One year after surviving a shooting, Le Merde owner re-opening in Ballard

If you’ve seen that pink photo of the white cat in the window at 2607 NW Market St. — next to the new Nordic Museum — that marks the spot of Le Merde, a Phinney Ridge shop that’s moving to Ballard and will re-open this weekend.

Owner Debi Boyette describes the shop as a “curated concept store” with vintage collections and works from indie designers and local artists.

“It’s pretty perfect because I live a few blocks away, so I will be closer to my friends and family,” she told My Ballard. “I’m feeling hopeful about 2018.”

That’s because 2017 was a tough year. Boyette was attending a concert at Crocodile Cafe in Belltown with her son last January when she was wounded in a drive-by shooting. Two others were shot, but fortunately her son escaped unharmed. She spent two weeks in the hospital.

“My recovery was hard,” she said. “I really couldn’t walk much, but I moved around in a wheelchair or a walker.” To complicate things further, she said she clashed with her landlords after an adjacent shop closed, leaving her bills to pay for both spaces.

“I don’t want to be fearful of getting back into life,” she told Vanguard Seattle two months after the shooting. “Life is so short, and there are so many things I want to do.”

Ballard is Boyette’s fresh start. She’s opening Le Merde this Saturday, and she’ll celebrate the grand re-opening on the 18th on Art Walk — one day before the first anniversary of the shooting.