White Center has never seen anything like this. The Unicorn Two is coming to town full of carnival colors and wild decoration thanks to artist and owner Adam Heimstadt. His existing carnival themed bars on Capitol Hill in Seattle Unicorn and Narwhal have achieved a kind of legendary status for their over the big -top style decor. They have been written about in Buzzfeed, visited by Anthony Bourdain, and many others. 

The new space won't be open until December 2019, Heimstadt said, in part because of the extensive work that is required. Located in the La Camera building that spans the block between 16th and 17th SW  the business itself will be at 9832 17th SW. 

Heimstadt began as bartender in downtown Seattle at the Art Bar, then moved to the Twilight Exit and saved his money with the plan to open his own business. That took fifteen years but he managed to get the space at 1118 E. Pike and his ambitions became real. He opened The Unicorn upstairs and the Narwhal downstairs as different but companion spaces. 

He considers himself an artist in a style he calls "CarniFolk" since his work is largely bright primary colors, with gold, in multiple geometric patterns. He usually paints over existing pieces that he finds on buying trips all over the nation. Everything from headboards to trim pieces to doors, but especially clown heads, and stuffed animals are thematically married in his art and decoration.

The main space will be 15,000 square feet and house a large bar, (21 and over only please), two stages for live music or karaoke, and seating for as many as 200 though that is still being determined. Booths along the walls and tables will fill the main floor. A rear space once occupied by a hispanic church will become the game room with another bar, a third stage, pinball machines, video games, Skeeball and much more. Also here will be a private event space. A large kitchen will be installed on the north side of the building (see the carnival style food in the menu link below).

The building will require an extensive retrofit. It's built of cement blocks meaning they must be reinforced for earthquakes and while the glue-lam beams are structurally sound, the interior ceiling must be sand blasted. A new roof is required plus a great deal of plumbing and electrical work must be done. This is a major remodel, not a teardown and build up. 

It is being designed by Babienko Architects who did the design for the current Unicorn bar. A smaller pecentage owner Nick Crowson (currently the Unicorn GM) is also involved in the project.

The art Heimstadt creates takes time. He spends "more than forty hours a week" just adding colors in intricate patterns to the pieces in his collection. "One piece of trim probably took me twenty hours," he said. All the work thus far has taken four years of steady work. He maintains a studio in south Georgetown where it all gets done.

The La Camera building, built in 1949 has 24,000 square feet. It has been home to many businesses over the years. It has housed Karl's Shoes, a national chain, a club once before called the B.F.D. Churches of various denominations and more recently a welding shop, and on16th SW a marijuana supplies store (since moved up the block) and a massage parlor. Those spaces are all being rebuilt and will be available for rent in the next couple of months.

One is 700 square feet, another is 2200 square feet and two others that are 1000 square feet. One of them will be a tattoo shop that will be a companion store to the Alaska Street Tattoos that Heimstadt also co-owns. 

Also key to the business is the large parking lot out front which once the main bar is completed will become home to an outdoor patio space as well.

"I want to open something that is sustainable for the neighborhood," said Heimstadt.

"We were second in line to buy this place. The previous prospective buyer had a plan to fix it up, rent it for ten years then tear it all down, throwing everybody out, then build something big on the site. That's a dream killer to me I know how much money I put into Unicorn, and I've never gotten a loan, until this place. These people that rent the spots, they know I'm not going to wreck the place in ten years because that's the way Seattle is. This will be here forever hopefully. We bought a house down the street."

He and his wife Kaileigh are remodeling a building near White Center right now so he's committed to the community. "She is my rock without her none of this would be possible. She handles all the paperwork and runs the current UNICORN and keeps track of all of our appointments files everything as far as permits and what not ... we just got married on the 13th of May.  Six years together. She’s amazing and extraordinary," Heimstadt said.

The food he's planning to serve will all be carnival style too. You can get a sense of what that means by visiting his existing site and see the menu's here.

Basically it's fun food with corn dogs, burgers, snacks and sweets.

White Center's largest bar ever will be part of the home grown gentrification that has been taking place for the last few years, keeping it true to the neighborhood spirit of self reliance and inclusion. It will be a house of many colors in more ways than one.