So long from Connie

The original SD! Senior Editor retires…

I love food, restaurants, the look of rows of sparkling glassware, the sounds of things happening in a kitchen, the murmur of happy diners/drinkers, the feel of a room as guests drift in, the smell of a winery, the look of barrels stacked to the ceiling, the meandering drive through vineyards to a tasting room. I am fascinated by the people who make it happen.

For someone who feels this way and loves to write, being an online chronicler of food and drink has been a dream. I could not have chosen any other work that would have made me happier. It included menus.com, foodline.com, and ChowBaby.com. While networking with culinary public relations people, I was introduced by Eileen Mintz to Tom Mehren of Seattle DINING! at a Feast of Saint Martin wine dinner at Serafina. Historically, the feast celebrated the end of the harvest season and beginning of the “winter reveling season.” Tom and I have been writing, feasting, and reveling ever since.

Tom created Seattle DINING! in 1999; 2024 marks its 25^th year. I have been the editor, writer, and seller of ads full-time since 2004. Tom is “back-of-the-house,” making it all work. We’ve seen many changes, one of the largest being that when I started selling in 2004, people had begun to discontinue budgets for print advertising and moving to online. Twenty-five years later (actually before), it’s moving to social media.

I have loved learning peoples’ backgrounds and sharing the stories behind the stories with readers who feel the same. The stories are endless, hilarious, sad, beautiful, harmonious, and completely out of balance, like all human stories. But these are all about food and beverage, so endlessly fascinating to me.

Seattle DINING! took on a major sponsorship role for the fundraiser I ran for 19 years, Cooking with Class, probably the most fun fundraiser ever (certainly my personal view). I can’t thank Penny Rawson enough for all the years she put into the event, treating it like her own. She is now retired in Naples, Florida. Eileen Mintz created the event with me, and Mark Williams named it. Sadly, both are now deceased. Tom created the logo we used for years.

We also want to thank Ronald Holden who has written for us over a number of years. An amazing writer, his viewpoint is always one that makes us consider things in a different way and reminds us of the fascinating culinary history in Washington.

I can’t thank Tom enough for handing me the gift of running “the front of the house.” The kindest and most motivational thing he’s ever said to me (and he’s said a lot of great things over the years) was, “You’ve done exactly what I wanted to do with it.” Hearing this from someone I consider a visionary, it means a lot.

Coming to the decision to retire from Seattle DINING! has been bittersweet for me. Tom was ahead of his time in creating it, I took editorial to the next level, and we successfully published this online magazine for 25 years. We’re very proud of it yet know it’s our time to revel without deadlines and let a new team take over.

I will continue taking freelance writing jobs, so there will still be deadlines, but a little structure is good right? As Senior Editor Emmeritus, I may even pop back into the pages here from time to time. And we’ll go on enjoying the clinking of glasses and flatware, and savoring the incredible products made from the heart by talented chefs, winemakers, distillers, brewers. Leopards can’t change their spots.

Thank you for reading. And a huge thanks to all those who gave me their time, stories, and the food and beverage they’ve made. It’s been an honor.

Connie Adams/February ‘24