Restaurant, business news roundup

Here’s a roundup of various restaurant and business news from around Phinney Ridge and Greenwood.
Violet Sweet Shoppe is closing its original University/Laurelhurst bakery on Feb. 18 because the property is being redeveloped. They’ll be operating solely out of their second location, a candy shop at 6410 Phinney Ave. N., which opened last fall, for a few months while they set up a new bakery location. (You can still place orders for cakes for pickup at the Phinney Ridge store.)
Modern Japanese Cuisine opened at 6108 Phinney Ave. N. last Friday with shorter hours this week, until its grand opening this Friday, Feb. 6. The restaurant is currently open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starting Friday, it will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (the owners say they may extend this to 10 p.m.) You can get updates on hours and menu items on their FaceBook page. The restaurant serves Japanese French pastries, Japanese burgers, rice dishes, sushi, coffee and Japanese tea, sake and local beer. Phone is 206-420-4088.
We just found out that Cedar River Sake is brewed right here in Phinney Ridge, at 7410-B Greenwood Ave. N. That’s in the alley underneath Martino’s smoked meats, and where Lantern Brewing used to be before moving to more spacious digs in north Greenwood. Cedar River Sake’s brewery is open from 2-5 p.m. every Saturday for tours and tasting.
Mai Thaiku is celebrating its second anniversary at 6705 Greenwood Ave. N. in Phinney Ridge with a special anniversary menu through February and a daily happy hour from 4-6 p.m. Phone is 206-706-7807.