Epic Barber Shop Now Open For Haircuts For Men, Women and Children

A new full family barber shop, called Epic Barber Shop (3517 NE 45th Street), opened a few days ago next door to Chloe Bistrot.

Many families will already know one of the stylists, Heather, who was very popular at nearby Starline Barber in Bryant, where she worked previously.  Her sister, Rachel and her brother-in-law, Rob, who himself has cut hair for many years as well, are the owners.

This new family run business barber shop caters to the whole family, kids, men and women. They have completely remodeled the space they took over, making very comfortable and family friendly.

For kids haircuts, they have lollips, a big screen TV and books.

Haircuts are $13 for kids ten and under as well as seniors 65 and over. And for adults $18 for short hair and $22 for long hair.

Tomorrow and Saturday they are donating $3 from every haircut to Autism Speaks, as part of the nationwide Light it Up Blue event, to raise awareness about autism in communuties across the country. Heather's son has autism and so "we have a vested interest in this fundraiser," Rob told us.

To make an appointment call 206-420-1013. Hours are 9:30-6pm Tuesdays through Saturday and they may extend those hours as needed.

The Epic Barber Shop owners are excited to have found a spot in Laurelhurst, and look forward to getting to know families and be a part of the NE Seattle area, someday hoping to move nearby.


As for Laurelhurst Barber, located just a few doors down, and has been in the neighborhood for 41 years, we hear from several readers that the owner is retiring and is not taking any new customers and that his hours are generally 6-7am.

However, another reader emailed us to say that the well-known Laurelhurst Barber, has no plans to retire or close.

The reader added: "The ‘old barbershop’ may not keep long hours but there are well over 100 loyal customers from the neighborhood."

We  have tried numerous times to contact the Laurelhurst Barber by email and stopping by, to verify his plans, however we have not been successful. We would love to hear directly from this well-liked neighborhood icon.





 

Coffee Rwanda Owner, Dr. Karl, Sends An Update From Kigali

We received some comments about the post we did this week on Coffee Rwanda, owned by Dr. Karl, a Laurelhurst resident.

Dr. Karl himself responded to the post directly from Rwanda, saying:

Dear Blogger-

Thanks for the wonderful post. We really appreciate the story.

We have begun digging foundations for 30 houses and moved 50 tons of stone with the help of hundreds of villagers and the local police and army!

A helicopter flew around when the groundbreaking happened and I was even asked to give a speech because of our work here.

Tomorrow the brick making machine is coming and we hope to use it to make up to 500 bricks a day. It is amazing to see all this happening in what was a field of corn and cassava.

Thanks again.

Dr. Karl


Pictured above is a Batwa Home in Bwiza Village.

Annual Laurelhurst Golf Tournament Monday to Raise Funds for North Playground

Don't miss the Fourth Annual Laurelhurst Golf Tournament at Sand Point Country Club coming up next Monday, September 20th starting at 12:30pm.

This annual fundraiser specifically helps to raise funds to renovate the playgrounds at Laurelhurst Elementary School.

And with the South playground completed in June of last year and the kids really enjoying it, this year funds from the tournament will again go towards renovating the North playground.

The  playground project website says "The renovation of the south playground at Laurelhurst has provided much needed improvements and unique opportunities for physical activity and play to a wide-range of children and families in the community who will use the space year-round.

"Our efforts our now focused on the similarly dilapidated north playground - which is used primarily by the younger children in Laurelhurst School as well as the LASER students on a daily basis."

Last year there was a great turn-out at the Third Annual Golf Tournament which raised more than $5,000 to go towards much needed funds for the North Playground.

Kevin and Rick, co-chairs of the event, tell us that they are "doing well with sponsorships, but currently are in need of more golfers."

The $200/player fee includes a boxed lunch, 18 holes of golf at private Sand Point Country Club, cart, prizes, contests, dinner and tons of fun with new and old friends.

The co-chairs said they are looking for hole/contest sponsors as well as volunteers willing to help during the day of golf.

For information about the event check out the website or contact Co-Chairs Kevin Engman at kengman85@hotmail.com or by phone at  206-890-6513 or Rick Myers at rick@myerespartners.com or by phone at 206-412-6256.

Parking on Both Sides of East Laurel Drive a Concern

A reader sent us this email concerned about people parking on both sides of East Laurel Drive, a narrow street with barely room enough for two cars to pass at once.

If you live in this area and have input on this situation, please contact us at laurelhurstblogger@gmail.com and we will put you in charge with the reader to help come up with a solution.

Here is the email:

With several new residents along East Laurel Drive, many may not realize that there used to be "no parking this side" signs along East Laurel Drive from where the turn is from West Laurel Drive to the joining of 55 Avenue NE. The signs were on the east side of East Laurel Drive. They were probably taken down without permission by a construction crew sometime ago.

With two new construction projects now along the mentioned street, many larger vehicles are having trouble getting down the street.

This is particularly true of buses and trash vehicles. Some vehicles are attempting to navigate the street by weaving around parked vehicles and going onto parking strips and sidewalks, when necessary. There is evidence that this happened on the portion of East Laurel Drive that borders our property.

I have sent an e-mail to the city to ask if the signs should be up again on one side of this neighborhood street.

In the meantime, some cooperation of the residents would be helpful. Let's decide which side of the street might be OK to park on and park there.

Also, if a resident is having construction, landscaping, or remodeling done, a mention of the problem and a suggestion of which side to park on would be helpful.
 
I am certain that there are neighbors on other Laurelhust streets in the same situation.