Espresso Stand's Kate Hanauer Pulled Wallingford Together

Mia Piace, an espresso stand in the parking lot at the QFC grocery store in Wallingford, has always gotten a lot of attention.

Its owner, Kate Hanauer, 31, of Vashon Island, was the reason why, loyal customers say. Her ready smile and boundless energy brightened their mundane trips to the grocery store.

Yesterday, as news of Mrs. Hanauer's death in a car accident last Thursday in Wyoming became widely known, the stand received no less attention, and the standard reaction was shock.

"People walk around in disbelief," said QFC manager Rich Lopez, his voice trembling. "She was just loved by everyone."

Her husband, Joff Hanauer, was critically injured in the accident and remains hospitalized in Wyoming.

Regular customers wandered by the stand yesterday, staring at the cards, flowers and tributes. A poem, "Song of Kate," as well as photographs of the couple and her funeral announcement were posted in the window.

"We love you Kate," written on the stand's window in white marker, could be read by all who paused to order or reminisce about what Mrs. Hanauer meant to them.

"She was one of the things that made this neighborhood a neighborhood," said Jeff Treistman, a regular who stopped by to confirm the rumors and to commiserate with other customers.

"She was just a really upbeat, spirited person. She really pulled the neighborhood together."

Camille Hall, a 2 1/2-year employee of Mrs. Hanauer and her sister, Teresa, with whom she owned Mia Piace, was operating the espresso stand yesterday for its first full day of service since the accident. Her job became one of not only making coffee, but fielding questions, and dealing with the loss in her own way.

"It's been kind of cathartic," she said about talking with the regulars who stopped in to share their sympathy and grief. "I was a wreck this morning, but this helps. It has been difficult, but so many of the customers feel like family, they deserve some answers."

Mrs. Hanauer carved her place in the community. When QFC took over from neighborhood landmark Food Giant last year, hundreds of people in the community demanded that Mrs. Hanauer's business be allowed to stay. Lopez said her importance to the community was impossible to deny, so QFC let her keep her business intact.

"She was just a fixture in this community," he said. "The community wanted her here, it was as simple as that."

And the community's response has shown just how much she meant to them, said Mrs. Hanauer's brother, Steve Stuller. The cards, flowers and endless condolences never stop, he said. Even QFC is pitching in, catering the memorial service, which is expected to draw hundreds of Mrs. Hanauer's customers and friends.

"It really makes it much easier to deal with," he said. "She was always the nucleus of the family. What she lived for, in our minds, was keeping us together. It's a huge loss."

Other survivors include her parents, David and Pat Stuller; brothers and sisters and their spouses Steven and Andrea Stuller, Teresa and Mike Dean, Julie Stuller; and nieces Ava Stuller and Anna Dean, all of Seattle.

Funeral services will be held 2:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Luke Parish, 322 N. 175th St., Shoreline. People seeking more details are welcome to call a message phone set up by the family at 823-3703.

Murray Whyte's phone message number is 206-515-5686. His e-mail address is: mwhy-new@seatimes.com