpatient and prevention programs, as well as residential services for children.
Since the strip club is authorized for commercial use, no public notice was required for the permit to be issued, the council says.
However, Catero has been conducting her own public notice, circulating the above fliers around the neighborhood in hopes that the Seattle Department of Planning and Development will conduct a neighborhood impact study.
That’s not the only strip club action this week on Lake City Way. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced 
that it will auction off Rick’s Strip Club, 11332 Lake City Way N.E., and the offices of Talents West, 8600 Lake City Way N.E., on June 29.
The buildings belonged to Frank Colacurcio Sr., who passed away last year, and his family, who ran the establishments for years. Allegations of prostitution, organized crime and money laundering led to an FBI investigation, which shut down the Colacurcio businesses.
Bidding starts at $100,000 for Rick’s, and $50,000 for Talents West. Part of the proceeds of the sales will benefit local law enforcement agencies that assisted in the investigation. More information on the sale is available is on the auction site, LPSAuctions. Our news partners The Seattle Times had a story earlier this week.
It looks like a situation of “out with the old, in with the new” strip clubs on Lake City Way, and this time, they’re even closer to home for some neighbors.
Any thoughts on this new information?
Katie Melton is the intern for Maple Leaf Life, the sister site of Wedgwood View. She is a journalism student at the University of Washington.
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16 reader comments so far ↓
1 Chuck // May 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm
I used to live in Lake City. When I was younger, and wilder, I used to frequent Deja Vu with some other young, foolish friends. Nowadays, I have no interest in going to such a place (I’m a husband and a father). However, I think that it’s kind of arrogant for this woman to think that since she doesn’t like the idea of such an establishment in her neighborhood, she can rally people together to prevent it from opening its doors. They’re not doing anything illegal. They applied for the proper permits, and were approved. They have already leased the space. Sure she has a right to be upset about it, and she can complain about it to all of her friends, but, seriously, there are worse things going on in Lake City than a new strip club opening up.
If she really wants to do something to clean up the neighborhood, she should consider rallying people together to get the the crack, meth, and heroin off the streets. Set up neighborhood watches. Request increased police presence. Go to city council meetings and bring it up.
I would support an effort to get the obscene quantity of drugs off the streets of that neighborhood. Lake City is not a place you want to walk around at night. And it’s not the guys coming out of the strip club that one needs to worry about- it’s the crack head with a boy scout knife who need money for a fix.
If she succeeds, though (which I think is highly unlikely), what’s next? What happens when somebody wants to open yet another bar on Lake City Way? What if it happens to be too close to her house? Will she put out flyers, informing everyone in the neighborhood? After all, there are already enough crappy bars on that particular street. More bars = more drunk people. Do we need more drunks walking around at night?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. It’s okay if no one else agrees with me. But, even though I will never visit this strip club, I hope that they open up without a hitch, because they’ve done nothing wrong.
2 Michelle // May 27, 2011 at 4:39 pm
This is very upsetting that there was no opportunity to comment. Obviously, with two small kids, I don’t want this type of business around the corner from my house. Moreover, I really hope they provide adequate parking on site. The intersection at 92nd and Lake City is already dangerous with low visibility from cars parked on the side of Lake City. If patrons of the strip club are parked there all the time, it will only compound an already dangerous left turn from 92nd. I will be brushing up on the details of Seattle’s noise ordinance and calling in every.single.violation from the strip club if there are issues with noisy music or patrons at night.
3 Concerned // May 27, 2011 at 6:04 pm
We should fight this thing tooth and nail. Too close to too many kids places.
4 Mom of 3 // May 28, 2011 at 10:56 am
Chuck, I actually somewhat agree with you… the feminist in me will never be a fan, but I live much closer than 800 feet to a current strip club on Ballard, and I have to say, it is NOT what I worry about for my kids. They don’t even notice it. It’s the speeding traffic and constant break ins that concern me…
5 seattleyogamama // May 28, 2011 at 2:18 pm
I am into free speech, but there’s so much drug use that goes on around strip clubs, I oppose it going in so close to my home. Not to mention that it will drive down property values. I guess I’m a NIMBY and I think we as neighborhood residents have a right to a voice in what types of businesses go into our neighborhood. At the very least we should hold the relevant agencies to the laws and policies regarding public comment. If Montlake was able to keep the I-5 bypass out of their neighborhood, then Wedgwood/Maple Leaf/Lake City/whatever you want to call it should be able to keep this strip club out of our bailiwick.
6 ben franklin // May 28, 2011 at 4:11 pm
FYI Chuck, ‘this woman’ was not the one responsible for the flyer – it was a group effort.
7 Connie Rowe // May 28, 2011 at 7:55 pm
I do not want Seven Seas Restaurant to be a strip club. I hated Rick’s in Lake City, I hated the idea of Talents West on Lake City Way. I do not know where this type of entertainment belongs, but I know the 3 above mentioned are too close to my neighborhood. It’s not because it is too close to kids, but it is that these establishments advertise a base bent in our society. I know, I know—but I am not a prude. I don’t have a solution, just a complaint. Don’t place these things where we can see them.
8 Dan // May 31, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@Michelle, it’s right next to the Shanty Tavern, which has live music every Friday and Saturday night and crowds of music fans outside in the parking lot smoking. If you’re not hearing that noise (which I can totally hear from my back deck), then you won’t hear a strip club, they are generally pretty quiet from the outside. I’m not really pleased with the plan, I’m probably the closest homeowner and I wonder how it will effect my home value, but I’m also not too concerned about the noise/activity factor. It’s surrounded by tons of blackberries on the Wedgewood side and 4 lanes of traffic on the Maple Leaf side, it’s pretty isolated and far away from anything, besides the Shanty. I was just hoping something cooler would come in, I’d love more restaurants and bars in our hood.
9 Mr. X // May 31, 2011 at 6:55 pm
BFD.
10 DB // Jun 1, 2011 at 10:19 am
Can you fix the flyer link? It doesn’t work.
11 NA // Jun 1, 2011 at 11:45 am
Child center 1000 ft away? Great call city of seattle.
12 Tony // Jun 1, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Oh noes! Here come the prudes! Sex is The Devil! How dare someone see a titty in MY neighborhood.
Sheesh people, get over yourselves.
13 ann // Jun 1, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I heard that it is the former manager of Ricks who is opening the strip club. sorry we don’t need someone like that in the neighborhood. Guilt by association? Yes.
14 maj // Jun 3, 2011 at 11:39 am
I think that the issue isn’t so much the club (although it is definitely not welcome), but the fact that a family venue was forced out and that there was no public notice as to what was going into the space. I live a few blocks off Lake City Way, just about a 1/2 block from Talent’s West and was afforded a front row seat to the parade of cars and dancers going in and out of TW. I own my property and I am none to happy about this new venue going in. I agree that there is a certain element that goes along with a club of this sort. I guess that it just makes everyone unhappy that they didn’t get a public forum to discuss this. Also I don’t think anyone is being a prude or a bigot because they don’t want a strip club in their neighborhood, they are just concerned about what this sort of club brings to the table.
15 eric // Jun 4, 2011 at 8:45 am
I live on 90th and 20th. I can tell you we already get people parking from bar next door. Late night drunks walking up street and recently had two people loudly having sex in front of our house at 3am. Its not the strip club its the increase in traffic, drunk driving, drug deals et al. All safely pushed a block away where the police wont see it. Thats right where we all live.
16 Home Seller // Jun 4, 2011 at 9:16 pm
As a home owner who has their home on the market, I just found out about this as a very interested buyer just walked away from making on offer on my home because of the “neighborhood.” The buyer was the one that just informed me of the new strip club going in. All homeowners out there should be very concerned about the value of your homes with this new addition to the neighbohood.