Cynthia's Restaurant
Walter Kuhr
HI.. I live in the Edmonds area in WA... 20 min's from Seattle and had heard
at one time that Cynthia Geary had a restaurant in Seattle.
Does anyone know if she still has one? What's the name?
thanks...
Jennifer
Danny Moses
Jennifer, Cynthia mentioned in an online chat this Wednesday that she
and her husband, Robert Coron, are limited partners in the Paragon Bar &
Grill, but that they are not involved in its day to day operation. The
Paragon is located at 2125 Queen Anne Ave North, Seattle, WA 98109-2310.
It's phone number is (206)283-4548.
It sounds like a fun place to visit, but it has its fair share of
controversy. Here are two articles from the Seattle Times about the
Paragon. The first is about their plans for the most recent Oscar
night. The second one deals with the rapid changes taking place in the
Paragon's neighborhood, with the Paragon being a lightning rod for a lot
of the controversy.
Arts & Entertainment : Thursday, March 19, 1998
Backstage pass: Time to dust off that tux for Oscar
by Melanie McFarland
Seattle Times staff reporter
<snip>
For a party with more of a neighborhood appeal, try the Paragon Bar &
Grill, considered by some to be the place to spend Oscar night. (Maybe
it has to do with the red carpet and faux paparazzi who await people
outside.) From 5 to 7 p.m., the Paragon will serve champagne and hors
d'oeuvres for the celebrity watchers, and from then on you can enjoy the
awards ceremony over drinks or, if you make reservations, dinner. All
this in the shadow of a 6-foot ice sculpture of the infamous "Oscar."
And while the stars are tripping up the stairs to get their awards,
Paragon patrons will have a shot at winning a trip for two to Cabo San
Lucas. After the broadcast, Korla Wygal & the Private Reserve will keep
the party going into the wee hours. And this gig has the best price:
It's free!
The Paragon is located at 2125 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle; call
206-283-4548.
<snip>
===========================================
Local News : October 9, 1996
King-size change on Queen Anne
by Linda Keene
Seattle Times staff reporter
Making the steep drive up Queen Anne Avenue North, one is struck not so
much by the grinding of car gears or shortness of breath at such high
altitudes, but by the Oz-like face looming at the top of the hill -
Steven Hicks, Realtor extraordinaire, whose billboard boasts that he
sells "a Queen Anne home every 10 days."
So it goes atop Queen Anne Hill, bustle, bustle, new folks arriving
each week. But what's that? Beneath Hicks' Cheshire-cat grin, there are
also signs of discontent in this oldish, affluent neighborhood where, to
many, change is about as welcome as a burglar in the night.
Well over a dozen new shops and restaurants have suddenly appeared,
replacing old and popular standbys, and there, as they say, goes the
neighborhood. True, growth has touched other Seattle neighborhoods in
hiccups here and there - but not as rapidly as the overhaul atop the
hill.
Only two years ago, Queen Anne Avenue North was a quiet, even frumpy
strip of commerce similar to the kind still found in parts of West
Seattle. But a combination of changing demographics, soaring real-estate
prices and savvy business ventures have transformed the avenue into a
trendy boulevard with enough bagel shops to make the Pillsbury Doughboy
dance.
"It's aggressive change," says Ray Bowman, president of the Queen Anne
Chamber of Commerce. "But without good planning and communication, you
will get ill will, you will get misunderstandings,...you will get Beirut
in the streets!"
Yes, it's come to that on the avenue where a Tully's Coffee has replaced
the popular Salladay's drugstore, and Starbucks has arisen across the
street, replacing the liquor store. Just how much coffee can people
drink, anyway?
This being Seattle, that's probably a stupid question. Yet it resonates
across Queen Anne, a community that got its name from the Queen Anne
style of architecture.
Some longtime residents are pained by the change and have directed their
ire at one establishment in particular, the Paragon Bar & Grill. Though
upscale, it's also the biggest, loudest bar to set a shot glass in front
of customers since loggers sheared the hilltop of prime Douglas fir and
rolled the logs into Elliott Bay. The Paragon's long lines and boozy
atmosphere have made it a lightning rod for discontent.
Not only did it replace a crusty hobby shop that symbolized the Queen
Anne of old, but the Paragon parties on until 2 a.m. That is upsetting
to people who live on the same block near Queen Anne Avenue North and
Boston Street. Unfortunately for them, the business strip is only a
half-block deep - houses abut the backs of businesses and, where the
Paragon is concerned, things definitely go thump in the night.
Rhythm-and-blues bands are regularly featured, and patrons have been
known to let the music move them.
"A loud, exuberant voice carries a lot in the night," says Jeanie Ogden,
a 17-year resident who lives in the block behind the Paragon. "People
park in front of my house and make all kinds of noise. There's litter,
vomit and people urinating on private property. I'm very angry about
them in our neighborhood."
Ogden hopes that the neighborhood-planning process, which is just
getting under way in Queen Anne, will curb other such businesses. That
message was certainly relayed to a young couple who recently approached
the community about opening a Polynesian-theme restaurant and bar with
hard liquor - they got such a rude reception they decided to look
elsewhere.
Paragon officials get a little defensive about all this. They note that
other Queen Anne residents are glad to have night life on the hill, and
appreciate the club's community contributions, including donations to
the Queen Anne Helpline.
"To point the finger at us and say we're the bad, evil guys isn't fair,"
says Jon Swanson, a Paragon investor. "Everyone needs to recognize the
fact that Queen Anne has changed; it's not the Paragon that's caused
it." But the Paragon's arrival did mark a turning point. Even Swanson
admits people thought he was crazy to put a clublike restaurant atop
Queen Anne when it opened last year.
"At 9 on a Friday night, it was abandoned up here," he says.
Now, it's hard to find a parking spot, night or day. In addition to the
Paragon, there's a new Cucina Presto cafe, a Pasta & Co., a Todo Wraps,
a Noah's New York Bagels, an Orrapin Thai Cuisine, the Chinoise Cafe,
and All the Best Pet Care, featuring turkey bonbons and other gourmet
foods for the pet in your life.
Several blocks south at the 7-Eleven, talk is glum among seniors who
meet daily to check winning Lotto numbers.
The Hill is not The Hill anymore, they tell clerk Vikram Shah, who nods
sympathetically and suggests they have another doughnut.
They've been meeting here for years, after the early-morning
stockbroker/banking crowd stops for coffee and cigarettes, and before
the afternoon rush of kids on their way home from nearby St. Anne's
School.
"It's like a club," Shah says of the seniors, who are most affected by
the rapid changes on Queen Anne, where the ever-rising cost of real
estate only drives their property taxes higher.
Queen Anne has always been a spendy place to live, but the latest wave
of hilltop residents makes for some powerful demographics. Realtor Hicks
says he's seen a big jump in sales to people from the Midwest, the East
Coast and the Gold Coast - also known as Microsoft.
"They're a big extra increment in the marketplace now," he says of the
youthful techies who are paying between $300,000 and $400,000 for grand,
old Queen Anne homes. "The whole hill is in high demand." That certainly
explains the smile on his billboard mug. And there are some who echo his
enthusiasm. "I like the changes, I think they're good," says C.C.
Conklin, who's lived on Queen Anne Hill for 16 years.
And besides, what's a little more traffic, a little more noise, when you
consider what's to come? Sitting in the not-new (but newly expanded)
Queen Anne Cafe, community historian Bob Frazier adds this perspective
to the debate.
"When I look back 100 years and try to look forward 100 years," he says
slowly and deliberately, as if fearing someone might smash a cream pie
in his face for what he's about to say, "I expect this area to look like
downtown Seattle now does. Lacking wars or plagues, I think future
growth is inevitable."
--
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