Take 5 Urban Market in Ballard reopens a year after explosion

It’s been just under a year since an explosion from a gas leak followed by a fire shut down Take 5 Urban Market, a cheerful little grocery-and-deli beloved by Ballard neighbors and beyond. Luckily, no one was there when it happened, but after more than 15 years in business, it’s been a year of sadly boarded-up windows — a year of legions of fans bereft of one of the city’s best breakfast sandwiches, among other favorites. The place would return, but it seemed like an inordinately long year, watching and waiting.

Good news, everyone: Take 5 Urban Market is back, and pretty much exactly the same as before. The shop reopened April 9 with lines out the door all that day and the following one.

“The reception was — well, it was mind-blowing,” says Take 5 co-owner Rebecca Rouleau. “It was just so much more than I — than we — thought.” She runs the place with her husband, Bryan Vietmeier; he’s Take 5’s sandwich artist. “It was really” — she pauses — “really emotional,” she says, sounding a bit choked up. Longtime patrons brought flowers and cards; the little kids from the preschool down the street all came in, bearing a poster with all their handprints on it. One neighborhood kid, first in line, got to come in and turn on the “OPEN” sign.

And: “So many hugs,” Rouleau says. “I mean, hugs, hugs, hugs!

“I was really feeling the love,” she continues. “We all were.”

Hundreds of breakfast sandwiches were enjoyed in the first two days after the reopening, Rouleau estimates. They ran out of Vietmeier’s famed macaroni and cheese toward the end of Day 1, so he made quesadillas.

After the fire, the only thing that could be salvaged was the espresso machine. The flames took everything else, and the shop’s interior had to be taken down to the studs. They could have made major changes in the rebuild, but, Rouleau says, “I really wanted people to come in and feel like they were in the same space.” 

Things at Take 5 are in the same place: the counter, the deli’s kitchen, even the old-fashioned-style Darrell Lea licorice that regulars love sits in a basket on a new shelf in the exact same spot. Next-door neighbor Vertical Grain, which does custom woodwork, rebuilt the floor-to-ceiling wine cabinet out of cherry. 

In one small, sweet addition, fans of classic soda pop will find more kinds of those. And for a sudsy one, fans of local beer will now find Holy Mountain, Stoup and more. “I’m super happy about that,” Rouleau says of finding the time to establish those relationships while dealing with the insurance company and the rebuild. “I really want to support our local small businesses, like they support me.” She also created a line of Take 5 merch and has bottled their signature seasoning, called Spog, for sale.

Vietmeier’s deli menu takes up right where it left off, and regulars wouldn’t have it any other way — the No. 1 most popular BLATT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, turkey and tomato on grilled sourdough) and the beloved Take 5 Reuben. “That is a serious hot sandwich,” Rouleau says of her husband’s take on the latter. “Four napkins. It is super-good.”

All the food is made from scratch, including the New York cheesecake and bread pudding (per the menu, a “housemade brick of cinnamon toast held together by a heavy vanilla custard, topped with our homemade caramel sauce”). Vietmeier’s résumé includes time as executive sous chef at Seattle’s Four Seasons.

Take 5 did take the opportunity to enlarge the kitchen’s walk-in and reconfigure some storage. And they added a few more seats — including a corner booth “that’s black and red leather,” Rouleau says. “It’s the cutest thing ever. And it’s just full of people all day long.”

Some of those are the people who contributed more than $48,000 to help rebuild Take 5 via a fundraiser started by a customer and friend. 

“We’re just such a part of this community, and they’re such a part of us,” Rouleau says. 

Now Take 5 is back, just waiting on the new awning to shade the sidewalk seating.