Thanks to Scott for sending the link after noticing the West Seattle Trader Joe’s featured on today’s CBS Sunday Morning national newscast. Actually, it’s not about the store so much as one particular shopper – we’ve heard of him before, but had no idea his shopping took him this far south of the border. (For the record, the distance from his store in B.C. to TJ’s in WS is 147 miles.)

Two momentous West Seattle business anniversaries to note:

20 YEARS FOR WEST SEATTLE CELLARS: Last night during the West Seattle Art Walk, we stopped by West Seattle Cellars (6026 California SW) after hearing the shop is marking its 20th anniversary. Here’s how proprietors Jan Martindale and Tom DiStefano (above) announced it in the WSC newsletter:

20 years ago this month, Matt Mabus founded the shop, which at that time was housed in the little building next door. Some of you may remember that space, part of which is now our back room/office. In 2000 we partnered with Bear Silverstein to buy the shop, and in 2005 we moved into our bigger, airier new digs. And after 20 years (now sadly minus the Bear) we’re still going strong, thanks to all of our wonderful customers who continue to shop local!

WSC has also launched its annual West Seattle Helpline fundraiser, hoping to raise $1,000 for WSH by its Taste of West Seattle event on May 21st:

They’re donating 10 percent of the sales made during their regular (free) Thursday night tastings until then. And while at the shop, you can just make an outright donation to Helpline.

TEN YEARS FOR WYATT’S JEWELERS: Family-owned Wyatt’s Jewelers (longtime WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an open house today until 6 pm and again tomorrow (Saturday), 10 am-6 pm – “giveaways, refreshments, store specials, more.” It’s also the only storewide sale of the year, “everything 10 percent to 60 percent off.”

Three West Seattle biznotes tonight:

JUNCTION TAX-FREE DAY: Two weeks from today, the West Seattle Junction Association confirms, the day of sales dubbed Tax-Free Day will be back. That’s Saturday, April 18th, first Saturday after the federal filing deadline. Of course it’s not really tax-free – but participating merchants (see the list here – including WSB sponsors AAA West Seattle, Click! Design That Fits, Curious Kidstuff, Emerald Water Anglers, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, VAIN, and Wallflower Custom Framing) will be offering you a discount by covering the sales-tax cost.

TONY’S MARKET: Worried fans of the seasonal produce store Tony’s Market at 35th and Barton have been messaging us with concerns that it’s already April and Tony’s hasn’t opened for the season yet. We’ve seen activity at the site off and on but hadn’t managed to catch up with anyone for formal comment yet – however, we’ve learned that he’s definitely gearing up to open for the season, possibly as soon as next week.

SPEAKING OF PRODUCE – CSA, ANYONE? Claire at The General Store – Seattle (WSB sponsor) wonders if you are interested in signing up for a CSA dropoff at her store (3400 Harbor SW). CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture, and Claire’s been working with Skylight Farms, which she says “showcases more than 100 varieties of produce” and has egg shares available too; the program runs for 20 weeks, June through October, with members having the option of choosing weekly or biweekly deliveries. Claire says only 10 subscriptions a week are needed for The General Store to become a dropoff spot. If you are – or might be – interested, please e-mail Claire at claire@thegeneralstoreseattle.com.

Story/photos/video by Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

This morning’s Westside Awards breakfast was a celebration of West Seattle’s “thriving” business community, as WS Chamber of Commerce board chair Hamilton Gardiner put it, and of people/businesses making a difference here.

Nominations for the awards (announced last week) set a record, he said – more than 110. Also up: Attendance for Chamber events – 30 percent increase for the monthly lunch meetings, 15 percent for the monthly After-Hours gatherings.

The breakfast turnout was bigger than last year, too, with a wall-to-wall crowd in a waterfront banquet room at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), there to mingle as well as to applaud the winners and to hear a newsmaker keynote speaker – Mark Tabbutt, the West Seattleite who is chair of Saltchuk, parent company of Foss, whose two-year lease of nearby Terminal 5 has made national news, with Shell among its clients as the oil company anticipates resuming Arctic drilling.

But T-5 was only a small part of what Tabbutt talked about. Before touching on the Terminal 5 lease, Tabbutt went through a backstory of the company, described as now in its “third chapter.” Here’s our video of his entire presentation:

Its companies’ services include domestic shipping, air cargo, trucking, marine resources, trucking, petroleum distribution, international shipping. And he talked about Saltchuk’s status as a family-owned business: “That allows you to challenge yourself and your family to work out problems and try to do better for the company. We reinvest 90 percent of our earnings back into the company, and that has allowed us to grow.”

Tabbutt said Saltchuk has “a strong, long-term desire to protect the environment.” They’re converting vessels to run on natural gas, in a $100 million project: “We will reduce the amount of oil in (what equals) taking 38,000 vehicles off the streets of Puget Sound.” The company is also building the first two container ships in the world to burn natural gas.

A focus of his presentation was Seattle’s ties to Alaska, to which he attributed 113,000 local jobs, and “$6 billion in local labor earnings,” tracing back to the Gold Rush days. Then in the pipeline-building days, so many barges were on the water, “you could almost walk across Elliott Bay.” Now, “all freight bound for Alaska goes through the Pacific Northwest.” The pipeline traced back to the early ’70s energy crisis and was built in 4 years, he said, but “the oil coming out of Alaska is declining because there hasn’t been significant exploration.”

Then, to the Terminal 5 lease. “It obviously sparked quite a debate locally,” he said, while also thanking Port Commissioner Bill Bryant, one of the lease’s supporters, who was announced as being in attendance. He said that Shell “made many mistakes” in its first try, including relying on Gulf of Mexico contractors; this time, it’ll be local contractors, including Foss.

His slide deck switched to an image of the drilling platform Polar Pioneer, as Tabbutt said, “Here’s what’s coming to your neighborhood pretty soon … It’ll get a lot of notice.”

(Foss has not announced an expected arrival date for Polar Pioneer, being sealifted from Asia, but MarineTraffic.com shows an April 12th estimated arrival off Port Angeles; the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza is trailing it in the open Pacific and chronicling the trip here.)

He briefly defended the project as his speech wrapped up: “You can’t live here and not be an environmentalist. The debate can’t be on who’s a bigger environmentalist than anyone else. It should be who’s doing more to reduce oil consumption. But (in the meantime), where are we going to get our oil?” Tabbutt said Alaska oil is “the most environmentally friendly oil you can get,” and compared it to the current production boom in oil derived from fracking elsewhere in the U.S. “The environmental damage that’s being done by fracking (is sizable) compared to what we’ve been doing in Alaska.”

And now, the Westside Awards – each one accompanied by our video of the introduction and acceptance speeches:

EMERGING BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: This time last year, Laura Schneider was getting ready to open Meeples Games at California/Charlestown. This morning, she accepted the Westside Emerging Business of the Year award, after Elizabeth Pluhta from South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) introduced her with praise for Meeples’ community collaboration:

Schneider said her gaming café has “accomplished what we set out to do – create a third place” for the community.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT OF THE YEAR: Past board chair Nancy Woodland joked that since Clay Eals took over as Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director, all of West Seattle has “become history wonks – everybody cares about history.” Eals accepted the award:

“History connects. When we are connected, we care,” Eals said, “We’re all here because we love where we live … It’s all about passion, and wearing it on your sleeve. With that passion and with your help, we’ve accomplished some amazing things” just in the past year-plus. He recalled the 1,000-plus turnout for the totem pole unveiling/dedication and looked ahead to events including historic-home tours as well as the ongoing Words, Writers, West Seattle literary event. “To do all this, we stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said, also recalling local heroes old and new, and supporters who were at the SWSHS table. And to spotlight what’s yet to come, the restoration of the Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge and renovation of the Admiral Theater, Eals pointed out Dinah Brein, the “creative and energetic manager” of The Admiral, and the new owner of the Homestead, Dennis Schilling. This fall’s gala theme will be “Coming Home to the Homestead,” Eals revealed.

WESTSIDE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: Nucor Steel won this award, accepted by Matt Lyons:

Gardiner spoke of the recycled scrap metal on which Nucor’s work is based, as well as the plant’s status as an employer of 325 people and as a gateway to West Seattle, so prominent along the bridge. Lyons noted that Nucor has been in the same North Delridge/Youngstown location for 110 years.

WESTSIDER OF THE YEAR: Tenacious, a leader, visionary, dedicated – words that Josh Sutton of the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) used to describe Jim Jackson of Jackson, Morgan, & Hunt PLLC (also a WSB sponsor), honored as Westsider of the Year.

Jackson said the award was “a big surprise.” He paid tribute to the firm’s employees, his partners, and their hundreds of clients. Helping people “with their dreams and their aspirations” is a description of work that he heard some years back, and for him, Jackson said, “it stuck.”

Wishing the breakfast attendees a great day, Chamber CEO Lynn Dennis thanked them for being present to “share the best.”

SIDE NOTE: The Chamber has an all-new website that it promises will be updated frequently to share news from the organization and local businesses – check it out at wschamber.com.

Those smiling faces belong to Lynn Dennis, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce CEO, and Nancy Woodland, WestSide Baby executive director and past Chamber board chair. We photographed them last Thursday when the Chamber brought its monthly After Hours event to WS Baby – and we’re showing the pic this morning as a reminder that this is your last chance to buy tickets to tomorrow morning’s Chamber-presented Westside Awards – they need to have the attendee count locked in by noon today, and still had a few seats last we checked. The event starts at 7:30 am Thursday at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) and will feature award presentations for the honorees announced last week, as well as a keynote by West Seattleite Mark Tabbutt, chair of Saltchuk International. Online signusp are closed so call 206-932-5685 – before noon today! – to register for the breakfast.

Gelarto Italian Ice Cream and Global Arts, founded on Bainbridge Island, is expanding to add an Alki Beach location.

We discovered this in the city permit files over the weekend, with remodeling work planned at 2648 59th SW, former home of Alki Beach Dog. After sending a note to Gelarto’s proprietors, we went by the Alki site this morning to look, and found “COMING SOON – GELARTO” information already up in the window. We have since heard back from co-proprietor Jennifer Al-Abboud, who shared a detailed backstory:

We love West Seattle and considered moving there when searching for a home back in 2012. We were teaching overseas at the time, and there was very little inventory during our short search window so we landed in Poulsbo and ended up on Bainbridge where we now reside in a tiny 607 SF condo we share with our cat Jazz. We opened Gelarto in late August 2013 amidst threat of teacher layoffs, and we have since retired from teaching to pursue our gelato passion full time. We pride ourselves on having a strong owner presence, and we run the shop by ourselves with exception of the busy summer months.

Gelarto has been well received on Bainbridge Island, but our product offerings are limited due to a voluntary good-neighbor policy with the cafe next door. Despite strong community support, a seasonal product in a seasonal location proves challenging in the slow months when our small shop requires only one of us to run it. So in order to maximize our human resources and provide year-round sustainability, we decided to reach out across the water in search of a second location. While we intend to stay small and independent, we always felt West Seattle would be a natural fit for our family business if we ever decided to expand, so we started pounding the pavement in November.

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The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce has just announced its 2015 Westside Awards winners, in advance of the presentation at the awards breakfast next Thursday (April 2nd):

Nucor Steel Seattle, Meeples Games, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the founder, James (Jim) Jackson of Jackson, Morgan & Hunt are the winners of the 2015 Westside Awards, presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

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Two biznotes this morning, the first one a followup on an item from our Friday mega-roundup of food/drink notes:

WEST SEATTLE BREWING UPDATE: After its abrupt, unexplained closure some days ago, we had inquiries out, as noted in the aforementioned Friday roundup. Early this morning, we heard back from West Seattle Brewing‘s Drew Locke, who tells WSB via e-mail that it will reopen:

I am working on implementing espresso to our offerings and closed while we use the opportunity to finish employing/testing our 7BBL brew system (quintuple the production capacity we’ve employed since our inception), prepping for the addition of wine/cider & food as well, and finishing some construction elements that have gone to the wayside as I’ve had to bartend 60 hours/week over the past year.

No timeline was mentioned – we’re asking in a followup.

ECOBEAUTY SALON-SPA CLOSES: Thanks to Rick for the tip that this salon north of Morgan Junction has closed after more than 4 years; its website confirms the closure, and “For Lease” signs are already up at the 6040 California SW location. Proprietor Christina said on Facebook that she’s joining CoCo and Co. and that other stylists are “going to fabulous new salons in West Seattle.”

Thanks to Dave for the tip that a “for lease” sign is now up in the window of The Sneakery at 4736 California SW in The Junction.

We checked in with proprietor Drea via e-mail; here’s what she told us:

The Sneakery will be leaving West Seattle at the end of April and consolidating things back to our original location on 65th Street in Ballard, where we’ve been since 2006. We had a great time in the Junction over the last 4 years and would like to thank our customers for their support. Most merchandise will be deeply discounted through the end of April, so we encourage everyone to use their gift certificates and coupons. Although we are sad to leave the Junction, we are also thrilled to be growing our business in Ballard, where we will be able to offer our customers even better selections and service.

The Sneakery’s West Seattle location opened in May 2011. Half of its side of the block has been a construction zone for the past year and a half.

Another storefront in Admiral will be vacant soon – but the business that’s leaving it is NOT shutting down. Monica Skov of West Seattle Fabric Company announced late today that their focus is shifting, recognizing how the retail world is changing. From the message sent to the WSFC mailing list:

We are making a big shift to our business, and although it is a bittersweet decision, let’s celebrate together. As a retail storefront, we have had the beautiful benefit of getting to know all of the people in our community. We feel so thankful to have made connections and friendships that we would have never encountered. Inspiring a community of new sewing enthusiasts fills us with so much happiness. And I cannot tell you the joy I feel every time a customer comes in and says ~ I come here to be inspired. But the days of dense neighborhood shopping districts & bustling storefront commerce are evolving into online shopping and home delivery. Honestly, we’ve seen a shift from increased online sales and less storefront traffic. Shopping online has become much more convenient and in order to grow in an ever-changing economy we are going to transition our fabrics to an online-only fabric shop.

But, she continues, that’s just part of the change:

Seeing this trend for some time, we’ve been turning our focus toward the one thing you can’t get online – Services. The thing that we love about being small-business owners isn’t selling new collections or decorating a shop (although that is fun). We truly love helping our community. Our team has taught hundreds of customers to sew & quilt, we’ve been a resource for all sorts of sewing related questions and advice, and we’ve already completed a large number of customers’ quilts in the past couple of months. In addition to all of our other services, the ultimate way that we can help our community is Repairing and Servicing Sewing Machines, which we will now be offering.

So next month, West Seattle Fabric Company will move to a smaller space on Harbor Avenue in the ActivSpace [WSB sponsor] building, not retailing fabric, but focusing on services and education – classes, repairs, quilt finishing, plus, in relation to the online merchandise, “FREE local pick-up for our local online shoppers …” First, the shop (at 2210 California SW, where it opened in December 2010) plans a liquidation sale starting at 10 am Friday (March 20th), 30 percent off everything in the store, and “incentives for buying in bulk.” You can read the entire announcement here.

Today we’re welcoming The General Store Seattle as a new WSB sponsor. New local sponsors get the chance to let you know what they’re all about:

The General Store Seattle focuses exclusively on US-made, locally produced items that are unique and hand-picked with an eye for quality, says proprietor Claire E. Jones (at right). “Our customers continually praise the high quality of our products and they love that their money is going directly back into their communities. They seek us out because they know they can find one-of-a-kind items that more than replace the lower-quality products found at big box retail chains.”

Claire says The General Store Seattle is inspired by the traditional general stores – some clothes, some household goods, some food-related items, all locally sourced, with her suppliers at most a few hours away from Seattle. Sourcing locally can get expensive sometimes, but Claire works to do the research necessary for you to be able to shop with The General Store Seattle and find merchandise at fair prices.

This weekend, The General Store Seattle has a special sale – 5% of your purchase will be donated to the charity of your choice. Go here to get full details.

The General Store Seattle is open Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 am-7 pm, on the street level at 3400 Harbor SW (map) – and you can shop any time via the store’s website, at thegeneralstoreseattle.com.

We thank The General Store Seattle for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

Sunday (March 15th) is the deadline for you to get nominations in for this year’s Westside Awards, to be presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce on April 2nd. You do NOT have to be a Chamber member to make a nomination or to be nominated. From the announcement first published here last month:

Westside Business of the Year – This nominee has been in business at least 3 years and demonstrated business excellence and success.

Westside Emerging Business – This nominee has been in business for less than 3 years but is meeting the challenges of a growing business through leadership.

Westside Not-For-Profit of the Year – This nominee Not-for-Profit is making our community a better place to live while contributing to community benefit through their mission.

Westsider of the Year – This nominee is making a lasting impact on our community and the lives of or is an up-and-coming community role model.

Make a nomination online through the Westside Awards Nomination Form – a different one for each category – and again, Sunday’s the deadline, so do it before the weekend’s out! Here’s our coverage of last year’s ceremony. You can buy your ticket(s) for this year’s event online – use the “register now” link on this page.

More spring-like weather is forecast for tomorrow (remember, it’s still technically winter for another two weeks) – so you might be interested to know, if you hadn’t noticed already, that Alki Kayak Tours is open for the season at Seacrest (1660 Harbor SW). Proprietor Greg Whittaker (who shared, and is in, the photo) says AKT is starting its 11th year, with rentals for getting out on the water or rolling/riding along the beach. As the season gets going, they’re open noon-sunset on Fridays, 10 am-sunset on Saturdays/Sundays. (And of course, with the time change tonight, sunset will be later starting tomorrow.)

Today is opening day in West Seattle for Rudy’s Barbershop, which has just become the newest WSB sponsor. Here’s what Rudy’s would like you to know about their business:

Since its Seattle conception in 1993, Rudy’s Barbershop has been committed to providing top-notch haircuts for men and women at an affordable price. Rudy’s offers a one-of-a-kind experience with a curated blend of art, music, and sense of place. Every shop is a cross-generational community center, buzzing with creative energy.

Rudy’s is incredibly excited to announce its newest location in the proud neighborhood of West Seattle, at 4480 Fauntleroy Way SW.

The location will soon feature a large neon sign, urging the community to “GO WEST,” professing the aforementioned pride of the people of West Seattle.

In January, Rudy’s teamed up with West Seattle’s Delridge Community Center to provide free haircuts to the community. Cuts took place in Rudy’s modified barbershop airstream, and with the help of the West Seattle community and other nearby neighborhoods, they raised almost $1,000 for the Delridge Community Center. This money will help them fund after-school programs, community classes, children’s basketball teams, and many other beneficial activities for the people of West Seattle in the future.

No need to wait for an appointment; walk into any Rudy’s Barbershop, any day of the week, 9 am-9 pm, and get a great haircut. Satisfaction guaranteed.

We thank Rudy’s Barbershop for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

(Photo courtesy Beehive Salon)
Another of The Junction’s new storefronts has a tenant. Just this morning, Laurie e-mailed to say it looked as if another space in Oregon 42 at 42nd/Oregon, next to Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor), had been leased. Then tonight, we received e-mail from Annie of Beehive Salon, which she describes as “an Aveda Concept salon in Wallingford that (is) opening a second location in West Seattle,” saying the Oregon 42 space is where they’re going. Annie says Beehive “offers hair, skin, and body services in a fun, professional, and welcoming environment … We couldn’t have picked a better spot and look forward to joining the neighborhood.” Their website says they’ve been in Wallingford for 15 years. They’re expecting to open the expansion salon here in May.

Two West Seattle biznotes:

RUDY’S BARBERSHOP: 2 1/2 years after first word that Rudy’s Barbershop planned a West Seattle location, it’s opening this Friday. Rudy’s confirmed last summer that it would move into the ex-Diva/Maestro/Ace 1 space at 4480 Fauntleroy and has now announced the opening date. No word on the co-housed Caffé Vita, though.

WEST SEATTLE ART NEST: It’s been just a few weeks since word that this new kids-art studio was moving into 4138 California SW north of The Junction, and now its grand-opening party is days away: Saturday (March 7th), 3-6 pm.

Three biz=and-building notes from along 35th:

NEXT DESIGN REVIEW FOR NEW EYE CLINIC LOCATION: The three-story building planned as the future home of Clearview Eye Clinic, currently at Westwood Village, continues moving through Design Review. The Southwest Design Review Board schedule now has a tentative date for what could be the final meeting (after two next year), 6:30 pm April 16th. (Part of the site formerly housed Red Star Pizza.)

PEOPLE’S CHOICE MARKETPLACE TO 35TH/ROXBURY: According to documents on file with the Department of Planning and Development, tenant improvements are in the works for the space at 9451 35th SW that’s been vacant since Jackson-Hewitt moved to Morgan Junction last year. The site plan for the space is in the name of People’s Choice Marketplace, a medical-marijuana access point currently located on the south end of Delridge Way SW. We have an inquiry out to ask if this is an expansion or a move; no reply yet. The corner has a medical-marijuana outlet, Northwest Patient Resource Center across the street, and the CannaHealth clinic, which specializes in patient authorizations, is to the north.

STUDIO NORTH OF 35TH/MORGAN: Driving by the (updated) storefront at 6531 35th SW next to Q & T Nails’, just south of SW Morgan, we noticed a big new banner, Barre Bohemian. It’s a fitness studio that’s chronicling its transformation online.