Small-business, residential mix gives area a hometown feel

By SHAREEN SINGH
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

On the first Wednesday of every month, the Roosevelt District transforms into a bikers' paradise as gleaming Harleys and Beamers line Northeast 65th Street.

Serious motorcyclists have been converging on Teddy's Tavern every month for a social event that goes back a decade. The street comes alive with revving bikes and revelers from around Seattle, who flock into the otherwise laid-back district where "everyone knows everyone," as one resident described it.

With only two bars in the district -- Teddy's, aptly named after Teddy Roosevelt, and the Scarlet Tree on Roosevelt Way Northeast -- along with a handful of eateries, a sense of familiarity prevails.

"It's kinda laid back and easygoing. We kinda have this big family," says Peter Kolytiris, owner of the Scarlet Tree. "When you walk in, everyone welcomes you and takes you in."

There is a distinct small-town feel to the neighborhood -- all of about 160 acres. Small wood-frame and Tudor brick homes were developed in the 1920s just east of Green Lake and north of the University District.

Family-owned businesses take up most of the core commercial area. With the exception of a Taco Bell, the absence of fast-food outlets befits the district's village-like character. Bartell Drug Store, Magnolia Hi-Fi, Dania Furniture Collections, QFC, Safeway and a Seafirst Bank stand out as the only large business outlets.

Several generations of families continue to live here. Judy Sundgren Tucker, a third-generation Roosevelt resident, never left.

"It is a great place to raise children, and it would be difficult for me to leave Green Lake (four blocks away)," Tucker says.

Tucker recalls the rambling old homes and small grocery stores of her childhood. There was a Japanese open market and a local meat market called Swanks. Now there's a Safeway and a QFC.

Tucker remembers the time, in about 1950, when two friends sang "Mockingbird Hill" in a talent contest at the Hollywood Theater on Roosevelt Way. They won 3 pounds of coffee for their effort, a prize that was "significant to their parents," says Tucker. "Coffee was expensive."

"Our very first dates were at the Hollywood Theater, and when we got older we got to go to the U District ... on the bus, of course," says Tucker, who graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1957.

After the movies, teenagers would hang out at the district's two drive-in restaurants. The movie house (now a consignment shop) and two drive-in restaurants have long since disappeared.

Still, the district has the best of both worlds: a fairly quiet, low-crime residential area with plenty of amenities, and its own array of businesses.

The intersection of Northeast 65th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast forms a natural convergence zone for traffic from all directions, making the neighborhood easily accessible to the U District, Green Lake, Northgate and Maple Leaf. Interstate 5 forms the west border, while another north-south route, 15th Avenue Northeast, is the east boundary.

Despite its convenient location, Roosevelt is "kind of like a little secret," says Teddy's owner Dan Morgan. "Fremont and Wallingford have become quite popular. This place is quite unknown."

Both Morgan and Kolytiris know most of their customers. Kolytiris prides himself on having an ethnically mixed group of thirtysomething patrons who come to listen to live jazz and rhythm and blues or to dance.

At least 90 percent of the customers at Teddy's are familiar faces, Morgan says. "People can almost walk here in their sleep."

The community does not mind the monthly bikers' gathering at Teddy's, Morgan says. The bikers blend into the relaxed atmosphere in the neighborhood and everyone is easygoing. "I've not had a single problem with any of the bikers," he says.

Roosevelt is not a place residents are eager to leave.

"People don't move out easily, and many of my friends who left the district have returned," says Margaret Taylor, who works at Strands Salon and Spa on Roosevelt Way. Her parents and grandparents lived in the area, and she returned a year ago after living in Ballard and Northgate.

Taylor's colleague Joanne Barber was less fortunate in finding a house. "This is not a big rental area. I was tired of living in an apartment, but I could not find a house around here," Barber says.