Updated Sept. 4, 2021

Downtown Perrinville sits at the intersection of 76th Ave. W. (Valley Rd.) and Olympic View Dr. (Snake Trail) shared by both Lynnwood and Edmonds, in the middle of a sprawling residential area surrounded by tall, Christmassy fir trees, mountainous hills, and blue skies — Mother Nature at her finest.

There, you’ll find a quaint and cozy, bustling and growing neighborhood of home-grown mom ‘n pops, pop-ups, restaurants, bakeries, and cafes, and one magical bookstore run by a fairy princess.

Quite a change from the logging, farming town of its mid-1900s origins. In 1938, Jennie Gertrude “Gertie” Perrin plunked down 10 cents in Everett to put this pioneer town on the map. A grocery store, gas station/garage, shops, including Perrin’s antique store, soon followed, filling up the vast spaces with eclectic finds.

Parks, too, thrive here, naturally. Nature lovers, hikers, and bird watchers flock to Southwest County Park to decompress, walk along interconnected trails, and enjoy 120 acres of breathable space.

In 1999, the cities of Edmonds and Lynnwood worked together to give skateboarders their own 5,000-sq.-ft. skate park at Lynndale Park’s northern entrance off Olympic View Drive.

If you come, come spend a day or a weekend. Relax. Browse. Take a walk. Read. Snack, often. Throw out the schedules and deadlines, and enjoy.

Start anywhere your heart, and stomach, lead…

The Perrinville Art Market, southwest corner of 76th Ave. W. and Olympic View Dr., pops up Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., for special events, holidays, and the long-awaited main event, the art & farmer’s market.

 Early Spring Blooming pop-ups are scheduled for March 14, 21, 28, April 11, 18, and Mother’s Day May 2, 9. Slick Chick Jewelry, Caerulean Candle Co., Crystals Wired, and many other artisans will be there. The regular spring/summer art market, featuring local artists, crafters, small farmers, jewelry makers, and more, is held June-Sept. at the big, brown, wood-slat building, where Conor O’Neill of The Cottage, Community Bakery hosts his Saturday morning pop-ups (soon to open at Perrinville Village across the street).

Perrinville Village

The Hook Seafood Broiler & Spirits is Perrinville’s answer to Seattle’s rich and ritzy touristy Waterfront. Except in the forested hills. Your heart’s desire — steak, seafood, and next-level grazing shareables — is served in a relaxed, comfy atmosphere, inside and out, by friendly, warm staff. 

This restaurant is where everyone goes for Happy Hour (3 p.m.-5 p.m.) or the Weekend Kick-Back, or just because. Order the House Steamers — Penn Cove mussels and Manila clams bathing in a light tomato broth, fresh tomatoes, garlic, green onions, and basil, with extra helpings of garlic bread to sop it all up. Also recommended: NW Cioppino, The Hook Seafood Platter, and Flat Iron Steak, using local farmed beef. Huge wine, beer, and cocktail selection.

Where else in Perrinville (and probably the entirety of Snohomish County) can you get comfort food (breakfast, lunch, dessert), custom cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, pies, and sugar cookies, and traditional high tea suitable for a little girl’s birthday, or a ladies’ lunch? Mel & Mia’s, of course. Run like their own kitchen at home, husband-and-wife team Bill and Rebecca Pennington opened up Mel & Mia’s Bakery — named after daughters Melanie and Amelia — in 2017 with other families and community in mind. Rebecca makes the best frittata, crispy potato morsels, fluffy eggs, perfectly seasoned. 

Don’t forget their bacon strawberry grilled cheese, French Onion Soup (or soup of the day), mac ‘n cheese, and affogato, along with “a variety of espresso-based drinks,” and the “Unicorn Hot Chocolate” for the kiddos.

Annie Carl’s the owner, operator, proprietor, and head princess fairy at The Neverending Bookshop, just beyond the main Perrinville Village action. A voracious reader herself, she provides a fantastic, imaginative space for her many loyal clientele. One of only two independent Edmonds bookshops, The Neverending Bookshop houses tons of fantasy/sci-fi/mystery/romance books, as well as those catering to young adults and children. Customers are able to come in with their own books to trade in for store credit. She also hosts weekly and monthly book events, where you can meet the writers and illustrators behind the stories, and discuss everything “Star Wars” with other fans in the popular Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Group.

Calling all crafty crocheters and knitters! All Wound Up Yarn Shop reopened March 9 for in-store shopping by appointment (30 minutes per customer) only. Online pick-ups and Zoom classes are still available. Follow yarn crafters as they show you, step by step, how to knit a precious baby bonnet out of odds and ends, a chunky sweater, or darling stuffie. Virtual Fiber Socials — Tues., Thurs., Fri. — keep friendships with other crafters going.

By June 8, Wilder & Co. Salon’s independent hairstylists will be fully ready to pamper and transform you, with expanded hours, lots of COVID sanitizing in accordance with the latest government guidelines, masking and social distancing to accommodate fewer clients at a time. They provide cut and color, styling, eyebrow waxing, and all that other good stuff.

If all goes well, Conor O’Neill will open the doors to his first bonafide storefront, The Cottage, Community Bakery, next month. Crowd favorites — Walnut Bread, Bavarian Pretzels, Cardamom Buns, Chocolate Chunk Rye Cookies, salted, and French Macarons — keep ‘em coming back for more. 

O’Neill, a local, Old World European-style baker, has been enjoying sold-out crowds at his Saturday pop-ups on the corner of 76th Ave. W. and Olympic View Dr. since 2019. His upcoming new bakery, where American Printing was, in Perrinville Village will continue to serve the community with “honest and local food” made with faith, time, and love.

Across Olympic Ave.

Leave the village and cross the street to Fat Pig BBQ. They may not have much of a social media presence (they’re on Facebook), but they let their low-and-slow pulled pork, ribs, and chicken do all the promoting. A BBQ meal goes for $8.50. Get your ribs by the half or full rack. 

The $4.30 pulled pork sandwich is a screaming deal. Kids can enjoy their rib or chicken drumstick meal with a roll, ½ a corn, juice, and snack for under $6. Sides include that buttery corn on the cob, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread, potato salad, and more ribs. Fat Pig BBQ also caters.

Everyone who moves into the neighborhood, or happens to pass by, eventually stops in at Star Mini Mart & Deli across from Perrinville Village. The neighborhood market sells a surprising amount of everything you could possibly (and immediately) need, from groceries and deli sandwiches to beer, wine, and bubble tea, to even flashy jewelry.

Bistro 76 Café & Catering closed its drive-thru window March 13. That’s a good thing! It means more indoor dining. Online pickup orders are still a-go! Chef/Owner Briana Davis is doing something right, with her incredibly diverse global cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and those special occasions take-and-bakes (St. Patty’s Day house-braised corned beef, anyone?): Cuban pork hash, rice fritters — a family staple, pierogis, banh mi pita wrap, and yakisoba stir-fry. Kids menu, too. Davis and her staff also operate full-service Costa Davis Catering for private and corporate events.

The newest addition to the Perrinville family, Helios Studios gives creatives space to film, shoot, and, well, create. Ever since freelance photographer Mark Malijan opened Helios Studios in Dec. 2020, business has been booming. Clients have included fashion photographers, make-up artists, and hip-hop musician Ato Molaseng, who filmed a video there.

Malijan grew up near the Perrinville area, so it kind of made cosmic sense for him set up shop closer to home, basically starting from scratch, again. He told Everett Herald writer Janice Podsada in Aug. that the pandemic wiped him out, forcing him to rethink and rebuild his life's work. He envisions expanding his studios to Seattle and L.A., his own "West Coast empire," and adds, “Perrinville used to be a dead spot. Now it’s coming back."

Photo Credit: Matt Hulbert