Save The Ave

Save The Ave - Keep the U District Unique!

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

1,536+

Online Petition Signatures

300+

In-Person Petition Signatures

Recent Press Articles

Save Cedars, Oppose McDonalds

Have you heard? - A McDonalds is set to replace the Flowers Bar and to displace Cedars of Lebanon. Lengthy renovations will likely include tearing up the sidewalks to improve the plumbing and electricity in the building. We oppose the takeover of giant corporations on the Ave. Do you?

Students living, working, commuting, shopping and learning in the University District will be impacted by this takeover. Not only will the construction cause more disruptions, but they will also suffer from increased congestion.

A McDonalds without a drive thru on a street that is Bus Only will increase the amount of food delivery drivers in the area. This creates more traffic, more stalling in the middle of the street, and less parking available.

You can expect other small businesses on the Ave to suffer more than they already are. The cheap options available from them will instead be replaced by McDonald's value meal burgers and fries (and you can expect those to be sold at a higher price due to its location). Dick's Wallingford will likely take a hit from its customers living on the west side of campus.

Corporations do not tend to do well on the Ave, evidenced by the departure of Target, CVS, a Starbucks, and a McDonald's in 1994 (which closed after only six years). These companies push out local small businesses, sign a long contract then pull out, leaving the storefront vacant for years. Your favorite hole in the wall might be next.

By opposing this change, you can make your voice heard. We can make it clear that the community that builds the University District thrives. We can Keep the U District Unique.

1,812+ Petition signers...

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Plus 1,510 online signers at Change.org

You can also add your name to the original petition on Change.org:

Change.org

In the Press

The Ave’s Cedars of Lebanon May Be Getting Cut Down and Replaced With a McDonald’s

Published March 14, 2025 in EATER Seattle

By Harry Cheadle

McDonald’s is poised to move into the University District — and not all of its would-be neighbors are happy.

Read Article

Beloved Ave Resturant Might Be Replaced by a McDonald's

Published March 13, 2025 in The Stranger

By Charles Mudede

Say it ain't so. According to U District Advocates, Cedar's of Lebanon, "the oldest restaurant on The Ave," might be replaced by, of all things, a McDonald's. True, this is something rather new in this city, where the normal running of things is to give small businesses the boot for luxury towers that offer hoity-toity dining.

Read Article

‘Golden Arches’ replace Flowers: McDonald’s moves back to the Ave

Published February 24, 2025 in The Daily UW

By Sophia Sostrin

A new McDonald’s is set to take over the former Flowers bar and restaurant on the corner of University Way and Northeast 43rd Street, marking another instance of a mega-chain replacing a locally-owned business in the U-District.

Read Article

Cedars of Lebanon - The Sturdy Heart of the U District

Published February 6, 2025 in In the News

By Nova Berger

In the heart of the U District, grows the sturdiest tree in the Pacific Northwest. At 43rd and University Way, across from the reliable link light rail stop sits the lovable, creaky , quirky cornerstone of The Ave: Cedars of Lebanon. Not to be confused with its fellow Indian counterpart of the same name, Cedars of Lebanon is a storied restaurant with roots as sturdy and old as its namesake.

Read Article

Select Comments

Aidan: "McDonald’s sucks. Small business should take over"

Alexander: "I understand that we want to improve the Ave, but bringing in a mega corporation to serve poor food at high prices is not the way to do this, please revitalize this space with a business that does a better job meeting the community’s need with healthier food owned by local people."

Allison: "This is a terrible change for our neighborhood. Save Cedar's, dump the McDonald's!!!"

Amy: "Cedar’s is a wonderful restaurant with a lot of history. They actually have healthy and delicious food options. Also the last McDonald’s we had on the Ave attracted a criminal element. Why would this be any different?"

Ariel: "We don't need another town full of boring big-corp chains that have no life. Let's keep our lively, unique, creative, interesting, local, and beautiful community alive!"

Arulrani: "We need quality food for our kiddos!"

Ashok: "It should be known that exclusive zoning is what is driving Cedars out. Landlord greed is one factor but we enable it by making retail space in dense areas scarce and therefore extremely expensive. Expect more stories like this unless we greatly upzone all of Seattle. Or embrace your "neighborhood character" and watch as the establishments that actually give your neighborhood character are driven out by insane costs."

Cameron: "As a University District resident for nearly 10 years, I can promise you this will be one of the least frequented locations on the ave. Do better."

Carey: "U-district deserves better"

Elizabeth: "The Ave has unique character and special businesses. The changes in ownership over the recent years is impacting the area enough without such a most unwelcome international corporate business to come here. Business should reflect the diversity of cultures of the university community and those who come for good shopping and tasty meals."

Emily: "My heart breaks for Cedars, which I've been visiting nearly every week since I began working in the University District years ago. The owners are such pillars of the community that I know them on a first-name basis. John even gives customers his homegrown plums in the summer months. As the University District loses yet another small business and two invaluable community leaders to high rents, we gain ... an expensive, faceless fast-food chain? It makes me furious. Landlords are allowed to jack the prices while City Council members sit back and collect a paycheck. When will Seattle City Council END landlord greed and work to support the people it supposedly represents? When will University District representatives and the University of Washington stand up for the community members they rely upon to function every day?"

Emily: "Small businesses are critical, and McDonalds sucks. Support small businesses."

Fall: "Mega corps continue to pluck Seattle's wings to feed the vulture Capitalism."

Janine: "Cedars has been a beloved establishment in the UD with serious food and a warm, friendly environment. Its owners deserve better than to be displayed by the likes of a McDonald's. The last time a McDonald replaced a beloved community business it brought nothing but crime and drugs and unhealthy food to our unique neighborhood. Apparently nothing was learned by this horrible experience, but it's been long gone and for going reason. Aside from displacing Cedars, we should not have a business such as McDonald's going in across from the light rail station where there are always dug addicts, needles, drugs, diet, filth and crime there on 43rd. Having a McDonald go in here and the loss of our Cedars of Lebanon is the wrong way to go and no doubt another bad move by the city council and Mayor Harrell. The University District is already a filthy ghostown. Why anyone would send their child to UW after seeing it is beyond me. Please reconsider this poor plan and replace Flowers with a more favorable establishment. .. one that builds up and enhances this neighborhood, not one that increased crime and violence and drugs, but that attracts university students, faculty, staff, movie goers and other U District supporters. We do not need this neighborhood to become more of a blight on Seattle's dwindling reputation.reputation."

Jessica: "The Flowers' building is a centralized embodiment of the culture and landscape of the Ave, which is a cornerstone to the UW Seattle experience. As neighborhoods across the city continue to be homogenized through gentrification, it is crucial for communities to fight for landmarks and small businesses they love."

Jonathan: "Cedar's of Lebanon and small businesses like it are the cornerstone of any good neighborhood and city. The folks who run Cedar's of Lebabon are some of the kindest, most caring people in the U District, and they are a staple of the community. We don't need corporate fast food, we need real character."

Julia: "This building sits at the heart of University Ave. It will occupy space in the minds of students who walk past it every day. It will imprint on visitors who come see our campus. Its garbage will litter our streets. Flowers represented the spirit of U-District. What does McDonald's represent? This location is inappropriate for yet another corporate fast food restaurant. McDonald's can go somewhere else."

Kaia: "The Ave is an important staple for students who go to the University of Washington, it is walked on by a hundred every day and is home to many small businesses that take pride in serving many students every day. Adding McDonald's would decrease the amount of visitors in the local shops on the Ave, and increasing more traffic making commuting challenging. Mcdonald's is fast food, we need more independent local stores and restaurants that serve good food rather than having chain stores/restaurants."

Kennet: "I've been eating at Cedars for nearly 25 years. The owner has watched my son grow up while he feeds him the best falafel in Seattle. My first date with my now-wife as at Flowers. As sketchy as Flowers was, it's exactly the kind of local culture that would never be replaced with a corporate franchise."

Kyreston: "Flowers was a unique place for UW students to gather for DECADES. The predatory rent practices of these shady commercial landlords are single-handedly destroying everything that made Seattle a wonderful place to live. We cannot allow them to keep running small businesses into the ground and replacing them with the same chain restaurants (that are poisoning Americans with their nasty food) that we can find anywhere in the US."

Max: "McDonald's tastes bad and is expensive booooooo"

Melanie: "The last thing the Ave needs is a McDonald’s, never mind the fact that there’s already one within walking (or busing) distance on 25th. These big corporations are leeches that suck the soul out of the areas they inhabit. What the Ave is sorely lacking these days is an abundance of soul. Removing or defacing a historical building and giving another minority-owned small business the boot in the process will only serve to further destroy our beloved neighborhood. This cannot be allowed to proceed. Let another small business take the place of Flowers and show the Ave the love and care it so greatly deserves!"

Michael: "I've been going to cedars of Lebanon for almost 10 years. The owners are incredibly friendly and kind and make me feel like I'm part of a neighborhood! If they are displaced it will change the U district for the worse! We need more family-owned businesses and more international cuisine!"

Michelle: "Putting at McDonald’s in the udistrict will ruin it its uniqueness, and can cause other stores on the Ave to be affected. The Ave stores have a connection with eachother and adding a McDonalds will ruin this"

MK: "The last thing the Ave needs is a McDonalds!"

Molly: "desecrating flowers’s grave"

Paul: "We need to preserve what’s left of Seattle. Cedars is basically a landmark. You can’t replace places this when they are gone. Remember Cafe Mini? Trattoria Stella, etc? Gone. Even the original 13 Coins location. Gone. Mickey D can go find some other spot to ruin."

Rebecca: "Consider what Jack in the Box and Seven Eleven (on the Ave) do to our neighborhood and ask if we want another place like this. Let’s say no to corporate establishments and keep it local like Pike Place Market."

Sarah: "The big draw to the ave is the abundance of small businesses that foster community and bring a unique experience not available anywhere else. A McDonald’s is the exact opposite of what makes the ave so special. Additionally, cedars of lebannon has been a cornerstone of the community of many years. One time, I walked my dog there to pick up dinner and they gave my dog some scrap salmon! They are so generous and the food is a great value."

Sheena: "Part of why I loved living near the Ave so much is that it felt like a real place, instead of a just another cookie cutter corporate cancer. I very much want to move back there one day, and I have friends there I like to visit, so I'd rather it didn't get paved over to make way for some disposable franchise that's not going to be here half as long as what it's displacing."

ShengYao: "We don’t need another McDonalds to replace a unique presence near campus."

Syrenka: "Cedars of Lebanon is an important legacy landmark in the U District. This family-owned, small business makes delicious and affordable food, and also contributes mightily to the community and character of the neighborhood. I have personally witnessed the owners donate free food to unhoused individuals. They make a point of getting to know their customers, neighbors, and the homeless folks who frequent the area. They watch over the street with compassion and care, and serve as unofficial guardians. I grew up in the U District and attended classes at the UW. My family still lives there. Small businesses like Cedars of Lebanon serve as beacons of hope and make the U District a better place to live, shop, visit, and experience. We need them in this neighborhood."

Theodore: "I'm another looking to help save Flowers. I have another petition, but also have a Facebook "Save U-District's Ness Flowers.. Say NO to McDonald's." Please follow that Facebook as multiple groups try to come together and fight McDonald's."

Tom: "The U District is a key part of our city, and Cedars is an example of why it is special. Let's keep the U District different!"

Wendy: "McDonalds is the last thing needed at this location. Cedars is a small family-owned beloved local business."

Sheen: "The Ave is a place for locals and small businesses. No one wants more corporations pushing out our culture and causing unfair competition with a global giant in a college town vibe. They already have a busy location down in Ravenna just a short walk from The Ave. McDonalds can go play monopoly somewhere else!"

Steve: "This city has already lost most of what made it unique and culturally energetic, due to the "corporatization" of the whole town."

Cindy: "I've seen the Ave through years of changes. When I was first hanging out there, there were vacant lots all along the Ave, with grass and shade trees, under which the hippies would play guitars and everyone sang and had a great time. So many changes! I'd like to help preserve just as much of the Ave as I can. There are too many changes! Bogus."

Karin: "My favorite place on earth please don’t tear down anything else"

Gayle: "Let’s keep the “U District Unique”! MAC Donalds belongs near a mall or in a driver friendly location ~ they are bound to fail & are hurting small business by wasting the iconic “Flowers” space & displacing an iconic restaurant (Cedars of Lebanon)."

Jay: "I've always thought this was such a cool location. I wasn't a regular there, but I know it was popular with college students (a bit too popular, in hindsight). I would love for the space to be taken by another small business or literally anything that would preserve its character."

Support Small Businesses

The University District community has a long history in support of its unique legacy small businesses.

Community Advocacy

Letter to City Council

On March 17, 2025, the University District Community Council sent this letter to Council President Sara Nelson requesting support from the City for our many independent, legacy small businesses.

Read Letter