Aside from being the foxiest over-50-year-old fox in town, TINA BUECHE is one of the leading reasons why Pioneer Square retains its gritty flair and artsy grassroots flavor. Were it not for her dug-in-heels resistance to the forces of Sidran-ism and yuppie shushing, that grime-speckled neck of our woods would likely be on its way to becoming the new Queen Anne. Not that there aren’t worse things than being very clean and extremely homogenousor that certain corners of Pioneer Square couldn’t stand to be pressure washed like a scummy wooden deck and rid forever of their drunken frat-boy stink. But lest the majority of Seattle become like the majority of New York City (which is to say: white, chain-store linked, and not, dear friends, what it used to be), a little urine smell and a backward baseball cap here and there are not going to kill us. (Now that Mardi Gras bullshit, on the other hand . . . ) Bueche, who moved to Seattle in 1988 and felt a “magnetlike” pull to Pioneer Square, has not only lived on the Square this whole time, she’s co-owned at least one of the neighborhood’s busiest businesses since the early ’90s when she became part owner of Dutch Ned’s. Now she’s solo and running a snappy little diner called, charmingly, Diner, as well as a clothing store called Synapse 206. “I think Seattle has some great clothing stores, and a lot of them can be pretty pricey,” she says. “What I’m always looking to do is strut my stuff in something made by someone right here. That’s why I opened the store.” She even has a monthly Pioneer Square gossip sheet called Square Shorts that lists neighborhood news, gallery shows, etc. She’s on her 124th edition. Although she’s tried to retire, Bueche is practically chainedspiritually and physicallyto Pioneer Square. And anyway, she’s like that clich餠bunny. “I have a lot of energy,” she says, “I guess I just like to work.”Laura Cassidy TINA BUECHE’S PICKS BEST PIONEER SQUARE CHARACTER: “The street guy in front of Starbucks who singshe’s got a great tenor voice. Places are always about the people.” MOST NEEDED PIONEER SQUARE ADDITION: “A shoe store!” BEST MEMORY OF A PIONEER SQUARE EVENT: “A First Thursday a few years agoon a sweltering summer night, a woman dressed in red velvet was singing opera from one of the fire escapes.” BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY: “Honduras. I can’t take small trips. If I’m getting away, I have to get far away.” BEST PLACE TO TAKE AN OUT-OF-TOWNER AND SAY, “HERE, THIS IS SEATTLE”: “I’d take them up to Broadway. If they don’t like it, that’s too bad.” BEST LOCAL POLITICIANS: “Jan Drago, Nick Licata, and I actually really like the mayor.” BEST CLUB FOR DANCING, PAST OR PRESENT: “I used to love Neighbours, and the old Celebritiesit was where the Fenix is now. If I were younger, I think I’d go to LuLu’s or the Catwalk.” BEST PLACE FOR A FIRST DATE: “It hasn’t been opened yet [at the time of this interview], but I’m sure it’s going to be fabulous. The owners of Cassis are opening a place at the base of the Smith Tower. [It opens Wednesday, Oct. 15.] It’s going to be called Bandol, and that’s where I’d like to be taken.” info@seattleweekly.com