Sole Repair

Our wedding at Sole Repair Shop was everything! Joan and Paula were a dream to work with through the whole planning process. They took all of our wants and needs and molded them in to the perfect event. Sole Repair’s rockstar staff made sure everyone and everything was taken care of the night of resulting in many guests commenting: «Best wedding I’ve ever been to!» Pat on the back to us for choosing this amazing venue for our wedding.

We had our wedding at Sole Repair a few weeks back and had a great experience. It was more of a cocktail party for 90-​ish people with a brief ceremony thrown in. The venue has a neat atmosphere, and the staff are responsive, accommodating, and anticipated many of our needs. They took care of many of the essentials in-​house, which, considering that we planned the event from across the country, had immense value for us.
Great food, ambience, and overall service. Joan & Paula, thanks for being on point and helping us to create wonderful memories.

The space was exactly what we were looking for. The garage door gave us the outdoor feel without having to make a rain plan. We loved the separation between our ceremony downstairs and our dinner upstairs in the loft. Feed Co was highly complimented by our guests. My wife and I are vegetarian and we found the flavors and freshness to be exactly on par with what we expected. A few other guests had dietary restrictions and these were handled with ease. The kids in particular loved the passed appetizers.
Our communication with Joan and Paula was prompt, which put us at ease. We had lists and lists of questions for them of which were all answered quickly and with the creativity of design in mind. We were invited to events and tastings before our wedding so our framework of finished details was fresh in our minds. This is a great mixed use space and we loved it for our wedding. I don’t think we were ever told «no» for anything we wanted to do. We were absolutely impressed with the flexibility and care of the Sole Repair team.

I absolutely LOVE this venue! I worked with Paula and Joan to plan a HS reunion at Sole Repair and it was beyond everything I was looking for and more for a reasonable price! The food was absolutely delicious and the venue itself was beautiful. I did not have to bring anything to help decorate because it already looked gorgeous and classy inside with the type of lighting and décor they already had in place. Everyone at the reunion enjoyed themselves and everyone loved the food choices and drinks! It made it easier that this placed catered as well because then I didn’t have to deal with hiring other people. (Get the tempura seasonal vegetables and salt cod fritters! Soooo good!)
It was really nice that they had a sound system too because it saved us a lot of money by not hiring a DJ and just playing a premade playlist from Spotify. However if you do prefer a DJ, they offer that too! This venue is great for just about any private party you can think of and the space is great because it has an upstairs lounge as well. Paula and Joan were very hospitable and it made it easy to work with them! When it came to budgeting and contracts, Paula did an outstanding job itemizing everything for me. There was never any confusion on the charges and her straight forward approach made it easy for me to select this venue for our reunion. Paula and Joan met my every need and I’m glad to have had such a great staff to help put on our event. I plan to come back with future events! You need to rent this place out! I highly recommend it! You will surely not be disappointed at all! From food to drinks to security, staff, and management, Sole Repair is GREAT!

This is a really neat event space right next to Quinn’s on Pike. I had never noticed it before until our company had a work event here. The lighting and décor is rustic and cute. I can imagine a small wedding reception here. The ambiance feels very much like Capitol Hill, hipster, and stylish.
The food was pretty good although some of my coworkers didn’t enjoy some of the bites as much. The bathrooms were very clean, and the layout was a bit funky because there’s an upstairs area too, but it wasn’t too bad.

I was quoted (in an email) one price, but when the contract came in a few weeks later, the price was roughly double. What’s annoying about this is that I actually called and spoke to someone who told me the fee we were quoted would include a bartender. The contract showed otherwise. Not a good way to conduct business, and disappointing 34 students (who are your potential customers) is not good for your reputation.

My husband and I got married here this November! The space was gorgeous, the food was delicious and the service was wonderful. Most of all though, both Paula and Joan (the event coordinators) were an absolute delight to work with. They were easy going but very organized and responsive. They made the potentially stressful process of planning our wedding and the actual day a breeze and a joy.

We had an office party here yesterday and it was a lot of fun. There were some highs and lows but overall I left feeling happy.
The space is actually pretty small so it did get a little crammed up with more than 100 of us there. They had some really good live music but unfortunately it was just too loud and none of us could hear ourselves speak.
The event was catered by Quinn’s next door (which I think is owned by the same people). The food was not bad. Small manageable bites made it easy to eat standing. The smoked ham, buns with mustard and pickled olives, the grilled cheese and the tempura squash were really good. The bacon popcorn was fantastic and we couldn’t get enough of it. The sliders and the chicken apple sausage unfortunately were just meh and a little dry and bland.
The wait staff and the bartenders were absolutely fantastic. They worked very hard, were extremely nice and polite to every one, made sure there was a steady flow of food and handled an over-​crowded bar extremely well. Full points to the entire staff for a really great job. In case the owners read this, please convey our sincerest thanks to them for making it a memorable afternoon.
Overall I had a fun time and I would love to go back here again for an event, just hopefully one with fewer people.

AWESOME, awesome space! Great catering. Great experience. We held a business workshop at Sole Repair and it worked out perfectly. Not to mention the team had fun at Quinn’s for HH afterward. Thanks Paula & Joan — you were awesome to work with!

I’ve been through weddings and plenty of good ol’ parties through this place and its always been such an enjoyable space!
The place has the perfect amount of space in keeping things intimate as well as letting your entourage spread out a little without going off too far into the deep ends of a room.
The bar staff was excellent and patient, even the doorman seem to be be sporting the good attitude!

This was an awesome space for a private party. It’s versatile and has two stories and clean bathroom facilities. The only thing to keep in mind is there is only one bar. It’s up to you how many bartenders you think you can fit in there and how much you might need. It can be a little limiting if its going to be a busy party but we had a great time!

Had our wedding here and loved the space. We rented a photobooth which enhanced our guests experience.
Management, however, is very unorganized and not helpful. We ended up having several additional charges we weren’t prepared for at the end of the night. I would not recommend for a big day but if someone else is paying it’s a great place to party.

Fantastic space for your party, reception or gathering! Delicious food catered by Quinn’s next door. Aside from needing a better sound system, bar and upstairs loft is perfect. Coat check closet and two restrooms. Monkey’s got nothing planned, but so wants to book this space!

My first group photography show was hosted at Sole Repair. Because I did not have many prints at the time, they let me bring in my projector and set things up exactly how I wanted. The staff were professional, helpful, and let me «do my thing».
Thank you for hosting great events on the Hill, Sole Repair!

Interesting space w/​friendly bartenders, great DJ — have been to great parties here. Emerald City Soul Club hosted an after-​party during Cap Hill block party and recently PNB’s hosted their fashion show here.
Bartenders are decent and have an impressive selection of liquors including chartreuse, lillet, campari. Enjoyed a delicious chartreuse drink made-​to-​order.
Tall-​ceilinged space features a medium dance floor and bar on the ground floor and lounge in the loft.

I’ve been to a few open-​to-​the-​public events and private affairs, and I’m a big fan of Sole Repair. The catering is decent, the bartenders they bring in are good, the door people are solid, and the events that book them out are decent (no that they have THAT much to do with the choice, but I haven’t ever seen a douchey crowd spilling out.)
I don’t have experience in pricing and organizing any events there, but Grace has been polite and friendly whenever she’s dropped by to make sure things are going smoothly at the space. If the prices are good, book it! It’s pretty, in a great location, and ultimately a solid operation.

I love the space. It’s beautiful and clean, and the rental fee is way cheap.
I rented Sole Repair for my wedding reception, and had a frustrating time getting emails returned and drink menus figured out with the resident caterer/​bar manager. Besides the communication issues, however, the setup was easy, the drinks and food were exceptional, the doorman was nice and funny, and the space was lovely and comfortable.
Parking is normally available at the lot to the south, but this weekend another wedding had somehow rented that entire lot. I’m not sure how, or who to contact to find that out, but watch out for that eventuality, and have a back up plan.
I saw another reviewer mention the free wifi though and lol’d — it’s from the coffee shop down the street. Great wireless signal, but I’m just sayin’.

I recently took the time to meet the owner/​coordinator (Grace) and take a good look at the place in hopes of finding the perfect unique, non-​traditional wedding ceremony and reception site that wouldn’t cost $ 2 983 742 987 429 to rent.
Pros:
+ Awesome atmosphere, very eco-​chic and modern space; blank canvas to work with
+ Perfect for my expected guest list (about 80 guests) — not a lot of nooks and crannies to hide in
+ Relatively cheap rental fee (mere $ 500 for ~8 hours)
Cons:
— Have to use their bar = EXPENSIVE (especially considering the pack of booze hounds sure to attend my wedding)
— The random smelly piles of trash and empty beer bottles outside the door that I had to stumble through upon my entrance («Yes Grandma, this IS where we’ll be vowing and professing our undying love»)
— Only two toilets (I can already see the nightmarish queue forming in a huddle in that itty bitty hallway as I spend 37 minutes trying to not get piddle on my wedding dress)
— Have to get very creative in set-​up and table/​chair arrangement when having a ceremony and reception in the same tiny space
— Wedding rental fees shoot up when tacking on the additional:
required ceremony fee
required security fee
linen rental fee
additional chair fees, etc.
In addition, when I met Grace she was cordial enough, but she didn’t seem to really care about my interest in the place or my vision for my wedding. (I’m not saying that everyone needs to jump up and down with excitement when dealing with brides-​to-​be, but at the very least feign some sort of desire to be a positive part of their wedding experience.) She was also very slow in responding to my initial inquiries about the place, which I found rude. I am always prompt and polite; is it so much to ask the same of someone else, especially if I’m willing to give them thousands of dollars?
Ultimately, we decided not to use Sole Repair as our wedding venue. Too many small and unexpected fees that rack up, and the use of the bar alone would exceed the costs of the rental and food combined. (Not to mention that I don’t want to put my 100 guests to the trouble of finding parking on Capitol Hill on a Saturday evening.)

Sole Repair is a great spot! As a huge, HUGE fan of Quinn’s — I was excited to learn that Sole Repair (right next door) is operated by the same people. The two places couldn’t be more different from each other but Quinn’s is such a success that I was sure Sole Repair would be a solid spot to go to.
Most recently I was there to attend a little DJ/​dance party event. I heard about it via word of mouth and just sort of ended up there. The drinks are good, the service was good, and (girls — this is important — the bathrooms were clean!)
If you’re planning to host a party or event, Sole Repair is a great spot! It’s spacious, modern, and has just an overall nice vibe about it. I’ve never had a bad time there in all my visits. Come to think of it … I think this will be a good place to celebrate my 27^th birthday!

On a cold and rainy night, we found ourselves in First Hill… why, you may ask. Well, to go to Quinn’s of course. I was dropped off to do recon and get us a table: there was a 45-​min wait.
Now I’m not trippin’. I know this Unilocal IS NOT about Quinn’s, but the Quinn’s host said we can wait in «their» lounge: Sole Repair. Sounded good to me — better than waiting at the crowded bar inside Quinn’s. The host said they’d come and get us when our table would be ready. I love Quinn’s!
So, we walked out the door and hooked around the corner and walked to a nondescript white door. This is where the Sole Repair Lounge was. I can’t remember seeing if there was a sign outside (it was rainy and dark), but I liked the «speakeasy» feel to this place. You would have never known there was a cool lounge inside the rickety white door of Sole Repair.
Inside is a clean, stylish, and chic bar/​lounge. It was fairly chill and non-​crowded after leaving the hub-​bub of Quinn’s. Downstairs is the bar and an open area with tables and very nice couches. Upstairs is a loft overlooking it all with more cool sofas and chill areas.
We ordered a round of drinks. And there are two stories of note:
1) I had a Glenlivet neat. It was funny watching the bar keep. He poured my drink, and it looked like a normal pour. He then took a look at the bottle, and finished the bottle in my glass – dang!
2) While waiting for everyone else’s drinks, the bartender cut an orange peel, lit it on fire, and then threw it into the glass, while making a drink.
«What is that?» I asked.
«Man! You didn’t order this, huh? Well, this is your free drink», he replied.
These two stories changed my 4-​star to a 5.
This was an awesome place and excellent place to while the time away before Quinn greatness. Now this lounge isn’t open all the time. Apparently, it is rented out quite a bit for private functions. But, when it’s available, you have to make a stop on by. The elusiveness of this lounge reminds me of the island on LOST as it hops around the ocean, or Platform 9−¾ for the Hogwarts Express. You need Mother Luck on your shoulder to experience this swanky venue.