Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: West Seattle Bowl (with a contest!)
Today we’re welcoming the newest WSB sponsor — West Seattle Bowl on 39th just north of Fauntleroy (map). Owners Andy Carl and Mike Gubsch have a lot to share about one of the most fun places in West Seattle: It’s 32 lanes with a full Chinese /American restaurant (Terrace West) and lounge, and it’s one of the few remaining bowling centers in the Seattle city limits. Though West Seattle Bowl was established in 1948, today it is arguably among the most innovative centers in the nation. They were the first center in the U.S. to have an online reservation system incorporated in its website and have had more than 1,000 online reservations since the system started in July 2007. Before that, they were one of the first centers to post league standings online back in the ’90s. And coming soon: Game night on Fridays. This will be a fun interactive contest using a variety of games tied to the scoring system that everyone can participate in while bowling. Winners will receive prizes. Plus, right now – you can win a free bowling party for 30 people valued at $1000. Go to www.westseattlebowl.com and for each online reservation you make between now and August 31st you will be entered into a drawing for a bowling party for 30 people to include, a custom drill bowling ball and bag for the winner and a party for 30 people to bowl for 2 hours, catering by Garlic Jim’s (pizza and salads), and a $250 beverage allowance in our lounge. There’s even more to the West Seattle Bowl story, including special deals they offer, and other ways in which they’ve been trailblazers — read on:Read More
WSB sponsor welcome: Swedish Automotive, with freebies for you!
Swedish Automotive recently joined WSB as a sponsor, and we’re telling you about it with a bit of a lag but in time to get out the word about its annual T-shirt giveaway/contest and bag giveaway. 
First, about Swedish Automotive: Swedish has been West Seattle’s Volvo and Saab repair service center since 1983. Owner Dave Winters says his business philosophy is based on his mother’s old saying – take care of your car, and your car will take care of you. Now, about the T-shirts: Right now Swedish is giving away free reusable canvas shopping bags (timely!) and free T-shirts to anyone who stops by. You do not have to have work done on your car to get a T-shirt and/or bag, nor do you have to own a Volvo or a Saab. But here’s another incentive to stop by for a shirt: Between now and the end of August, Swedish Automotive is having its annual T-shirt picture contest. Swedish wants you to send a picture of yourself wearing their T-shirt while on vacation. The person who sends the picture from the place FARTHEST away from Swedish will win dinner for two at Salty’s. (Get your photo to Swedish by 8/31; winner will be announced 9/15.) All pictures must show the wearer next to an identifiable landmark to be eligible. Dave tells us past winning photos have come from all over — Europe and Asia included. To date, the picture that was taken the furthest from Swedish was sent from the tip of South Africa. But even in this time of “staycations,” the T-shirt and reusable bag can come in handy, so visit Swedish Automotive at 7501 35th SW (map), 206-938-8685. We thank Swedish Automotive and all our other sponsors for supporting WSB; interested in joining them, to have your ad seen an average of 16,000+ times every day (6/08 stats)? Here’s where to start.
WSB sponsor welcome: RD House Property Management
In today’s traditional WSB sponsor welcome, we want to share this information about RD House Real Estate & Property Management. 
Owner/Broker Ricky D. Sadler is a longtime West Seattle resident who started as an agent with the West Seattle John L Scott office, and sold his first house on Fauntleroy, across from Lincoln Park. An interesting trend that RD House has seen, especially in West Seattle, involves owners who decide to rent their property and manage it themselves but quickly realize that being a landlord isn’t something that everyone is cut out for. A myriad of issues all make self-management a very challenging, and unexpected, fulltime, job. RD House uses a flexible operation that allows them to virtually run the business from the field, which they say has been a big success – owners really value their responsiveness, the average days on market for their rental units over the past year is about 25 days, and they are steadily taking on new properties. Aside from running RD House, Ricky D sits on the board of the Seattle chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers and is involved in community support, such as Solid Ground, which provides emergency food and clothing banks, and he’s raised funds for First Place School, which provides a safe educational environment for homeless children. We appreciate the support of RD House and the other West Seattle-based businesses who sponsor WSB; you’ll find them all listed on the WSB Advertise page along with info on how other prospective advertisers can join them.
Fitness freebie: Stroller Strides’ Alki “grand opening”
That’s the Stroller Strides class at Green Lake, warming up before participants and their young charges head out on the path for a unique bring-the-wee-ones workout that’s coming to West Seattle and offering a free class this Thursday. Kelli Currie teaches this class, which we visited last week, and will teach the one on Alki too – to check it out for free, she says you just have to show up at Alki Bathhouse on Thursday morning; sign-in starts at 10, class starts right at 10:30. You can read more about Stroller Strides at its website.
West Seattle, tourist destination: Concierges’ Junction tour
It started with a bus ride on the 37 – met at California/Alaska by West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose (in sunglasses, at left). Last night, more than a dozen concierges from downtown hotels came to The Junction to find out more about places they can recommend their guests visit. From the bus stop, they set off on foot:
Next stop, champagne at Clementine, whose owner Linda Walsh (facing the camera at left) hatched the idea with Georgia Blu owner Krista Means:
The Junction contingent got Russell Hathaway of the Seattle Hotel Concierge Association (and Hotel Vintage Park downtown) to assemble the “tour group”; along with visiting other spots (we didn’t follow the whole tour), they had dinner at Ama Ama. Interesting side note: Several of the participants said visitors thinking about moving to Seattle are the ones who most often ask questions about our side of the bay.
Cart Project update: Pickup time!
We told you recently about Feet First‘s Cart Project – offering discounted pull-carts like the one above to people in the Westwood Village area, as part of a pilot project to encourage people to walk to the store instead of driving. They’ve now set the pickup time – you have to live in the pilot-project area, and you should have received a doorhanger that you can bring along (see a copy of it here) – 3:30-7:30 pm today and each day next Monday-Friday, at Westwood Village QFC. You get the $90 cart for $15 if you pledge to walk at least once weekly to do grocery-shopping and agree to two surveys (initial and followup). Got questions? Call 206/652-2310. If you’re outside the pilot-project area, here’s another way to get a discounted pull-cart – as reported here a week and a half ago, Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) was inspired by the Cart Project and decided to offer discounts on their “shopping trolleys” to shoppers who mention it.
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Village Green Perennial Nursery
The traditional WSB sponsor welcome goes out today to Village Green Perennial Nursery, featured in this month’s edition of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine as a “Community Treasure” (page 47!). Village Green is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. Owner Vera Johnson is a fully organic gardener, specializing in perennials and old roses, growing with soils blended using compost made at Village Green. Of course, organic gardening doesn’t just involve the soil – it involves the rest of the ecosystem, and Vera and her staff extend their customer service to talking with customers about natural pest management, including knowing which plants atttract the “good bugs,” which in turn keep the “bad bugs” away. Village Green, in fact, has its own bee colony and three chickens who help keep potential pests in check. The plants Vera sells are all locally grown by independent growers; she notes that means you get fresher, livelier plants that will adapt more quickly to your garden. She also wants you to know she knows gardens and gardeners, and uses that knowledge in her approach to customer service. Village Green’s nursery grounds stretch out behind the green house you see at the upper right of the photo above; it’s at 10223 26th SW (map), phone 206/767-7735, open Thursdays-Sundays – hours are on this page of the Village Green website, which has a lot to explore. We thank Village Green Perennial Nursery and all WSB sponsors, listed on this page along with information on how to join them.
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Charles Burnett
We’re extending the traditional WSB welcome this afternoon to our newest sponsor, Charles Burnett. He grew up in West Seattle and currently works as an associate broker with Windermere Real Estate in The Junction, where he specializes in helping first-time homebuyers, particularly those interested in condos and townhouses. He says his buyers are interested in West Seattle for many of its most appealing attributes — great views, close to downtown, Junction nightlife. And he’s noticed that it’s become a very attractive place for people who have been out of school for a few years, are getting settled into their careers, and are ready to find a great neighborhood they can truly call home. His expertise comes from seven years of working as an agent before studying for his broker license, as well as from growing up here; when he’s not busy helping clients, he’s an avid hiker, rock-climber, boater, and snowboarder. Check out Charles Burnett’s website for info on how to reach him, and to search for properties that are on the market now. WSB thanks him and our other sponsors for choosing to grow their businesses and support ours by advertising here; they’re all listed on this page, with info on how you can join them.
One more 4th of July activity: Shopping
At least one store in West Seattle will be open on the 4th of July (and we’re adding this to our new West Seattle 4th of July page): Hancock Fabrics; we just verified its last day in business will be July 5th – then it’s closing to make way for construction of Fauntleroy Place (groundbreaking-ceremony coverage here). When FP opens in 2010, a new Hancock store will be one of two retail tenants, along with Whole Foods. (Thanks to Marcia for the tip; she wanted to share it with fellow shoppers because she says store employees told her no more markdowns are planned — if you want something, go look now before it’s gone.)
Admiral postal station closing after a quarter-century
That’s longtime West Seattle businessman Verne Valentine with (left to right in front) Janet Ives, Tina McLauchlan, and Linda Bagocki. They’re smiling but it’s not an entirely cheery time – Verne e-mailed WSB to ask that we share the news that the U.S. Postal Station that’s been at the same location as his Farmers’ Insurance office at 2237 California SW (north of Admiral) is closing next month after 25 1/2 years. He explains, “The U.S. Postal Service has drastically changed the operation parameters to the extent that Farmers Insurance Agency personnel have been forced to discontinue the association.” He says the postal annex will be ending operations July 12th but his Farmers’ Insurance office is not affected and, in fact, is expanding into the space that won’t be needed for postal operations any more.
Welcome to a new WSB sponsor: The Inquisitive Mind
When new sponsors join WSB, we offer them the chance to share a little more information than you’ll find in their ads. Tonight, we welcome Lori Wright, who’s advertising her tutoring service — The Inquisitive Mind — just as summer break is about to start. Here’s more about it: “When Lori Wright went to Whitworth College she intended to become a school counselor. Her advisors guided her toward teaching. After completing her education degree Lori started tutoring at a Bellevue agency. She enjoyed the tutoring so much that she has stayed with it for the last 16 years. Lori started her Masters in School Counseling at SPU but eventually stayed with individualized tutoring. After management experience with two different tutoring centers, Lori started tutoring privately as The Inquisitive Mind in 1997. After moving to West Seattle in 2006, she closed her office in North Seattle and began tutoring out of her new home. Her husband John is a math teacher. Lori’s focus is on working directly with students, she does not have any staff, so when you call The Inquisitive Mind you know you are working directly with Lori. She collaborates extensively with parents, teachers, school counselors, academic testing centers and others as requested by families to help assure the best opportunity for her students. This collaboration is an integral part of her tutoring service for many families. Lori considers her tutoring as the best blend of both worlds of interest to her, part-teacher and at times part-school-counselor.” You can reach The Inquisitive Mind by calling 206-763-3424 or checking out the website at theinquisitivemind.com. Thanks to Lori for choosing to sponsor WSB; if you would like to look into the possibility of doing that too, here’s the place to start (that page also includes our full current list of sponsors, all of whom thank you — as do we — for your support!).
Tervo’s reopens – and the suspense is over
OK, maybe we were the only ones in suspense, but we had been watching the blacked-out nameboard at Tervo’s Mini-Mart on Fauntleroy and wondering if perhaps the store would change its name during its closure. Not likely given the new owners had applied for a liquor license with the store name (as noted here), but anything’s possible. Anyway, today the grand opening banner’s gone up, and the new sign is up too — same name. It had been closed for about a month, undergoing renovations as part of the ownership change (previous WSB coverage here); a development proposal for the site is still in progress too. (We reported the property for sale last year; the listing is now “expired” but county online property records don’t currently have any change in ownership listed)
Another business birthday: Illusions turns 30 today
We’ve mentioned several business anniversaries in the past few days – and today, we have another one — Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its 30th anniversary today (photo at left shows a bright blue “thank you, West Seattle” banner out front in honor of the occasion; we unfortunately missed our chance to snap a photo of their anniversary cake first thing this morning). As do many businesses that celebrate milestones like this, they’re offering customers a gift — at Illusions, today it’s 30% off all retail items.
West Seattle Saturday scenes: Anniversary celebrations
In the Admiral District, Revolution Coffee proprietors David “DJ” Johnson and Angie Houck threw a sidewalk party today to celebrate their shop’s third anniversary.
Meanwhile, on Alki, well-wishers were invited to sign a big old door propped up out front of Coastal Boutique, celebrating its fifth anniversary today with a beach sandbox party today. Even the littlest partygoers got to leave their mark:
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