We’re raising the curtain at one of Seattle’s greatest venues on this episode of Seattle City Makers. Bill Berry, the executive & artistic director of the venerable 5th Avenue Theatre joins us to dig into arts & culture in downtown Seattle. Jon and Bill discuss the state of the theatre; upcoming performances, including a production Jesus Christ Superstar that will feature a Seattle music icon; how the 5th compares to venues and production houses across the country; the alliance with the Seattle Theater Group and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Bill Berry.

Seattle City Maker listeners, you now have the option to watch these conversations on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/downtownseattle. Kicking off this platform enhancement is Chief Amy Barden, leader of Seattle’s CARE public safety department.  This alternative response team was piloted in downtown two years ago, now they’ve expanded citywide. Jon and Amy talk about the CARE team expansion; the progress that’s been made and the challenges that remain with public safety in Seattle; the rhetoric around unarmed response; the essential attributes for CARE responders; the latest on the fentanyl pandemic; re-entry from incarceration and the capacity for people to change; the podcast she co-hosts with her husband and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Amy Barden.

If you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar retail success story, head to Marios on Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle. This men’s and women’s specialty store has been a fixture for high-end fashion in Seattle since 1982. Now operating under the Mitchell Stores umbrella, Marios has sibling retail shops in New England, Portland, the Bay Area and Dallas. Scott Mitchell runs Marios in Seattle and has been at the helm for a little over a year now. With fresh eyes on our market, Jon and Scott talk about the retail sector in Seattle and how Marios is performing; the importance of having great operators near Marios; navigating the twists and turns of family-run operations; his thoughts on retail nationally and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Scott Mitchell.

Since 2021, Amazon has invested more than $3.5 billion in affordable housing production and preservation. Leading that charge is Alice Shobe. As Amazon’s outgoing Director of Community Impact, Shobe has taken the tech and logistics giant to new heights regarding direct impact in the communities where its presence is large: Seattle, Arlington, Va., and Nashville. In the Seattle area alone, Amazon has produced 10,000 affordable units. Jon and Alice talk about her path from city planning in Kent to leadership at Amazon; the speed and volume of Amazon’s affordable housing production; the five priorities for Amazon’s community impact team; how an email about a headline in The Seattle Times led to a pilot program and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Alice Shobe.

As summer comes to a close in Seattle, we’re joined by one of the lead architects of our city’s signature September festival, Bumbershoot. New Rising Sun CEO Joe Paganelli has had a busy and extremely productive year that has significantly impacted downtown’s arts & cultural scene. In addition to producing their third iteration of the music, art, culture and fashion event that is Bumbershoot, New Rising Sun opened the doors to Cannonball Arts, downtown’s largest creative arts center spanning 66,000 square feet. Jon and Joe talk about the evolution of Bumbershoot; the origin story of and vision for Cannonball Arts; Joe’s days at The Fillmore in San Francisco with a Prince story; and you absolutely do not want to miss Joe’s story about his first job. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Joe Paganelli.

The Moriguchi family has deep, impactful roots in the Puget Sound region. Fujimatsu and Sadako opened up their first store in Tacoma in 1928, after selling fishcakes and other items out of a truck to loggers, fisherman and local farmers. Think of it as a forefather of the food truck. After World War II, the Moriguchis opened Uwajimaya in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood. Fujimatsu and Sadako’s granddaughter, Denise, is the third generation CEO of Uwajimaya, which is now one of the largest Asian grocery retailers in the Pacific Northwest. Jon and Denise talk about Uwajimaya’s origin story; her path to leadership of the family-run operation; the state of the grocery sector; the Chinatown-International District neighborhood; her ideal Saturday in Seattle and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Denise Moriguchi.

The return of PCC to Rainier Square is enormous for downtown residents, workers and visitors. Leading this impactful move (and relocation of office space to Rainier Square) is PCC President & CEO Krishnan Srinivasan. At the helm of PCC since 2022, Krishnan joined the member-owned certified organic retailer grocer in 2018 after holding business and finance leadership positions in some of the biggest names in tech: Amazon, Microsoft, Remitly and Lyft to name a few. Jon and Krishnan discuss PCC’s return to downtown and how the new Corner Market is performing; the retail grocery landscape; how PCC made its way to Late Night with Stephen Colbert; the power of food and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Krishnan Srinivasan.

Seafair is synonymous with summer in Seattle. This year’s festivities were filled with time-honored traditions and new elements under the direction of first-year President & CEO Emily Cantrell. Emily and Jon sat down a few days after wrapping up the 76th iteration of Seafair, and there was plenty to unpack about this enormous summer celebration. The two discuss her career path which started in broadcast news and led to organizations focused on this place; taking the Torchlight Parade to the new waterfront; her favorite Seafair moments and those that caused a little bit of stress; getting Nascar racer Jimmie Johnson into a hydroplane cockpit;  the itinerary for her perfect Saturday in Seattle and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Emily Cantrell.

Many cities across the country have built their convention centers outside of their city center – Seattle avoided that mistake and the community is reaping the rewards of that decision. Conventions, business events and “bleisure travel” (more on that in a moment) are playing big roles in Seattle’s economic symphony and Seattle Convention Center President & CEO Jennifer LeMaster is the conductor of those contributors. Jon and Jennifer discuss her path to leadership through college athletics; the importance of the Convention Center to Seattle’s economy; the concept of blending business and leisure travel (bleisure); Seattle’s competitive positioning in the convention space and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Jennifer LeMaster.

Fair to say there are not many people with resumes that include work at the Department of Commerce, Microsoft and founding two art spaces in Seattle. A unique career path seems appropriate when you witness the one-of-a-kind experiences Nick Ferderer curates at Base Camp Studios and Base Camp Studios 2. Jon and Nick discuss the origins of his dynamic art galleries; discoveries he’s made at vacant buildings; what’s to come at Base Camp 2; the beautification work along the Spark Block on Third Avenue and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Nick Ferderer.