Hewitt Avenue Arts Update: Lucky Dime and Black Lab Gallery
If you're on Instagram, it's probably to keep up with friends and local businesses, but it's also a great way to bring a little beauty into your day via artists and musicians. Local designer and artist Alexander Vincini caught my eye last year and it's been fun to see the different styles he works in as new batches of photos pop up on his account every few months. But more recently I learned via his Instagram Story that he and his wife Amber Vincini have big plans for downtown Everett: a new beer bar, music venue, and art gallery called Lucky Dime.
Come back soon for art, music, and fun // Christopher Bragg
Opening a venue in downtown Everett is a lifelong dream and natural next step for the Vincinis; both their dads played in local bands whose show posters you'll find in Lucky Dime's bathroom when it opens. Alex has lived in Everett his entire life and while Amber spent some time in California after high school, she came back more driven to create art and open a local venue.
Friends and community are very important to the Vincinis and they want Lucky Dime to be a fun, safe, and comfortable place to see a show, buy art, or just hang out. They'll host live music and monthly karaoke, and their growing record collection will be available to spin whenever it's quiet. Mostly-local beer, cider, and seltzer will be available along with snacks, and you'll be able to bring in outside food as well.
Amber and Alex's modified American Gothic // photo courtesy Lucky Dime
Lucky Dime's name comes from the dimes Alex began to constantly find after his father passed away and the ones Amber started finding after they started dating before she even knew about Alex's. The space at 1618 Hewitt has already seen much success as the previous home of Black Lab Gallery, and when I learned it'd moved out, I reached out to owner Isabella Valencia to find out what she was up to. I caught up with her at Black Lab's new home two blocks away, 1805 Hewitt.
The bar is staying but the sheet metal's going // Christopher Bragg
After a very successful run in Black Lab's original Ballard location in the '90s, Isabella spent time in Wenatchee and then Mexico before returning to the US in 2014. She moved to Everett to be near family and fell in love with Hewitt Avenue, which reminded her of Ballard in the days before artists were driven out of Seattle. Hewitt was a place where an artist could still find a studio and Everett's population was more diverse due to the availability of blue-collar jobs.
She had her eye on 1618 Hewitt and was delighted when the owner offered her a lease after the second-hand shop in the space moved out. She reopened Black Lab in 2016 and it quickly became a popular art and music venue. "We tried mostly to be all-ages because people who are 18, 19, 20, where do these people go? They want to hear music, they come for the art. They don't drink, that's not their motivation when they walk through the door to begin with. I relate to that because when I was young, my favorite music was live. All genres. My friends had to sneak me into venues because you had to be 21 and I loved live music when I was 16. The Boys and Girls Club just didn't cut it for me anymore."
Music bookings became so successful in Black Lab that the visual art had to be scaled back because it was getting knocked off the walls. With Black Lab bursting at the seams, it was time to find a new home, but that would have to wait because the pandemic shut the gallery down entirely. Operating in the same space during Washington's phased reopening was pointless because of the capacity restraints, so Isabella shifted her focus toward moving to 1805 Hewitt, a space she'd long been in love with. It's the second-oldest bar space in Everett (after Anchor Pub) and she's excited to be a part of that legacy by opening a full bar with spirits.
Valencia wants to honor the spot's history with a nod to a previous tenant, the Horseshoe Tavern // Christopher Bragg
The massive space upstairs will house the concert venue and its walls will accommodate larger art than the former location ever could. The stage will have room on three sides for music fans to get close to the bands and the second-floor windows will give passersby a partial view of the action, too.
Who are you looking forward to seeing here? // Christopher Bragg
The building also features a kitchen with a take-out window that opens to the sidewalk. Isabella's navigating the health department requirements to supply food there, and talking to an exciting vendor to partner with. But she’s not quite ready to reveal who.
The space at 1805 Hewitt, with the take-out window currently boarded up // Christopher Bragg
The target opening date is September 3, to coincide with Cruzin to Colby so Black Lab can be part of the action. Lucky Dime hasn't set an opening date yet but is also shooting for late summer.
Lucky Dime
1618 Hewitt Ave.
Everett, WA 98201
Black Lab Gallery
1805 Hewitt Ave.
Everett, WA 98201
Christopher Bragg works from home in Everett and loves walking, swimming, and cats. You can find him all over town, but only if you keep weird hours and avoid crowds like he does.
