On a recent Trends Trek, we stopped by Snacks!, a bodega-style shop in Ballard, one of Seattle's hipper neighborhoods (local t-shirts read, "Ballard - A sleepy little drinking village with a Condo problem."). Snacks! is reminiscent of the grocery stores in Europe on every corner with something for everyone. And what a spot it was!
While kitsch is king here, with shelves lined with single-serve cereals, Pop Rocks and you never know when you might need a Scotch sponge. They really hit the mark when it comes to marketing to and owning an occasion. Snacks! hours reflects the fact that they know their Millennials audience:
Thurs: 5:00 pm - 2:30 am
Fri - Sat: 10:00 am - 2:30 am
Sun: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
The brainchild of late night hot dog cart owner, Dante's Dog's, knows his crowd. And this crowd is way hip and stays up way late. Forget the middle-of-the-week lunch scene, Snacks! is going for the after-hours munchies crowd, staying open until 2:30 am each weekend. In addition to their Thursday, Friday, Saturday bar-friendly hours, they capture a captive audience on Sunday with the overflow from one of the city's best year-round farmers' markets, which attracts an eclectic crowd of local farmers and artisans, street musicians and patrons from families to foodies.
Snacks! offerings of candies, snacks and booze gives a nod to this market fare with an emphasis on all things local, from local ice cream purveyors to sodas and candies. Here, you can also grab a food-focused spread like Skillet's Bacon Jam and an iconic Pabst Blue Ribbon, along with a thoughtful bright yellow rain poncho (great when it's pouring on your way out of the bar at 2am.) Snacks! hot dogs and soft-serve ice cream are regularly praised on Yelp. No website, just a Twitter account and a Facebook page suggest their clientele are ahead of the curve when it comes to social media.
If you're in the area and craving a snack at 2 in the morning, check 'em out!
