The Fall Gathering poster designed by Mary Hansen.

It's fall (almost winter) and time to gather once again with friends and neighbors at Louisa's Cafe Bakery.

The Eastlake Community Council and Louisa's are sponsoring their second annual Fall Gathering at Louisa's, 7-10 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9. Last year's event packed the restaurant with Eastlake neighbors meeting old friends and making new ones. (Check out our coverage of the 2009 event here.)

Like last year, Louisa's owner Alcena Plum is putting out a selection of seasonal appetizers on the house. There will be $5 glasses of wine all evening. You'll also be able to order food and beverages off Louisa's menu (but you'll have to pay for those items).

Mary Hansen, Eastlake's poster artist extraordinaire, has done the honors again this year (see the attached photo). She's also helping to organize the event.

"This is an opportunity to meet new neighbors and business owners in the neighborhood," she says. "Last year was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to celebrating ourselves again this year."

Eastlake Ave. will be there to take pictures for the blog. Hope to see you there!

The Eastlake Merchants Association's first event, an after-work wine and conversation gathering at Louisa's, took place Wednesday evening and drew 30+ business owners.

[Full disclosure: I'm part of the Merchants Association.]

A wide-variety of businesses were represented at the event, everyone from clothing retailers to restaurateurs, massage therapists and acupuncturists, real estate officers, web designers and more. Lots of business cards were exchanged.

Conversation ranged from ideas for new neighborhood businesses to thoughts on how to generate more walking traffic and a better sense of community.

Those who have been attending the Eastlake Merchants' meetings shared the group's mission statement:

"Our mission is to be a unified voice for all of Seattle's Eastlake merchants, to build a strong community through networking and present Eastlake as a vibrant community by encouraging new business and supporting each other."

One possible project that was discussed was to dress up the street with more trees and/or flower plantings. Others talked about possible attracting a drugstore to the neighborhood. The Merchants Association is considering a website to promote local businesses.

Own or work at an Eastlake business and interested in being part of the Eastlake Merchants Association? The next meeting is 9 a.m., July 13, at Cicchetti, 121 E. Boston. 

Just a reminder that the Eastlake Merchants Association will be having its first event a week from today: an after-work wine and conversation gathering.

The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 16, at Louisa's Cafe Bakery at Eastlake and Louisa. Alcena Plum, owner of Louisa's, will have some light snacks for attending merchants and a $5 glass of wine.

[Full disclosure: I'm a member of the merchants association and have been involved in planning for this event.]

This event will be fairly informal. It's mainly a chance for Eastlake business owners, or people who work for an Eastlake business, to get together and get to know each other. 

The Merchants Association has been meeting for a few months, talking about the Eastlake business district and kicking around ideas. The group is considering how best to promote and possibly grow the business community in Eastlake. The event on June 16 will be a chance for those who've been attending the meetings to tell others what they've been talking... (more)