A 147-square-foot coffee shop in Pike Place Market's Post Alley, occupying a former restroom-attendant room near the Gum Wall and reportedly haunted by longtime Market Director Arthur Goodwin.
1499 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Standard coffee shop pricing; espresso drinks and pastries.
Access
Limited Access
Tiny 147-square-foot shop in Post Alley; limited maneuvering room.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1907 · One of the smallest commercial spaces in Pike Place Market (147 sq ft) · Headquarters for Market Ghost Tours · Adjacent to the Market Theater Gum Wall · Located in a former restroom-attendant service room within the Pike Place Market Historical District
Ghost Alley Espresso opened around 2014 in a 147-square-foot space at 1499 Post Alley in Pike Place Market, between the main arcade buildings and the Market Theater's famed Gum Wall. The space had previously been a small service room used by an attendant for a nearby public restroom, and was one of the smallest commercially leasable units in the market complex.
Owner Mercedes Carrabba also operates Market Ghost Tours, a long-running Pike Place Market ghost-tour business. Ghost Alley Espresso functions both as a working coffee shop and as a check-in headquarters for tour groups, with shop fixtures, signage, and merchandise leaning fully into the ghost theme.
The shop sits within the Pike Place Market Historical District and shares the building footprint with the Market Theater (home of the Market Theater Players and, on its alley-facing wall, the accumulated chewing gum that constitutes one of Seattle's most-photographed informal landmarks). The shop's small scale, alley location, and proximity to the gum wall have made it a viral-photo destination in its own right.
Ghost Alley Espresso has been profiled in Wikipedia, Secret Seattle, and various regional travel features. The shop's exterior signage and storytelling materials describe its resident spirit, Arthur Goodwin — the market's director from 1918 to 1941 — whose office during the market's early decades was reportedly the closest of any market manager to the shop's current location.
Sources
According to the shop's own 'Our Ghost' page, the Wikipedia article on Ghost Alley Espresso, and Secret Seattle coverage, the shop's resident spirit is identified as Arthur Goodwin (1887-c.1956). Goodwin served as Market Director from 1918 to 1941 and, with his uncle Frank Goodwin, was central to the market's first three decades. According to the shop's narrative, Arthur's working office during this period was reportedly nearest to the future shop's footprint, providing a documented-figure anchor for the lore.
Baristas have reported seeing the apparition of a tall man in a hat standing in the shop's doorway, particularly during quiet morning hours. Objects on the east interior wall — including framed photos and shelved items — have reportedly flown off the wall without apparent cause. The shop's iPad point-of-sale register and espresso equipment have been reported to behave as if operated by unseen hands, with ordering screens advancing on their own and steam wands cycling.
Owner Mercedes Carrabba reportedly performs regular sage cleansings of the shop. Unlike many Pike Place Market ghost stories that center on tragic deaths, the Arthur Goodwin narrative at Ghost Alley Espresso is positive in valence — a market manager whose attachment to his work is presented as an enduring presence rather than as a residual trauma. The shop leans fully into its ghost identity for branding, merchandising, and tour-promotion purposes.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Stop into the 147-square-foot coffee shop on Post Alley, adjacent to Pike Place Market's Gum Wall; the shop's interior is itself the site of reported activity attributed to Arthur Goodwin.
Ghost Alley Espresso operates as a tour-guide headquarters for Market Ghost Tours, with multiple Pike Place Market routes departing nearby.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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