Wallingford's 45th Street Is Trading Walk-In Shops for Class Schedules

Two businesses on N 45th Street that ran on walk-in customers are leaving this fall, or looking for someone to keep them going. Two studios built around class schedules are moving onto the same street. One already had four years of classes behind it at another location, and the other started a waitlist before opening its doors. The contrast also shows what is at stake for Hawaiʻi General Store, which has spent the past few weeks finding out whether its regulars' loyalty can turn into a new owner.

Here is where things stand on and around the street this month.

The Arrivals Run on a Class Schedule

In August, a large "JAZZERCISE" sign went up at the corner of 45th and Bagley, in a space an occupational therapy clinic used to occupy. Wallyhood's write-up explains that the studio isn't new. Owner and instructor Amy Williams-Derry had been teaching for four years in a classroom at the Phinney Neighborhood Association before opening her own space in Wallingford. When the reviewer took a Power Sculpt class, about 20 people were there, and many of them seemed to know each other.

The studio came to 45th with four years of classes already behind it. The build-out was also hands-on. Williams-Derry and her team carried in 5,000 pounds of new wood flooring themselves, which is why the studio requires shoes that are only worn indoors.

A few blocks west, Coeur Pilates is taking a similar approach. Founder Iva M told Wallyhood the boutique reformer studio, next door to Cedarhouse Flowers, is her first location. She came to it from a career in tech and user-centered design, along with her own background in Pilates. Before opening, she was building a local waitlist and talking with other Wallingford and Fremont businesses about community events. Coeur's website moved its opening date to Nov. 9 and offered sneak-preview Reformer Fundamentals workshops ahead of the public launch.

Iva M gave Wallyhood her reason for picking this street: "Wallingford felt like the right place for our first studio because of how local, walkable, and neighborhood-driven it is."

The two studios join a crowded fitness lineup. Wallyhood's list of what was already in the neighborhood includes Aditi, Studio Evolve, Orangetheory, Commune Yoga, Emerald City Athletics and the Bouldering Project. Both newcomers sell a spot in a class at a set hour, which brings the same people back week after week.

The Departures Ran on People Coming Through the Door

Pam's Caribbean Kitchen has served Trinidadian food on 45th since it moved to Wallingford in 2015. Owner Pam Jacob's story goes back further. FOX 13 reported that what began as an island snack shack grew into something bigger after she moved to the area in 1994.

A restaurant like Pam's depends on people deciding on any given night that they want jerk chicken. FOX 13 attributed the closing to post-pandemic cost increases and fewer customers coming in. The last day is planned for Nov. 29. Jacob has asked people to come in before the end of November and told FOX 13 she hopes to keep cooking through catering. Before the doors close, her menu's highlights are jerk chicken, curry goat, dhalpuri roti and the Trinidadian curries.

Hawaiʻi General Store has the same problem in retail form. Stringer opened it in 1998. She has pointed to rising costs and shopping habits that favor buying online, and online shopping takes customers from a shop selling crack seed, aloha shirts and island snacks in a way it never could from a Jazzercise class.

The street has seen this before this year. Blue Star Cafe & Pub ended a 50-year run on Feb. 1, 2026. KOMO reported that owner Wendy Morales cited operating costs and the lack of a workable option for handing off the lease. In its October story on the Hawaiʻi store, Wallyhood described the run of closures as "a growing pattern," where independent businesses "despite loyal customers and deep community roots, could no longer make the numbers work."

The phrase "despite loyal customers" sums up the season. Each of these businesses had regulars. Those regulars just came by on their own schedule, without a class time or a waitlist to bring them in on a set day.

Hawaiʻi General Is Testing Whether Loyalty Can Become Ownership

Stringer announced in mid-October that the store would close at the end of November. A farewell celebration followed on Oct. 17, with music and Dole Whip. KING 5 reported a closing date of Nov. 23 if no buyer took over the business.

After the announcement, people kept contacting her. KNKX reported on Nov. 1 that so many supporters told Stringer the shop mattered to them that she decided to look for someone to take it over. She told KNKX:

"That's when I realized, like, who am I to shut this down? I have employees who poured their heart and soul into this place, and, you know, there's got to be a way to keep it going for everybody."

Stringer told KNKX that when she opened in 1998, it was one of a few places in Seattle carrying the Northwest Hawai'i Times, the paper serving the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community in the Northwest. "It wasn't about a retail space," she said. "It was just about trying to create a space where people who were missing Hawaii could come and connect." She described families who have brought lei from the store to births, weddings and memorials for generations. Her father, an artist and architect, painted the Koʻolau Mountains on the back wall.

Those features are what the new studios on 45th are building from scratch: people who return on a regular basis, staff who remember them, and a room that means something. Wallyhood's story included an essay by a nine-year-old regular, Coco Okabayashi, whose list of reasons to stop in on Sundays starts with Duke, the store dog, and the pineapple Dole Whip.

A buyer would get that loyalty plus fresh lei, crack seed and almost three decades of goodwill. The store's location and hours page lists the shop at 258 NE 45th St. It is the place to check for current hours while the search for an owner continues.

Getting Around 45th and Stone Way This Month

These changes are happening while work crews are on nearby streets. Around Oct. 17, SDOT began safety work on three Stone Way crossings, at N 36th St, N 38th St and N Allen Place. The work includes crosswalks, better visibility, pedestrian and median islands, flashing signs and bike markings. Wallyhood reported that no detours or parking loss are planned. Finishing depends on the weather, and crossings at N 41st and N 42nd streets are scheduled for 2027.

Belinda the Bold, a new shop at 4032 Stone Way N, gave people a reason to visit on a specific date by holding a Halloween costume contest.

On 45th itself, the sidewalks are covered in leaves. On Oct. 25, a Sparkling Wallingford Society work party collected 22 large bags of leaves. Founder Carrie Johnson told Wallyhood that leaf buildup clogs drains and makes sidewalks slippery. The next pickup is Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, meeting at Wallingford Center.

The Wallingford Community Senior Center's November schedule has dates for the rest of the month:

1. Thursday, Nov. 12, 1 to 2 p.m. Raging Grannies performance
2. Friday, Nov. 13, 1 to 2 p.m. Veterans Day lunch
3. Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Home energy savings presentation
4. Thursday, Nov. 19, noon to 1 p.m. Thanksgiving luncheon and annual membership meeting

The dates to remember on 45th are Nov. 9, when Coeur Pilates plans to open at 1905 N 45th St, and Nov. 29, the last day of service at Pam's Caribbean Kitchen at 1715 N 45th St. Pam's is still serving curry goat and dhalpuri roti until then.

If you've owned near 45th or Stone Way for years and want to talk through how the street's new mix of storefronts might affect your plans, Joyce Juntunen is glad to share what she's seeing in the neighborhood. Let's Connect.