Glassybaby left 10230 Main Street and reopened across town on October 1. Veritables, at 10220 Main, closes on October 15 after 18 years. Matcha Magic, at 10246 Main, serves its last matcha on November 1. All three storefronts fall within 26 street numbers of each other on the same piece of land at Main Street and 103rd Avenue NE. That land is the site of North of Main, an eight-story apartment building whose demolition and first-phase building permits were issued in August and September.
The closures are about one block. That block is also the only part of Main Street that falls outside the temporary development rules Bellevue adopted in 2026. Along the rest of the street, the older facades now have protection they didn't have a year ago. The tenants inside them don't.
One Site, Several Familiar Doors
North of Main is a Vander Hoek Corporation project. It covers about 0.71 acres and plans call for 176 market-rate apartments, 10,363 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 154 parking stalls. All existing structures on the property are set to come down. Downtown Bellevue Network reported those details when Veritables announced its closing.
Here is what's known about each business tied to the site as of October 11, 2026:
| Business | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Glassybaby | 10230 Main St. | Moved to Design Market, 1048 116th Ave. NE; opened there Oct. 1 |
| Veritables | 10220 Main St. | Closing Oct. 15; owner plans pop-ups and a search for a new location |
| Matcha Magic | 10246 Main St. | Closing Nov. 1; looking for a new Bellevue location |
| Araya's Place | 10246 Main St., Suite C | No closing or relocation announcement found |
| Jarbo | 10240 Main St. | No closing or relocation announcement found |
| Lavender Spa | 15 103rd Ave. NE | No closing or relocation announcement found |
In February 2025, the Daily Journal of Commerce listed Araya's Place, Lavender Spa and Jarbo among the businesses on the redevelopment site. Their directory listings still show the Main Street addresses. We found no announcement from any of the three about a final day or a new home. If you're a regular at one of them, check with the business directly before your next visit.
La Ree Boutique closed first. The upscale women's clothing store shut on September 25, 2025, after 20 years. Its founder's fine jewelry store, Gin & The Banker, is still open on Main Street.
What the Permits Say, and What They Leave Open
The paper trail for North of Main sits in the regional MyBuildingPermit system. In order:
- July 31, 2025: the city published its design review Notice of Decision. Final design review approval followed on August 14, 2025.
- August 26, 2026: the city issued a demolition permit for four existing structures. When we checked, no inspections had been recorded on it.
- September 10, 2026: the city issued the Phase 1 building permit, listed at 21 103rd Ave NE.
- Still pending: the Phase 2 building permit, which covers the upper residential floors, had not been issued.
The Phase 1 permit describes the base of the building. It includes two and a half levels of underground parking with 154 stalls. Above that come three levels of concrete podium holding the retail space, building support areas and the first 40 apartments. The rest of the units sit above the podium and belong to Phase 2.
The permit also explains how the building fits the site. Because of the "substantial grade change across the site," part of the highest occupied floor sits 76 feet, 8 inches above the lowest level of fire department access. Through an approved alternate method request, the building was classified as not a high-rise. Anyone who has walked up from Main Street toward the northern edge of Old Bellevue knows the slope it describes.
The permits don't include a start date. In July 2026, Downtown Bellevue Network still described construction as only potentially beginning in early 2026. We found no later public announcement of a groundbreaking or a completion date. The demolition and Phase 1 permits are issued and the storefronts are emptying, but the calendar for the demolition crews hasn't been made public.
Why This Block, and Only This Block
North of Main also helped prompt a change that matters for every other storefront on the street.
On February 10, 2026, the Bellevue City Council voted 4-3 to adopt an interim official control for Main Street between 100th Avenue NE and Bellevue Way. Under the rule, new development in that stretch has to be compatible with neighboring buildings and reflect the area's established design character. Any facade more than 50 years old can come down only if the owner shows it has no historic or cultural value. None of the buildings in the corridor holds official state or national landmark status, so the rule does work that a landmark designation would otherwise do.
In July, the council voted unanimously to extend and amend the rules through February 2027. Property owners and developers had raised concerns about the cost of compliance and unclear design requirements. The council responded by spelling out the standards more clearly and adding incentives for developers who keep existing facades.
North of Main is exempt. The project had already vested under the earlier zoning, so it goes forward under the rules that applied when it entered permitting. The interim control covers the Main Street properties that haven't entered the permitting process yet. As a result, the block where the closures are happening is the one block the new standards don't cover.
The rules also have a limit. As Downtown Bellevue Network reported, they don't require developers to keep existing businesses or tenants, and the city doesn't have the authority to make property owners retain specific commercial occupants through a redevelopment. Future permanent rules could shape building size, scale and architectural design. Who rents the space would still be up to the owner.
So the rules protect the buildings along the rest of Main Street: a low, older streetfront with facades that would need a case made before they could be removed. They don't protect the shops. Whether the businesses on the street stay depends on leases and owners' decisions, which is how Main Street has always worked.
Where the Familiar Names Are Going
The shops leaving the North of Main site are handling it in different ways, and each one has said where things stand.
Glassybaby had been at the corner of 10230 Main since October 2009. In July, it announced a move to Design Market, the shopping center on 116th Avenue NE across from Overlake Hospital. The new store gives it a bigger footprint than it had on Main Street, and it opened on Thursday, October 1.
Veritables has been in Old Bellevue since 2008. Its closing sale started September 14 with everything marked down 50 percent or more, and the shop is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through October 15. Owner Marie Harris said the building's ownership decided to redevelop. According to Downtown Bellevue Network, she plans to take some time off, go on buying trips for pop-ups and look for a new location. She wrote, "This is not the last chapter." The shop has been a regular stop on the Old Bellevue wine walk, most recently in May.
Matcha Magic opened in May 2022 in the former Jujubeet space, and founder Rachel Barnecut started the brand on Main Street. It has since added cafes in Redmond, Capitol Hill, South Lake Union, New Orleans and Tempe, Arizona. Conscious Hospitality Group, the Bellevue company that operates it and also grows Just Poke, SUGO Handroll Bar and HAPS Burgers, told Downtown Bellevue Network that Matcha Magic is looking for a new location in Bellevue. No timeline has been announced.
Only one of the three has a confirmed new address. Veritables and Matcha Magic both say they intend to stay connected to Bellevue. Neither has said where or when.
The Rest of Main Street This Fall
Beyond the construction fencing, the street is still busy. Fran's Chocolates at 10036 Main Street and Third Culture Coffee at 80 102nd Avenue NE were both merchant hosts for the Old Bellevue Fall Wine Walk in September.
One new name is on the way, though without a date yet. In March, Downtown Bellevue Network reported that Bar da Vila, a Brazilian restaurant, was planned for 10145 Main Street after signage and a chef job listing appeared. The restaurant's website still says "Coming Soon" and gives no opening date.
The next date on the calendar is set. The Old Bellevue Merchants Association hosts Little Monsters on Main Street, a free Halloween event, on Saturday, October 31, from 1 to 3 p.m. That's the day before Matcha Magic's last day of service.
December dates aren't posted yet. The association's Jingle Bellevue page still shows the 2025 event, which ran on December 6, 13 and 20, and no 2026 schedule had been published as of October 11.
At Macdonald Group, we follow changes like North of Main closely because a redevelopment on one block can affect the blocks around it. If you own near Main Street and want to know what the interim rules and the new building could mean for your property, we're happy to go through the permits and timeline with you. Get in Touch.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
