Businesses are bustling around Amazon HQ, one year after RTO mandate

It’s been a little over a year since Amazon started enforcing a new policy requiring employees to be back in the office at least three days per week, and businesses around the tech giant’s Seattle headquarters are noticing the effects. 

• During GeekWire’s visit to the South Lake Union and Denny Triangle neighborhoods, restaurants and cafes were bustling, lines snaked down blocks where numerous food trucks were parked, and foot traffic in general seemed more robust.

• Amazon said there’s more “energy, connection, and collaboration” in and around its offices.

• Business owners and workers said Tuesday through Thursday are the busiest days, and some wished for Amazon employees to return five days a week. Read more.

Seattle needs more founders trying to hit home runs. That’s the word from Kyle Lui, a longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist who recently moved to Seattle and is a general partner at Bling Capital. Read more.

Seattle-area wellness startup Viome is targeting oral health with a line of personalized toothpaste and gel products formulated from microbiome data in the mouth. Read more.

Hot Links:

• The FTC is asking Amazon for more details related to its hiring of executives from San Francisco startup Adept. (Reuters)

• Seattle healthcare startup CalmWave inked a key deal for its tech that addresses ICU alarm fatigue. (LinkedIn)

• Vanport Studio is a new startup studio out of Portland, Ore., that aims to help entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses. (Silicon Florist) 

• Seattle venture capitalist Martina Welkhoff launched a new project called Matriarchal Capitalism. (LinkedIn) 

• Amazon MGM Studios scored 62 Emmy nominations, but Netflix led all contenders with 107 and the FX series “Shogun” was tops with 25 nods. (The New York Times)

• Verizon is leasing office space from rival T-Mobile in Bellevue, Wash. (Puget Sound Business Journal)