Kapow! Coffee closing its doors

Kapow! Coffee, which drew attention for selling "Ride the S.L.U.T." T-shirts, will close this week after a decade in business.

Kapow!'s last day is Thursday, and there will be a private party on Friday afternoon and evening.

Owner Angela Baker said she wants to find another location for the shop.

The men who sell the T-shirts, Kapow! employee Jeremiah St. Georges and customer Don Clifton, said they plan to move their operation around the corner to Inner Chapters Bookstore and Café. The shirts refer to the South Lake Union Trolleys, or streetcars, which are housed nearby.

Baker did not want to sign a five-year lease, according to Dan Munro, who represents Kapow!'s landlord, the Munro Family Trust.

For years, she said she paid $300 rent to Taco del Mar, whose restaurant next door she had managed. Recently, Baker's monthly payment rose to $855, which includes $305 in taxes, insurance and utilities.

She said she was not sure at first that she could make the payments and was reluctant to sign a long-term lease. Munro said he expects The Kapow! space and a kitchen space next door to reopen in early December with espresso and a greater variety of breakfast foods, maybe soups and sandwiches, displays of local artwork and possibly live music. No name for the new store has been made public.

The neighborhood will get another, unrelated coffee shop in December as well. Brian Wells, the owner of Tougo Coffee in the Central Area, plans to open his second coffee shop there in December, at 2113 Westlake Ave.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com