With an official “heat warning” still in effect, news of possible trouble in ice-cream paradise was truly alarming. So WSB’s Katie Meyer went over to Husky Deli to check out a report of freezer trouble. GOOD NEWS – it was only affecting the freezer you see in Katie’s photo, the display case by the front door, and a new replacement motor is already in – Husky’s Jack Miller told Katie it should be cold enough to re-fill within an hour or so. AND they are still scooping cones and cups from ice-cream stock in a different freezer.

With the changes in home values over the past several years, more homeowners than ever have chosen to remodel rather than sell/buy. And that’s been good news for many construction companies here in West Seattle. Two of them, in fact, were winners in the recently announced 2013 REX Awards (REX = Remodeling Excellence): Ventana Construction (longtime WSB sponsor) and Weitzel Construction.

Ventana’s REX Award was in the category “Major Remodel Excellence: Residential Partial House/Addition $100,000 to $200,000.” They turned their client’s 200-foot sauna/hot tub/shower space into a powder room, laundry room, sitting room, and desk area – see the project here – the top photo is a wide “after” shot; next is a closeup of the “desk area”:

(P.S. If you missed it on TV, Ventana was featured on Channel 4 News a few nights ago – a wider followup on something noted here last month, newspapers found in the walls of a project in Ballard – see the story here, and see Ventana’s online story that featured not only the newspaper, but other unusual finds at some of their project sites.)

Weitzel’s REX Award was in the category “Rebuild Excellence: Residential Whole House/Rebuild – less than $300,000.”

Owner Dave Weitzel says, “I am very proud of my crew that turns out great work year after year. This was a challenging site (150 steps, 100’ drop in elevation on a 400=foot path) where much of the material was handled by a tug and barge at the start of the job, but there was just the one trip with that. Everything else went up and down the hill:

Despite the challenges, the project was a lot of fun because our great clients. One of them is a former interior designer, and they did a wonderful job in their selections and personal touches.”

Congratulations to Ventana and Weitzel (both of whom provided the photos shown in this story)!

We’ve confirmed that both local Merrill Gardens (WSB sponsor) senior-living communities – West Seattle and Admiral Heights – are among the 38 MG locations that are being taken over by Emeritus Senior Living. Here’s their announcement:

Seattle-based Emeritus Senior Living is assuming operations of 38 senior living communities from Merrill Gardens, also headquartered in Seattle. These communities are located in eight states across the country, with the majority operating in California (16) and Washington (14). The transaction will add over 4,400 apartments to the Emeritus portfolio. Emeritus intends to retain Merrill Gardens’ community employees in the transaction, which is anticipated to close in the next few months.

The move will build Emeritus’ continuum of care; for Merrill Gardens, it provides greater nimbleness of operations for future innovation and development.

Emeritus is the nation’s largest assisted living and memory care provider, with a workforce of more than 30,000 and the ability to serve nearly 50,000 residents in 45 states. Completion of the Merrill Gardens transaction will increase the number of senior living communities Emeritus operates nationally to more than 500.

Merrill Gardens will then have 26 operating and development communities in six states in their portfolio. The company plans to continue to develop four to five communities per year in select markets. Final closing of this transaction is subject to customary closing conditions for acquisitions of this nature, including regulatory approvals.

A Merrill Gardens spokesperson tells us the transaction is expected to close in 60 days. The names at all 38 communities will eventually change, we’re told by both companies, to reflect the Emeritus branding.

(Photographed at Clementine: Owner Linda Walsh, left, with Carmilia’s owner Linda Sabee, right)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Linda Sabee felt “rattled” when it happened.

Linda Walsh says, “It shook me to the core.”

They were referring to the closure two months ago of the West Seattle Junction boutique Sweetie.

“This is serious,” Sabee remembers thinking.

She and Walsh also own and operate Junction boutiques – Carmilia’s and Clementine, respectively.

We sat down with “The Lindas” one recent morning to talk about the life of a shop owner, beyond the overview we published earlier this month, talking about small businesses’ contributions to the community, and to its character. Theirs is not the story of “what it’s like for boutique owners,” but rather, what it’s like for small independent local retailers of all types right now.

Here is where, to paraphrase, the fabric hits the road.

Carmilia’s has been in The Junction going on 11 years. “People come in the store and say, ‘You’ve been here 11 years, you’re doing fine.” But that’s no guarantee she’ll be there another 11 years – or even another 11 months – without “continued daily, weekly, monthly support from people in the community. It’s not a business plan that works if you have many days in a row when not many people come in and buy something.”

They have not initiated this conversation, you should know, to sing the blues.

They just want to make sure you know they can’t sing without you – and that it’s not just a song about them; it’s about the role small independent local businesses play in the community ecosystem, beyond an exchange of money for goods.

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Quick note from the “what’s going to be there next?” file – happened onto this while wandering city online files tonight: The space at 6323 35th SW (map), recently vacated by a laundromat/coffee stand, will be the new home of a FastSigns franchise. So says both the city-permits page for the address and the FastSigns website itself.

(Renderings by apackdesigns; click image for larger view)
Four weeks after we brought you first word that The Bridge would take over and overhaul the former Chuck and Sally’s Tavern in Morgan Junction, proprietor Rita Dixson is showing off the vision for its new look. We received these renderings from her this afternoon – day and night versions, above and below:

(Click image for larger view)
Caveat from Rita: “This is not the final draft, but it can give people an idea of what we’re up to.” As the city page for the project describes it, an addition and “substantial alterations” are involved. Rita and business partners Trevor Garand, Jenny Almukhtar, and Ahmed Almukhtar hope to open in late October/early November. You can go say hi tomorrow during the Morgan Junction Community Festival, as noted here earlier today, to play “cornhole” – a staple at The Bridge – and check out one of the festival food trucks.

When your grocery store is home to America’s Best Bagger, what do you do for an encore? Choose his successor for the next round of competition! That’s what happened this afternoon at Metropolitan Market-Admiral (WSB sponsor). National champ Andrew Borracchini emceed this afternoon’s in-store bagging competition; in our top photo, he’s with the winner, Isaac Rushing. Here’s our video from one of the heats:

Isaac doesn’t have an automatic ticket to the nationals – first, he has to go up against the bagging champs from each of Metropolitan Market’s other stores, to see who’ll be the chain-wide winner. The competition nationwide has been sponsored by the National Grocers’ Association for more than half a century.

FIRST REPORT, 4:06 PM FRIDAY: This story is a work in progress, but we wanted to share what we know so far – Barnecut’s Service Station, long located at 41st/Admiral Way, has been sold, and today is the last day it’s doing auto-repair work, according to the person on duty we spoke with this afternoon during a visit to the station to check out reader tips. The gas station itself will remain open until July 1st. What happens after that, the person on duty couldn’t tell us; we’re trying to find out – nothing has turned up in public records yet.

9:31 PM NOTE: No additional info yet – multiple inquiries out. But since someone mentioned the mural on the back of the building, facing the south side of the Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) parking lot, paying tribute to the service station’s historic look, we went by for a quick photo, added above.

MONDAY FOLLOWUP: Barnecut’s confirms it’s closing after this month. We asked today if there’s any sort of an event planned for longtime customers to come by and say thanks and goodbye; not currently, but we’ll be checking back.

Everything must go! That’s the message from Denette and Jim, owners of the former Chuck and Sally’s Tavern site on the southwest corner of California and Graham in Morgan Junction, as they preside over a big sale today. You’ll find it in the parking lot out back:

They’re selling items big and small:

And yes, that’s a pinball machine you saw off to the left in our first photo:

Sorry, the official sign out front is not for sale – but just about everything else is. (We even noted an old-fashioned cigarette machine, from back in the day before the indoor-smoking ban.) In case you missed the backstory: Chuck and Sally’s closed in summer of 2007, then went up for lease two years ago, and a deal was signed two weeks ago by the owners of The Bridge, who hope to open in the new location this fall – the owners of their current location have re-activated the site’s years-dormant development plan, which goes back before the Southwest Design Review Board next Thursday.) Today’s sale, by the way, is scheduled to continue till 7 pm.

Story and video by Tracy Record
Photos by Patrick Sand and Katie Meyer

The community leadership of two businesses, one nonprofit, and one volunteer was celebrated this morning at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s annual Westside Awards breakfast. Guests also heard a third-generation West Seattleite tell the tale of how a small business founded here gave birth to a multi-million-dollar company operating worldwide.

Almost 90 nominations came in for this year’s Westside Awards, presented in a packed room at Salty’s on Alki. Though the winners were announced last week, the fun came in seeing the joyful presentations and acceptances today:

Honored as Business of the Year was Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), whose owners Anne and Clarence Higuera accepted the award, after words of tribute from Chamber board vice-chair Nancy Woodland, who lauded Ventana as “really good people who make the community proud.” Anne in turn talked about their pride in their employees, their work, and in supporting the community. Here’s our video of the introduction and acceptance speech:

Ventana recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Nonprofit of the Year was accepted by someone else marking a milestone, Nature Consortium founder Nancy Whitlock, who announced recently that she is going on sabbatical, starting to step away from the thriving organization she founded 15 years ago.

Woodland read from nomination forms including one that said simply, “Nature Consortium rocks!” Whitlock said the timing of the award was perfect:

Among the many achievements of the NC: It has planted more than 40,000 trees to help restore the West Duwamish Greenbelt here in West Seattle, and has been “weaving (its work) together with the arts,” including art education for youth.

From youth to seniors, community members of all ages are enjoying the results of a dream come true, first dreamed by the Westsider of the Year recipient, Lauren Englund. Her brainchild, the West Seattle Bee Garden, recently opened with a celebration and parade:

Lauren was introduced by Trish Throop, who noted that those who nominated her described her in so many positive ways, from kind to inspirational. Lauren herself said the idea had naysayers – until a wide section of the community learned about it, and embraced it:

The Bee Garden has a fundraiser coming up next week, by the way – read about it here.

Last but by no means least, honored as Emerging Business was Sozo Wines, for its tradition of “giving back.” The name “Sozo” means “to rescue,” said Stefan Persson, who accepted the award:

Sozo partners with local food banks and has helped provide 14,000 meals as a result, he said. They also partner with restaurants, but “a portion of any sale” – including retail – “goes back to the community,” he noted.

History was celebrated today as well as recent achievements; Chamber board chair Dave Montoure pointed out that the “West Seattle Chamber has been here for 90 years.” And the keynote speaker spun a tale with deep West Seattle roots:

Randy Gardiner of Red Dot – “we don’t make dots, by the way,” he laughed – was introduced by Montoure as a third-generation West Seattleite, though his company making heating/air conditioning equipment for commercial and military vehicles is now headquartered in Tukwila.

He said the story of his company also began 90 years ago, like the Chamber, when his grandfather “Harky” Runnings arrived in the area and eventually went to work for Boeing, until opening West Seattle Radiator in what’s now The Wax Bar‘s location in The Triangle. “Amazing how companies evolve,” he quipped as the audience laughed. He talked about how his grandfather founded the company at age 55 and how it became an employee-owned company more than 30 years later. Here’s part of his speech:

He also shared lessons from which other businesses could learn – including how he and his senior management are talking about “graduation,” about their businesses’ future without them, and how important it is to bring others into the business. He also talked about his company’s outreach to future potential employees – through FIRST Robotics sponsorship, through offering summer internships. “Bringing students into our business was an eye-opener,” he said – and it was heartening, as the students “wanted to come back.” He described internships as a “test drive” for both the company checking out possible future employees, and vice versa, as well as to enable them to connect with educators. “We have two silos in our society – the education silo and the business silo,” he said, exhorting those on hand to “help make learning relevant.” Three million students are graduated from high school every year; two million go to college, one million don’t, and that’s a resource that needs to be embraced, Gardiner advised.

Montoure remarked afterward that the speech was inspirational – making him think about reaching out to his alma mater, West Seattle High School, to look into that kind of partnership.

For this morning’s event, local businesses had integral roles behind the scenes, as always. This year’s centerpieces were glass art created by Avalon Glassworks and offered for sale. Nucor Steel was again the presenting sponsor for the event and announced that a longtime executive familiar in the community will be retiring soon – safety/environmental manager Bart Kale, who promised in a brief speech at the podium that Nucor “would continue its long relationship with the community.”

Coming up on the Chamber calendar: June 20th, lunch with State Rep. Eileen Cody, and June 27th, an “After-Hours” gathering, this time at ArtsWest in The Junction. Find out more about these events and others, as well as Chamber membership (we signed up our business in 2008, its first full year), by going to wschamber.com.

The 35th anniversary party may be over, but the fun never stops at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor). The salon opened for business on June 1st, 1978, and wrapped up the anniversary festivities with a raffle drawing Tuesday afternoon (shortly before we stopped by for the group photo – that’s proprietor Sue Lindblom at left with her team). It raised almost $900 for Pencil Me In For Kids, which gets school supplies to students in need. You can donate to PMIFK any time at Illusions (5619 California SW) or via its website.

The former Chuck and Sally’s Tavern is having a “closing sale,” almost six years after it closed, and a week and a half after we broke the news that the former tavern in Morgan Junction will become the new home of The Bridge (which is being displaced from 35th SW by a future apartment building). We just received this announcement from the C&S building’s owners:

Closing Sale, Everything Goes!

It’s the end of an era. Our family bar Chuck & Sally’s opened in 1943; since then we have enjoined serving the West Seattle Community. Now it’s your chance to take a piece of history home. This Saturday, June 8th, we will be selling everything. Pool tables, dartboards, tables, chairs, stools, “everything beer’. If it was inside, it’s for sale. Maybe you had a beer there once, was a coffee drinker ‘n’ cribbage player, or a regular we saw daily. We would love to see you again.

Come by and see us Saturday 8:30 am-7 pm; we look forward to seeing you. Jim & Denette

C&S is on the southwest corner of California/Graham.

ILLUSIONS’ 35TH ANNIVERSARY TOMORROW: Tuesday is a big day at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) – the culmination of Illusions’ celebration of 35 years in business! You are invited to stop by any time between 10 am and 6 pm; one hallmark of the celebration is a raffle raising money for a charity that’s near and dear to the hearts of Illusions’ Sue Lindblom and her team – Pencil Me In For Kids. Illusions is at 5619 California SW.

Now to a brand-new business:

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS STORE NOW OPEN: The paint store built behind the Delridge/Orchard ARCO station is now open for business. Corporate PR hadn’t answered our recent inquiries about when the store would open, but we noticed the big NOW OPEN sign in the window last night and went back today to verify. You can find their hours and other info on the corporate website.

CELEBRATE NATIONAL RUNNING DAY WITH WS RUNNER: Lori McConnell from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) sends word that Wednesday is National Running Day, and that coincides with this event on the WSR calendar:

We have an Asics-sponsored Pub Run that night at 6:30 pm. We will meet at the store; folks can try out Asics shoes for the run, and we end at Spiro’s Pizza for a carb reload in the form of beer and pizza … or anything else on the menu. The run will be 3 miles. All paces are welcome. There are raffle prizes as well from Asics.

WS Runner is on the northwest corner of California/Charlestown, second floor.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With new development projects going up, more people moving in, our changing community is a perennially intense discussion topic, whether you’re talking with friends over coffee or commenting here on WSB.

What we don’t talk about nearly as often are the ongoing changes in the West Seattle business community, and how they affect your quality of life.

Right now, local business owners from Admiral to The Junction to Morgan Junction, north to south, east to west, are launching an effort to get the conversation going – and to get you involved – before waves of change sweep away so much that it’s too late to talk, to plan, to collaborate.

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Something independent local businesses don’t always get enough credit for is their community spirit and generosity. So many donate to local nonprofits and schools, including offering items to be auctioned off as fundraisers. So what happens AFTER the auction? Here’s one example: Friday night at Firefly Café and Creperie (WSB sponsor) on the north end of The Junction, a crepe party was the culmination of a donation that Firefly proprietor Charell Estby made to the Holy Rosary School Heart Auction – a private party for 10 kids with crepes and beverages. So she closed to the public a bit early and hosted the group you see above.

By the way, the winning bidder who procured the party ponied up $750 – a sweet treat for the school as well as the kids who enjoyed the crepes!

(Ventana Construction owners Anne and Clarence Higuera; WSB photo, March 2013)
Just announced by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the winners of this year’s Westside Awards, which will be presented next Thursday:

The Westside Awards Breakfast honors three local businesses and one individual who demonstrate success and innovation that contribute to this thriving economic region:

Westside Business of the Year – Ventana Construction
Ventana Construction just reached its ten year milestone emerging from a challenging economic time, especially for contractors. From business inception to now, Owners Anne & Clarence Higuera have consistently executed quality projects while being incredibly involved in their community. They have been Chamber Members for years and active in activities from schools to non-profit Board Member to Native American cultural outreach. Their business holds regular workshops for those interested in learning about remodeling and they have one a number of prestigious awards including being named the 2013 Houzz.com “Best Of Remodeling” Winners and Anne even recently authored an article that highlighted West Seattle Architecture for a national publication.

Westside Emerging Business – Sozo Wine
A new business providing community food through wine sales. Stefan has been connecting local restaurants with the Sozo brand to fund meals for those in need. Purchasing one Sozo product provides 1 to 10 meals and the purchases can choose the charity which benefits. Sozo wine is served in West Seattle restaurants and provides support to the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks. They are raising awareness through partnerships with nonprofits, corporations, restaurants, and cause partners.

Westside Not-For-Profit of the Year – Nature Consortium
As a West Seattle grassroots nonprofit connecting people, arts and nature, Nature Consortium teaches urban youth about planting a garden, allows the community to find glorious sanctuary in the forest at their annual Arts in Nature Festival and leads volunteer groups into the woods to clear the way for future towering trees especially in the West Duwamish Greenbelt. As many West Seattlites know, the greenbelt is very important to air quality, reduction of noise pollution and natural enjoyment. Under the vision of Executive Director, Nancy Whitlock, Nature Consortium has thrived for more than 15 years.

Westsider of the Year – Lauren Englund

Lauren had a vision for a bee garden and mobilized huge resources to get it done with her kindness, joyfulness, inspiriation, energy, time, passion, and more! Her motivation is truly for a happier, more inclusive community. Lauren took on a very large project, the P-Patch Bee Enclosure at High Point and managed to include small, local businesses such as architect, graphic designers, builders as well as associations such as the bee keepers and environmental groups, and the HPNA. She won a grant from the Department of Neighborhoods. She engaged schools, libraries, soccer teams, and most importantly, included and involved members of immigrant communities who are often marginalized. Lauren organized the bee project with the same dedication, clarity and consistency that she would show at work. (She is a pharmacist.) The Bee Enclosure will educate, inspire and delight kids and adults for years to come because Lauren arranged funding and support well into the future.

Join Us for Breakfast to honor these amazing businesses and individuals:
The Keynote will be delivered by Randy Gardiner, 2012 Seattle Business Magazine Manufacturing Executive Award Winner as well as President and CEO of Red Dot Corporation. Mr. Gardiner is a 3rd generation West Seattleite and will speak about the origin and growth of Red Dot from its humble beginnings as a sideline business out of a West Seattle radiator shop in the 1950’s. Mr. Gardiner is passionate about businesses taking an active role in workforce development and will provide insight from his corporation’s practices in workforce development.

When: Thursday June 6 7:30-9:00 am
Where: Salty’s on Alki
Tickets: $55 per individual or Table of 10 for $450

Contact Lynn Dennis, Interim Staff at info@wschamber.com or Nancy Woodland, Board Member, at nancy@westsidebaby.org with questions.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Almost 6 years after its abrupt closure, Chuck and Sally’s Tavern is getting new life.

Not under that name, though.

The owners of The Bridge at 35th/Avalon have just signed a lease to make the long-vacant building at California/Graham their new home.

The Bridge needed someplace to go because, as reported here three weeks ago, a long-dormant development plan for their current site has just been revived (with its second Design Review meeting scheduled for June 13, 3 1/2 years after the last one).

We talked with The Bridge’s co-owner Rita Dixson a short time ago, right after she briefed her staff on what’s ahead.

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Via the WSB Forums: Christopher’s Salon and Massage in south Morgan Junction has announced that it’s closed after 10 years in business. The announcement cites the owner’s health challenges. (Our archives show that four years ago, then-neighboring business owners announced a benefit on his behalf.) The salon was at 7009 California SW.

(SDOT “live” image from Easy Street’s corner at California/Alaska)
As one WSB commenter put it after the kerfuffle earlier this week over the removal of the Easy Street Records awning (WSB coverage here), the big question was – what next? At the time, ESR owner Matt Vaughan said he didn’t know – it was up to the “landlord,” who was the one who decided to take it down. Vaughan has just posted this update as a comment following our original story:

Thanks all for thinking about us and this corner. I’m looking forward to creating another beautiful corner. We know this corner and intersection is special to all of you, I know that maybe more than anybody and I appreciate your years of patronage and good positive thoughts…even when you’re just walking by “all ways,” of course. So, with that being said …..here is the UPDATE.

It was impossible to know what the corner would look like until the canopy was removed. The landlord didn’t know, I didn’t know. I didn’t think it would look good, I knew that much, but what I did know is that it would present some ideas. The canopy had been on the Hamm Building for almost 70 years. Do keep in mind, maybe the big reason that we all loved this corner was not necessarily just the canopy and overhang, but it was the neon signage and under lighting we attached to it back in ’92 or so. I do understand that the canopy also represented a period of time, another era, childhood memories etc.. and that is also why there is sentiment.

When the Alaska St side awning was removed 3 years ago, there wasn’t a peep and that was even more sq footage than what was recently removed. Without good signage complementing the canopy, there wasn’t much of an allure, especially as the years wore on.

I have to say though and maybe some of you could agree.. these last 5 years have not looked all that good. The canopy took some big hits and our neon was continuously broken and under repair. With that being said, I was a proponent in saving the framework and repairing and improving it, but there were some potential issues and unknown costs going down that road too. I am not the owner of the building, the Yen Family is and has been for 30+ years or so. The property manager is WM Mgmt. Neither live in West Seattle, so they may not understand some things we do as residents and inhabitants of the building, but what they were aware of and why they felt committed to demolishing it was that it was essentially red-tagged. It was becoming increasingly dangerous. Lead paint, loose and exposed electrical, rusted and corroded framework. In the end, as vintage and retro as we all like to imagine ourselves, there comes a time where we have to be practical and pragmatic. This was just one of those kind of decisions that had to be made, as difficult as it was for me to surrender to.

We had originally invested $20k into the signage and neon throughout the 90′s … and that doesn’t include the annual repairs over the ’00 years, but retro-styled neon is becoming an old form and more costly as the years go on. As for why I didn’t save any of it, it was just too costly to do so. Neon is brittle, it was literally attached to the flashing and trim, would’ve been an expensive and tedious job.

Keep in mind, when I closed our Queen Anne store, that signage was considered “iconic” as well. It wasn’t really all that special of a building we were in, but we made it seem as though it was. I paid $3k to have it removed before I left the building, I couldn’t let it get demo’d.

The landlords think the storefront looks best without a canopy and they’ve told me as of yesterday that they will not invest in a replacement. However, I need to protect my storefront, I need to allow customers to sit outside our cafe in the spring/summer months, I need to protect our product from the elements during our sidewalk sales. I need to protect all of you when our instore performances spill outside the garage store, I need to ensure that people don’t slip and fall in front of our store during the rainy months, we’ll need sidewalk lighting for passerby’s and our storefront. I need to protect our storefront from the sun, the heat, the rain, the sleet, and snow. The maintenance would be overwhelming without protection, so…I will be putting a design together and will invest in creating an attractive corner…again.

Faithfully Yours, Matt Vaughan