She Moved to an Island and Felt Completely Alone After her daughter was born in California, Amanda Aude and her husband didn’t have many friends or family around. “As a new mom, it was very isolating for me,” she said. That feeling, the specific loneliness of new parenthood in a place where nobody knows your […]
Bainbridge Play Cafe: The Island’s First Coffee Shop and Play Space for Families Read More »
Holy Water A Heavenly Lounge is a 21+ cocktail bar, tapas restaurant, and weekend brunch spot located inside a restored late 1800s lavender church at 537 Dekalb Street in downtown Port Orchard, Washington. Opened in July 2022 by owner Suanne Martin-Smith, it is widely considered one of the most unique bars in Kitsap County and
What Is Holy Water A Heavenly Lounge in Port Orchard? Read More »
A Building With a Century of History and a New Chapter There is a property on Winslow Way East in downtown Bainbridge Island that most people who walked past it for years assumed would become a boutique hotel. The historic buildings had been occupied by the same family for almost 100 years, a tenure that
The Most Magical Stop on Bainbridge Island’s Winslow Way Read More »
The First Stop After the Ferry Walk off the Bainbridge Island ferry, turn onto Winslow Way East, and within two minutes you will smell it before you see it. Blackbird Bakery has occupied the same spot at 210 Winslow Way East since 1999, long enough to have become not just a bakery but a piece
Blackbird Bakery Has Been Waking Up Bainbridge Island Every Morning for Over 25 Years Read More »
Coffee as a Tasting Experience, Not Just a Morning Ritual Most coffee shops in Kitsap County offer a menu of espresso drinks and call it a day. Ristretto Stone in Silverdale built its identity around something considerably more interesting: the idea that coffee can be tasted and compared the way wine is, that the differences
There is a grocery store on Myhre Place in Silverdale that most people outside the Filipino, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese communities in Kitsap County have never set foot in. Those who have describe it the same way: once you find it, you keep coming back. Asian Market Silverdale has been quietly serving one of Kitsap
A Coffee Stand That Earns Its Name There is a small drive-through coffee stand on NW Amanda Loop in Silverdale, tucked near Island Lake Park, decorated in bright pastel colors, and serving drinks with names that sound more like dessert menu items than morning beverages. Candyland Cafe, also known as Island Lake Coffee, opened in
Candyland Cafe: Silverdale’s Sweetest Coffee Stop Read More »
The Best Kind of Surprise Inside Kitsap Mall Most people walk through Kitsap Mall with a specific destination in mind, a chain retailer, a department store, a food court stop. Very few stumble into the kind of genuinely local, handmade, one-of-a-kind shopping experience that used to define what retail felt like before every storefront looked
There are donut shops, and then there are donut shops with a story. Lonestar Donuts opened on Myhre Place in Silverdale in 2022, founded by Omar Gomez and his family with a simple mission: bring Texas-style donuts to the Pacific Northwest and make every single customer feel welcome from the moment they walk through the
Heidi’s Teriyaki Express: The Family-Owned Silverdale Restaurant That Loyal Customers Call the Best in Kitsap County There is a strip mall on NW Bucklin Hill Road in Silverdale, across from Staples and Jo-Ann Fabrics, that does not look like much from the outside. But ask anyone who has lived in Kitsap County for more than
Heidi’s Teriyaki Express: Family-Owned Since Day One Read More »