West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
In the discussion that followed our report on last Thursday’s Southwest Design Review Board meeting – the first look at early plans for two more major Junction projects (Conner Homes‘ buildings @ California/Alaska/42nd and Harbor Properties‘ building at 38th/Alaska) – the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce (whose executive director Patti Mullen and president Dawn Leverett, both profiled here recently, attended the meeting) was mentioned a few times. Some commenters were worried the C of C isn’t campaigning to attract the right types of businesses to West Seattle. Believe it or not, the C of C is truly interested in hearing what you DO want to see in terms of businesses for these new developments (and the rest of WS, for that matter), and asked us if we would throw that out to you for open discussion. So — what DO you want to see filling West Seattle’s commercial spaces?
That’s one scenario proposed in this CL item posted this morning seeking tenants for the Murphy’s Furniture site (which, as we reported in January, is being vacated – we have a message out to find out if Murphy’s has a new location yet). Reminder, you can browse the latest West Seattle-tagged CL listings any time on the second half of our “More” page.
Just this week, we added a new area to the WSB Forums, for West Seattle-based businesses who are hiring. By request, we have retitled that section West Seattle Jobs Offered and added a West Seattle Jobs Wanted section (where we have moved 2 jobseekers who turned up in the original area). Please follow the rules posted on the main Forums page. Thanks!
It’s a WSB tradition to tell you about new sponsors when their ads start running, so we want to introduce you tonight to West Seattle-based garden coach Julie Hale, who’s offering her services just in time for the kickoff of spring gardening season. Julie’s career in horticulture has spanned more than twenty years. For much of that time, she owned a successful garden management and container-design business, with a clientele located primarily on the Eastside. In recent years, her focus has shifted to working one-on-one with clients in their own gardens. She offers a range of horticultural services, including general consulting, plant selection and placement advice, hands-on lessons in pruning techniques, formulation of seasonal maintenance plans, and container design and installation. She’s an active member of PlantAmnesty, a local educational nonprofit group dedicated to proper pruning and better gardening practices. She lives and gardens in West Seattle, and enjoys the opportunity to work locally with her neighbors and fellow West Seattleites! You can reach her by calling 206/351-8098 or e-mailing juliehale@q.com. We thank Julie for becoming a WSB sponsor; if you’re thinking about joining her and our other sponsors, here’s the place to start.
Thanks to the people who just e-mailed and texted us to let us know that Beveridge Place Pub has sent out an e-mail update saying plans to reopen tomorrow in the new location next door, after closing the old location Sunday, are on hold because of inspection issues. We tried calling but got no answer; the e-mail forwarded to us goes on to say, “Unfortunately, we can’t provide an exact date for the new place right now, but we’re sure you understand we are trying to resolve things as fast as possible.”
OK, so the job news in general can be a little glum. We’ve been through layoffs ourselves. However, people ARE hiring, and some are right here in West Seattle. So we’re now offering a section of the WSB Forums as a spot for any business physically based in West Seattle to post a WS job. You must include name, address, phone, e-mail in the post; no mystery, please. (We reserve the right to delete/reject any posting.) Seems worth a try, to help be part of the solution in uncertain times. Find the new WSB Forum Jobs section here.
That’s David Robertson and Paul Binder of PB&J Textiles in front of their old location at 7349 35th SW (map; next door to Olympic Heights Laundry, which they operate) – the space where they have just announced they will open Coffee at the Heights, target date mid-June. They have been working on it for a while but kept it under wraps until they were close to the final stage of the permit process for converting the space. Once Coffee at the Heights is up and running, they plan to be open 5:30 am till 8 pm, maybe later; they will serve coffee, pastry, desserts, and sandwiches (the sandwich operation might not be up when they first open, depending on how the Health Department approval process goes). Meanwhile, their current retail/production location for PB&J Textiles is offering something timely:
That’s the display in the south windows of PB&J at 5962 Fauntleroy (map) – reusable bags, just in time for the proposed city tax on non-reusable shopping bags. (As the display notes, $4 will get you one of their bags or potentially 20 non-reusable bags, your choice!) You can buy them right there at the shop.
You saw it here first more than a month ago — word from Admiral Neighborhood Association president Mark Wainwright that Admiral Safeway was ready to “start the process of redeveloping the store.” Mark’s just sent out the reminder for tomorrow night’s ANA meeting with confirmation that the store site’s future is indeed on the agenda: “… some Safeway representatives and their design folks will join us to have a fairly informal discussion about the redevelopment of the Admiral store location. We won’t see any new design work at this point.The goal is to have a discussion about what people would like to see happen with the new development.” By the way, West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen will be a guest at the meeting, too. All are welcome, 7 pm tomorrow, Admiral Congregational church, California & Hill (map).
Thanks to Tammi for the tip – Beveridge Place Pub is closed for a few days while moving next door; according to the BPP website, it will reopen in the new spot 3 pm Thursday.
Just got word from West Seattle Thriftway in Morgan Junction that today’s barbecue lunch to raise money for employee Julie Lynch and her family raised $3,000! That includes donations as well as food sales. Julie is fighting breast cancer and her co-workers wanted to do something to help make sure she could focus more on recovery and less on finances. They’re thankful for everybody who chipped in.
That’s the listing photo for 4600 37th SW, the SK Food Group building immediately north of the American Legion Hall. The company laid off 90 people last summer; the site is now listed for sale for $5,795,000, with a description that includes “… USDA food production facility and many other potential specialty uses. Redevelopment potential with C1-65`zoning and potential to acquire adjacent properties.” This listing is now added to our clickable map of known development projects and for-sale sites in the Junction/”Triangle” area (find it below on 37th one block north of Alaska):
Still working on a permanent home for this map plus counterparts for other development-laden areas such as greater Alki.
Seen this morning along California SW:
That sign’s for the building going up at the ex-burned-out-Schuck’s site (WSB video coverage of the December demolition here) – now christened Charlestown Shopping and Business Center. A short distance south, the California/Andover gas station is now an ex-Exxon:
And in The Junction, that new banner is hanging outside the laundromat next to Yummy Teriyaki. (Which island? Vashon? Blake?)
Bill Hibler (right) has been synonymous with “West Seattle computer store” for more than a decade now, as proprietor of Quid’-nunc in The Junction. But that era’s ending, now that Mohamed Lahlou (left) has bought the store; the transition’s in progress and will continue over the next few weeks. You may already have seen the big banner up in the window for LaptopFix.com — that’s one of Lahlou’s businesses, along with A-1 Best Computer. Hibler’s not completely leaving the computer business — he’ll continue running his Internet service, Quidnunc.net (currently with more than 500 accounts), but he’ll manage it from his West Seattle home. And he notes that he’s an Excel expert with a background in accounting – so if anyone’s looking for that sort of expertise, look him up! (He’ll still be active with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and ArtsWest.) But he’s also looking forward to having more free time now, and told us his wife is looking forward to having him around more often. Hibler says Lahlou’s expertise is in repair and service, which is what more and more Quid’-nunc customers have been seeking rather than retail purchases of software and equipment, so the sale was a perfect fit.
If you don’t know them already, meet Dawn Leverett and Patti Mullen — board president and executive director, respectively, of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. As changes aplenty propel West Seattle into a bigger, busier future, they are among the key people looking at “the big picture” and fighting to ensure WS is more than a bedroom community whose residents have to squeeze through a worsening bottleneck to work and shop elsewhere. WSB sat down with them both a few days ago for an in-depth chat:Read More
When we first told you 2 months ago about Basic Green Box moving out of its California SW storefront (right next to this project), Charlotte at BGB didn’t know yet where they would land. Now she’s just sent WSB the official announcement – they’re leaving WS:
After 3 years in our lovely West Seattle community, we are moving to a more accessible location with more parking (you talked, we listened!).
We are so thrilled to join forces with our friends at Year of the Monkey at 2915 1st Ave S (SODO) integrating our accessories with their impressive selection of antique and reproduction furniture.
Last days: We are only open Friday-Sunday for two more weekends (March 28, 29, 30) and April 4, 5, 6 (12 pm-5 pm each day). Hurry in for up to 50% off everything (we won’t move it all!) Our accessories will still be available at www.basicgreenbox.com and we hope to see you in our new location in May. Thank you for your continued support!
Just in from the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – the official announcement of its Business of the Year and Community Service award winners: Business of the Year goes to Tom Smith for Tom’s Automotive; Community Service goes to Warren Lawless. Both have worked in the West Seattle community for decades; according to the Chamber announcement, Tom’s has been in business for more than 37 years and — quoting the announcement regarding Warren Lawless — “Since 1938 he has been a constant force and a very active participant in numerous West Seattle organizations.” You can be on hand to honor them both when the WS C of C presents the awards during a breakfast event at Salty’s on Alki, 7:30 am April 9. The reservation deadline is next Thursday; go to the West Seattle Chamber website for more on that.
Two announcements to share with you – one for a new Spanish-language preschool, another for a new tutoring service that addresses attention-span issues as well as conventional tutoring and ESL work – full details ahead:Read More
Thanks to the folks at WSB sponsor Ventana Construction for snapping pix at Fauntleroy/Alaska a short time ago, as they spotted this “FOR LEASE” sign going up on the ex-Huling/Gee lot on the southeast corner. Here’s the leasing company; as of this moment, the listing isn’t on their site, nor is it coming up in a general search of commercial sites “for lease.” Data point: Unlike many surrounding parcels, this land isn’t actually owned by the Hulings, according to King County property records. MARCH 26 ADDENDUM: The completed sign says for sale OR for lease.
… when we checked its automated list of updated West Seattle-related news, after linking to it in our previous post, we learned of this news that also seems worth a home-page mention: The company behind Pay-By-Touch fingerprint-authenticated payment — which West Seattle Thriftway was the first retailer to use (making history in 2002) — is shutting down. The article briefly quotes Thriftway owner Paul Kapioski; we’ll see if we can find out more tomorrow about how this affects the store. (According to this news release, the shutdown is effective as of late tonight.)
First one: If you haven’t seen these banners yet — Morton’s Pharmacy in The Junction is being taken over by Pharmaca, a chain that bills itself as an “integrative pharmacy” and already has stores in Madison Park and Wallingford. (Thanks to Krista for the tip.) The other new name — remember the Rip Tide condo conversion on Alki Point? We now know the building’s new name is Lighthouse Point. Here’s its website; news of the name actually emerged when the developers called to ask if it’s OK if they link WSB to the community section of their website. (If you’re curious – we were – the site lists only a few prices so far, in the $200K vicinity.)
This morning, we’re sending out the traditional welcome to a sponsor who joined WSB this week — real-estate investor Brent Fosso, a West Seattle resident, of IBuySeattleHomes.com. 
Here’s what Brent wants you to know about himself and his business: “Brent Fosso and family: West Seattle – Here I stay. Being native to Seattle, I grew up in the Ballard area. But in 1984 I purchased my first fixer upper home, and it was right here in West Seattle. I commuted over to West Seattle everyday to work on the place, and it did need a LOT of work. It’s funny thinking about the price nowadays. It was just a few blocks from what is now The Charlestown Cafe. I bought it for $26,000. That was a lot of money back then, but a reasonable price for a fixer. I spent the summer remodeling the home with a new kitchen and bath. I was only 24 years old in 1984 (you can do the math), and I didn’t have any money. So I convinced my landlord to go in partners with me. We used his money and my labor. We sold it on a hot August day to a nice couple. So I decided to move to the part of town I grew to love, and have been here ever since. I kept purchasing fixer-uppers and have watched the Seattle housing market take off, wishing a bit that I had held on to some of those homes I bought for now what seems like so little. But the times keep moving forward. Technology has changed real estate investing quite a bit. My website IBuySeattleHomes.com has been a place for many years now where people can learn more about what kinds of real estate I purchase and how to get in touch with me. Now my wife, two daughters and I have deep roots here. I love West Seattle.” In addition to reaching Brent through his website, you can call him at 206/935-5000. (Want to join Brent and the 20 other West Seattle businesses currently sponsoring WSB? Start here!)
Tracy from T(ea) Gallery, who closed her Admiral location to focus on her newer downtown shop, sends word that her former West Seattle spot has a new tenant: Northwest Academy for the Healing Arts opens there April 1st (confirmed on its website).
If your mental image of a Chamber of Commerce resembles something centering on a tight-knit clique of good ol’ boys in leisure suits, boozing and schmoozing in a back room somewhere, you should know that bears no resemblance to what’s going on with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce these days. Just the other day, in fact, West Seattle Chamber executive director Patti Mullen facilitated the latest edition of a semi-regular gathering that was the antithesis of that old stereotype — a casual event reaching toward the traditional goal of a healthy business community in a largely nontraditional way:Read More
| 92 COMMENTS