History

The building itself was built in 1909. It has been home to several retail stores, restaurants, a bank branch, and a funeral home/mortuary before becoming the Café Allegro Espresso Bar in 1975. It has survived a couple of major earthquakes, and the social upheaval of the 60's. The Café Allegro was opened in May of 1975 by founder, Dave Olsen. It was the first espresso coffeehouse in all of Seattle and continues to be by far, the oldest. The Last Exit in the U-district started serving espresso shortly after the Allegro opened, but it has been gone for many years now. The Café Allegro was the original wholesale customer of a small Seattle shop that was selling fresh-roasted, gourmet coffee beans plus brewing and roasting accessories in the early 70's. That roaster was, of course, Starbucks!

Dave Olsen went on to work for Starbucks as a senior executive. Nathaniel Jackson and Chris Peterson bought the Allegro from Dave in 1990, but their history with the place started long before that. Nathaniel started working as a barista for Dave the first month the Allegro opened in 1975. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the country who has made more espresso drinks than Nathaniel. And Chris began managing the Allegro in 1985 while in college across the street at the University of Washington.

The Allegro has seen a lot of life over the years. It has hosted weddings, memorial services, fundraisers for friends in need, and acted as a venue for touring musicians and local singer/songwriters. It has served as the "de facto" offices of writers, novelists, poets and Ph.D. candidates. The Café Allegro remains today the icon of coffeehouse culture in Seattle.

Owner, Nathaniel Jackson, with classic transistor radio