Phinney Ridge and Woodland Park Zoo: Your Fall 2026 Guide

The stretch of Phinney Avenue North between the zoo's West Entrance at 5500 and the shops near 62nd has changed more in the past twelve months than at any point in recent memory. The newcomers are also staying longer than the tenants they replaced. One signed a ten-year lease. One bought its storefront outright. And the zoo put its newest building right at the Phinney Avenue gate.

Taken together, these moves make the south end of the ridge more permanent. Here is how the year went, in order.

1. October 2025. Zeek's Pizza closes at 6000 Phinney Ave. N. after opening there in 1996.
2. November 2025. Stevie's Famous signs a ten-year lease on the former Zeek's space.
3. March 26, 2026. Homestead Community Land Trust's Woodland View building at 5819 Phinney is reported complete.
4. May 1, 2026. The zoo opens Forest Trailhead next to its West Plaza entrance.
5. July 2026. Stevie's opens at 6000 Phinney and holds a grand opening party on Sunday, August 2.
6. September 7, 2026. Lorikeet Landing opens inside the zoo as a year-round aviary.
7. January 2027. A la Mode Pies plans to open its new flagship café at Woodland View.

The Big Blue Building Now Supplies Three Shops

Stevie's took over what the PhinneyWood blog calls "the iconic big blue building on the corner" and remodeled it completely. Shane Abbott and Justin Harcus started Stevie's in Burien, then added a second spot inside the Clock-Out Lounge on Beacon Hill. Phinney Ridge is their third location, their largest so far, and their first north of downtown.

The building does more than serve pizza. Stevie's now runs it as its headquarters, and the dough, ice cream and other goods for all three locations are made here. When a company moves its production kitchen onto a corner, it has a reason to stay well past one lease cycle. The ten-year term it signed points the same way.

For a weeknight visit, here are the basics. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. You'll find a small parking lot, a good-sized patio, four arcade games, and beer and wine on tap. The shop itself suggests stopping in after a softball game. Stevie's won Best Pizza in the City in a 2024 Seattle Times reader poll.

Stevie's also joins a busy local pizza scene. When Zeek's closed, the PhinneyWood blog listed The Ridge, Windy City Pie, Cornuto, La Rocca, BoBu and Razzi's as still going "without a beat."

A la Mode Bought Its Corner Back

Three blocks south, the comeback took longer and rests on firmer footing. A la Mode Pies opened at 59th and Phinney in 2011. It had to close in August 2023 when Homestead Community Land Trust redeveloped the property as permanently affordable housing. Owner Chris Porter, who goes by the Pie Guy, started planning his return two years before that last slice.

That redevelopment became Woodland View, a five-story condominium at 5819 Phinney Ave. N. It has 25 homes, 19 of them permanently affordable and six market-rate. The building has two ground-floor commercial spaces, and A la Mode bought both. The land came partly as a donation from Chakorn Phisuthikul and Marilyn Heinemann.

Buying the space puts A la Mode in a different position from a renter. The bakery that once had to leave its corner because of a redevelopment now owns its place in the new building. Porter has described it in personal terms:

"My dream of owning the best pie shop in Seattle was baked on that corner. For more than a decade, Phinney embraced my big idea and made A la Mode part of this neighborhood's story."

The schedule has slipped. Seattle's long permitting process plus a few unexpected problems pushed the opening from November to January 2027. Porter is paying for the café himself. Pie will still show up on the corner before then. Porter plans to sell pies there during Thanksgiving week, before the café opens for regular business, and Thanksgiving pre-orders opened October 1 on the A la Mode website.

The closer date is Saturday, October 17. A la Mode and Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery are hosting two Thanksgiving pie-and-beer tastings in the brewery's Aviator Alcove, one from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and another from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Each session has 16 seats at $50, and guests get the first taste of four new pies on this year's Thanksgiving menu.

A la Mode has already tied itself to its biggest neighbor, too. In September, part of the sales from its Wild BEARy pie went to the long-term care of Fern and Juniper, the zoo's two brown bears.

The Zoo Is Building Toward Phinney Avenue

The zoo has two entrances, the West Entrance at 5500 Phinney Ave. N. and the South Entrance at 750 N. 50th St. This year's biggest addition sits at the Phinney side. Forest Trailhead is a 12,000-square-foot building on one acre along the West Plaza entrance, with an elevated canopy path and an exhibit about forest conservation. It opened May 1 with tree kangaroos, red pandas and kea, plus reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, all included with admission or membership. On September 10, the zoo announced that the building had earned LEED Gold certification.

Lorikeet Landing, which opened September 7, gives members another reason to come back after summer. It is a walk-through aviary in the zoo's new Wild Encounters area, which replaces the former Family Farm, and it stays open all year. Entry comes with admission. Nectar cups cost $7 each, $10 for two or $18 for four, and members get 20% off. Inside you'll also find laughing kookaburras, Luzon bleeding-heart doves, and two rescued female Aldabra giant tortoises. Phase two of Wild Encounters is set for 2027 and will put the ambassador animals on view, with capybara, coati, three-banded armadillo and North American porcupine on the species list.

WildLanterns matters most for Phinney Avenue, because both entrances are open for it and walk-up ticket sales go through the West Entrance. This year's show runs November 13, 2026, through January 17, 2027. It's open nightly from 4 to 9 p.m. with last entry at 8:30, except on listed closure dates. The 2026 theme is new, a trip across seven continents and under the ocean, with custom lanterns of penguins, orcas, snow leopards and savanna animals. Timed tickets for adults and children are 10% off through October 31, and members get 20% off.

The Calendar From Here to January

With Stevie's open late and WildLanterns running until 9, the south end will be busy on more winter evenings than it used to be. Here are the dates to know.

• October 17. The A la Mode and Flying Bike pie-and-beer tastings, in two seatings.
• October 31, noon to 3 p.m. The PNA's Hunger Goblin Trick or Treat & Food Drive along Greenwood Avenue between 67th and 87th. October is also the drive's collection month.
• November 7. The PNA's free Día de los Muertos celebration at the Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., with crafts, food, traditional dancers and a neighborhood procession. The PNA's event page lists two different time windows, so check the hours before you go.
• November 13. WildLanterns opens.
• November 15 and December 1. WildLanterns Low Sensory Nights.
• November 20 and December 18. WildLanterns Night Owls, for ages 21 and up.
• November 22. WildLanterns Holiday Senior Stroll.
• Thanksgiving week. A la Mode sells pies on its corner at 59th and Phinney.
• December 4 to 6. The PNA's 46th Winter Festival at the Phinney Center, with more than 140 local vendors. It starts with a 21+ preview Friday from 5 to 8 p.m., then all-ages hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• December 13. WildLanterns Pop Star Night.
• January 2027. A la Mode's planned café opening at Woodland View. The PhinneyWood blog says it will announce the exact date first.

The businesses that didn't change make all of this easy to fit into a regular week. Kipos Greek serves Greek street food at 5914 Phinney. Roy Southern Thai Cuisine is at 6114, and Sweet! Bakery is at 6116, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. The Seattle Times placed Cheeky & Dry, a nonalcoholic bottle shop, between those two.

A ten-year lease, a purchased storefront and a new production kitchen all change what a block is worth to the people who live on it. If you're near the south end of Phinney Ridge and want to talk through what this year's turnover means for your own property, Samie Bryan is glad to sit down with you. Let's Connect.