Local entrepreneurs to open French cafe on Ballard Avenue

Long-time restauranteurs and Ballard residents, Deming Maclise and James Weimann, have been friends for 12 years, and recently the two businessmen have decided to join forces to mastermind something they said is needed on the streets of Ballard: a hip, French cafe.

“I love Paris and spent a lot of time there and at some point we both started thinking that Seattle would do really well with having some sort of French cafe but that reflected more of what’s going on in Paris now,” said Maclise, who also owns Cafe Fiore in Ballard.

Though there are various French establishments around the city, Deming said they don't reflect what’s really going on in modern Paris.

“We wanted to do something a little more current, a little more Parisian than French and also we wanted to put it in Ballard,” Maclise said.

After about two years of searching for the right spot, they finally found the ideal location at 5307 Ballard Ave. N.W.

“It was really hard to come by so when we had the opportunity to buy the property we jumped on it and it was really hard to secure because of the current economic environment, but we got it,” Maclise said.

The name of the new business, scheduled to open June 29, is Bastille Cafe & Bar.

“Once we got in there we realized right away that we can’t just do a Parisian cafe,” Maclise said. “It has to be one part Paris and then another big part Ballard, it has to be reflected in there because if it’s just French or just Parisian than we just don’t feel like it will be embraced by this neighborhood as well.”

Maclise and Weimann said they wanted to respect the community's pride in place through the atmosphere and design of the cafe.

“I live right down by the locks and my wife and son and I walk the Ballard Sunday Market three times a month,” said Weimann, who has opened the Triangle Lounge in Fremont and Pesos in Queen Anne. “It’s really been my favorite street in Seattle for 10 years.”

Bastille’s menu will include sandwiches and salads with a price point reflecting more of a cafe than a French bistro, said Maclise.

“We really wanted to be one of those neighborhood places that you might frequent more than once or twice a month kind of thing,” Maclise said. “More of a gathering place or place where you start your night.”

On the menu will be $8 falafels, $9 chicken sandwiches and wine bottles starting at $20, among other items.

“Ballard made sense because it didn’t have something like this yet,” Maclise said. “So we really wanted to bring that and at the same time we don’t want to be at a price point that will exclude anyone. We want the price to be such as you can come in there and have a drink and a sandwich under $20 bucks.”

Since the site includes one larger building in the front and a smaller building toward the back, the two business partners decided to design the layout to offer customers two different experiences.

The front has both a dining area, where they will also have a community table that can seat 18 people, and a large bar, where they will install a hand carved bar covered in zinc, common in Paris.

“Paris treats their cafes like pieces of art, which was part of our attraction to that design box, I mean the whole city is like a piece of art,” Maclise said. “I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to accomplish, but there is definitely elements that we love is Parisian bistros that we’re trying to bring in and at the same time we want to reflect Ballard.”

In the back of the building, Maclise said, there will be a speakeasy bar and mezzanine for smaller parties. There will also be a banquet area that can accommodate up to 30 people.

Outdoors there will be a 1,000 square-foot patio and a 3,000 square-foot roof-top garden where Maclise said they will grow organic greens that will be ingredients for salads.

To celebrate Bastille Day, a national French holiday, a party is planned for July 14, when they will have a offer a beer garden outside, live music, French-themed, of course.