Seattle University's campus (901 12th Ave) borders Broadway, where the First Hill Streetcar runs along its west side. That puts students between two of the city's main shopping areas: Capitol Hill, with its bookstores, resale shops and boutiques around Broadway, Pike and Pine, and downtown, about 3 minutes by light rail from Capitol Hill station.
For the 2026–27 school year the Redhawk Shop, Seattle U's campus store, sells Seattle University gear online and at pop-ups on both campuses rather than in a walk-in store. Course materials come through the eCampus online bookstore, with home delivery or pickup at Supercopy. The campus-store office is in the Pavilion on the courtyard level (1111 E Columbia St, Pavilion 010); the phone is 206-296-6117, and the shop's Instagram is @redhawk_shop.
Supercopy, next door in the Pavilion, handles copying, binding, USPS and FedEx shipping, shipping supplies, notary services and campus ID cards. Check Seattle U's campus store and Supercopy pages for current hours.
Trader Joe's (1700 E Madison St), a short walk northeast of campus, is the budget pick for basics; Seattle U students rank it among the cheapest stores nearby. Grocery Outlet, at E Union St and Martin Luther King Jr. Way about 1.2 miles east of campus, came out cheapest of all in a Seattle U student price check. On Sundays the Capitol Hill Farmers Market sets up just north of Cal Anderson Park and accepts EBT with SNAP Market Match.
Books, Resale and Boutiques
Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Ave), founded in 1973, has more than 150,000 titles on cedar shelves across several levels, the Little Oddfellows café and frequent author events. On Broadway, Crossroads Trading (325 Broadway E) buys, sells and trades secondhand name-brand clothing and accessories and is open daily 11am to 8pm, and Throwbacks NW (1205 E Pike St) sells vintage Seattle sports gear, from '90s Sonics tees to Seahawks hats and jerseys.
On E Pine, Taylor Stitch (315 E Pine St) carries the San Francisco brand's menswear and Warby Parker (305 E Pine St) sells glasses and sunglasses, with eye exams bookable online. In Melrose Market, Glasswing (1525 Melrose Ave) mixes clothing and shoes with jewelry, ceramics, apothecary goods and live plants, open daily 11am to 6pm. Our Capitol Hill page has more.
Department Stores and Big Brands
Downtown is a short light rail ride from Capitol Hill station to Westlake. The Nordstrom flagship (500 Pine St) sits next to Westlake Center, and Nordstrom Rack is inside Westlake Center (400 Pine St) until it moves to 601 Pine St in spring 2027. Barnes & Noble (520 Pike St) opened its downtown flagship at Sixth and Pike on May 6, 2026, and Arc'teryx (401 Pike St) does gear repairs, trade-ins and warranty help. See our downtown page for the rest.
Rhein Haus (912 12th Ave), a block from campus at 12th and Marion, is a Bavarian-inspired bier hall with house-made sausages, pretzels and indoor bocce courts. It takes reservations, which makes it an easy pick for a group; check OpenTable for hours, or call (206) 325-5409. For dessert, Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream (917 E Pine St), just south of Cal Anderson Park, churns everything on site and is open Sunday to Thursday noon to 10pm and Friday and Saturday noon to 11pm.
Streetcar. The First Hill Streetcar runs along Broadway between Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill station; get off at Broadway & Marion for Seattle U. Streetcars come every 12 minutes at weekday rush, every 15 minutes midday and on Saturdays, and every 20 minutes early mornings, evenings, Sundays and holidays. Service runs about 5am to 10:30pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 8pm on Sundays and holidays. Pay with ORCA or a ticket from the platform machine.
Light rail. Capitol Hill station (140 Broadway E, next to Cal Anderson Park) is on the 1 Line and 2 Line, about 3 minutes from Westlake and about 40 minutes from SeaTac/Airport, and the streetcar starts next to its west entrance. From the airport, Seattle U suggests riding Link to Capitol Hill and taking the streetcar to Broadway & Marion, or riding to International District/Chinatown and catching the streetcar at 5th & S Jackson.
Bus. From Pioneer Square station, King County Metro routes 3 and 4 from James St and 3rd Ave reach E Jefferson St at Broadway and at 12th Ave.
