This is the last day for the longtime home of Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home at Fauntleroy and Alaska. As reported here previously, HK is moving to a new location on 35th SW; the owners sold the 93-year-old business’s longtime site to the developers of the 4755 Fauntleroy Way project, which also includes the old Huling Auto site to the south, the now-closed Shell station to the east, and the old used-car lot to the west. In our photo is Len Burton-Hardin from HK at left and Kraig Kennedy at right – who happened to be stopping by for some business involving another structure on the site. His father Dick Kennedy, who died in 2007, took over the funeral home in 1954. HK will open its new 35th/Ida headquarters at 9:30 Monday morning. We have a message out to the 4755 Fauntleroy developers to ask about a timetable for demolition at the project site; environmental work is ahead at the former service station next to the about-to-be-former funeral home.

Three months after we first reported that the six-years-vacant Chuck and Sally’s Tavern in Morgan Junction will be transformed into the new home of The Bridge, the project is entering a new phase – serious exterior work.

We’ve been noticing it all week, especially the upper row of windows revealed by the removal of some of the old siding. So we asked The Bridge’s Rita Dixson how things are going:

We are making great progress … we have re-habbed the transom windows that had been covered up for years – so nice to be able to restore some of the original architectural charm of the building! We are planning on breaking ground (today) or Friday for the kitchen foundations, as well as continuing on with re-vamping the exterior facade.

For a comparison, see the “before” photo in our May story. One of the renderings shown here in June shows how the revealed windows figure into things:

The Bridge is losing its current site on 35th just south of Avalon because of a mixed-use project (about 160 apartments and a roughly equal number of parking spaces, 15,000 square feet of retail) in the works for 4435 35th SW, which had a second Design Review Board meeting in June (WSB coverage here), four years after its first one.

(Photo tweeted by @mayormcginn account)
To the classic “no shirt, no shoes, no service,” you can add “no gun” for Seattle businesses who join a campaign launched today by Washington Ceasefire, with the support of Mayor McGinn. The campaign formally announced this morning on Capitol Hill (photo above) encourages any interested business, anywhere in the city limits, to declare itself a “Gun-Free Zone”; the voluntary sign-up form is here, along with links to download pre-produced signs such as this one:

The same link will take you to an FAQ explaining that it’s “generally” within business owners’ rights to set rules that could include banning particular items from their property, and if those rules exist, police could be called to deal with rule violators as trespassers. Washington Ceasefire director Ralph Fascitelli is quoted on his organization’s website as saying, “We know this won’t stop someone determined to cause violence, but we hope that standing together and giving businesses a tool to say no to guns will change the conversation around gun violence.”

So far, the only West Seattle-linked business on the list of participants (scroll down that same page) is Cupcake Royale; we walked by the Junction location around noon and didn’t see a sign up at the Junction location, but will be checking on the company’s plans. Any other local businesses planning to support this campaign? Or, for that matter, to actively oppose it? Let us know.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Now that they’ve finished gutting their space, and their permits are making progress, the fun really begins for the trio planning to open the sports bar/restaurant The Westy Sports and Spirits at 7908 35th SW.

As we saw while visiting partners (from left in top photo) Shane Whittall, Paul Ritums, and JP Vidican on this past week, the 2,500-square-foot, 1955-built space is now gutted “down to the shell,” which yielded some surprises:

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The three-day grand-opening celebration has begun for West Seattle Cyclery, one of WSB’s newest sponsors, now that both its retail and service operations are up and running. Here’s what proprietor Brad Loetel would like you to know about his new business:

(From left, West Seattle Cyclery’s Brad, Catherine, Sawyer)
We are a new full-service bike shop in West Seattle. Our mission at West Seattle Cyclery is for our customers to love cycling as much as we do. We will support our customers in that effort by hiring dedicated, smart, and professional staff who will use their knowledge and experience to ensure that our customers purchase the bikes and equipment which best meet their needs.

Our customers have said that they really appreciate that West Seattle Cyclery is a locally owned shop with both an owner and staff from West Seattle. Our customers also appreciate that we understand that they prefer to be riding their bikes instead of waiting for their bikes to be repaired. Our goal is to complete most repairs within 2 days. Occasionally it will take longer, but we will make every effort to minimize the delay.

The customers who seek us out are happy we are in their neighborhood. A few have had bad experiences at other shops and want to find a new shop. The staff at West Seattle Cyclery have been in the business for many years. We know you don’t get loyal customers by providing poor customer service. We also know there is competition from other bike shops around the Seattle area, and the Internet has definitely made an impact on the bike industry. So it is in our interest to make sure you get great customer service, because we love cycling and want you to enjoy riding your bike.

Catherine, Sawyer and I used to work together at another shop. Recently, a former customer from that shop came in to West Seattle Cyclery. He was really excited to see us because he did not know that we were the people behind West Seattle Cyclery. He bought his first bike from us to train for the STP a few years ago. Now he is doing four to five 100=mile rides a year and no longer has to take his diabetes medicine. He looks forward to having us work on his bikes to prepare him for his next big ride.

Regarding community involvement – we have talked with West Seattle Bike Connections to see how we can help them achieve some of their goals. We also want to make West Seattle safe for cyclists of any age. We look forward to supporting many other local organizations. Community is an important part of why we are here, so we plan on giving back when we can.

West Seattle Cyclery is at 4508 California SW, 206.557.7267, online at westseattlecyclery.com. The grand-opening celebration continues through Sunday!

We thank West Seattle Cyclery 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.

11:07 PM: Just heard from Jack Miller @ Husky Deli – whose famous ice cream has made it to the final 8 in a TV contest for “Best Ice Cream” in Western Washington. If you see this before midmorning tomorrow, they’re asking for your vote – it’s apparently a fast-moving contest and votes between now and 9 am (Wednesday) will determine the Final Four. Here’s the direct link; please note it’s a “Facebook app” contest (if anybody knows another way to vote, let us know!).

12:58 AM: Thanks to JanS for finding (as she notes in comments) the Facebookless way to vote! You still have to “create an account” but it’s simple (we tested it). Go here – before 9 am!

Three West Seattle business notes this afternoon:

WEST SEATTLE CYCLERY GRAND OPENING: Six weeks after we first told you about proprietor Brad Loetel‘s new bicycle shop at 4508 California SW, West Seattle Cyclery is about to have its official grand opening, this Friday-Saturday-Sunday (August 16-18). Brad says, “We have a great selection of 2013 bikes with discounts of 10-40 % off. This weekend we will have several opportunities to win free stuff or discounts on 2014 bikes. Check out our website for more information on the drawings. Our Service department has been up completing most repairs in one to two days.” Hours at WS Cyclery are 10 am-7 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays, noon-7 Fridays, 10-5 Saturdays, noon-5 Sundays.

FIREFLY CAFE HOSTING SECOND GEAR SPORTS DROPOFFS: One week ago, we noted the impending opening of Second Gear Sports in Morgan Junction. As Second Gear gets ready to open, Firefly Café and Creperie (WSB sponsor) in The Junction is hosting a dropoff event for anything you’d like to consign to Second Gear, this Saturday (August 17), 8 am-4 pm. Details are on the Firefly Facebook page, including a Firefly discount if you drop something off! The truck will be behind Firefly at California/Genesee.

HEIDI FISH/TWALA INTIMATES CHANGES: After sharing space in The Junction at 4519 California SW (second floor) for a while, changes are ahead for Heidi Fish Swimwear and Twala Intimates. Heidi Fish will take over the entire retail space in which the two have been co-located, while Twala Intimates will relocate to a non-retail space in SODO. Heidi Fish will continue carrying some Twala Intimates items, and “also plans to expand on her own offerings to include resort and lounge wear,” according to the announcement.

As mentioned in today’s “West Seattle Saturday” highlights list, at least four West Seattle businesses are celebrating anniversaries today/tonight, and here’s another one – Cherry Consignment. While in The Junction this afternoon, we dashed in for a photo of proprietor Nyla Bittermann. She opened her store at 4142 California SW in mid-August 2009 and is celebrating today with treats for shoppers as well as by donating 20 percent of the day’s sales to the breast-cancer-fighting fundraisers extraordinaire of Team Tracy; in true independent-local-community-business style, she often gives to nonprofits (we recall the Ruby Room is a favorite). You still have a little more than an hour to stop by before Cherry closes at 6 pm.

It’s the deal of the century – the 20th century – if you buy a 60-cent hot-dog-and-drink deal from the West Seattle Lions Club outside Junction True Value (WSB sponsor) during the store’s 60th-anniversary celebration today. It opened – in a different Junction location, as noted in our preview story on Thursday – on August 10th, 1953, and has remained an independent family-owned business ever since; owner Bruce Davis is the third generation of ownership, and there’s fourth-generation representation on staff, including his daughter Ahna Davis. Today’s festivities include hourly drawings – enter near the front door, where you’ll find team members in their special anniversary T-shirt:

Back outside, free balloon animals:

And free face-painting – here, the anniversary cupcake is modeled:

The hot-dog-and-drink deal is on until 3; the rest of the party continues throughout the day – Junction True Value is open until 7 pm tonight – and tomorrow (open 9 am-6 pm), too.

(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)

(Junction True Value owner Bruce Davis and, showing off 60th-anniversary T-shirt at right, 4th-generation family member working at the store, daughter Ahna Davis)
How does an independent, family-owned hardware store last for 60 years?

“A great location and great customers” are a big part of the answer, according to Bruce Davis, owner of Junction True Value, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a big sale all this week, culminating in a celebration to which you’re invited this weekend.

(We’re also pleased to welcome Junction True Value as a new WSB sponsor in honor of the occasion!)

Bruce Davis is the third generation of Junction True Value ownership. His grandfather Henry Bergquist bought the store in 1953, and sold it to Davis’s parents, John and Norma Davis. “He didn’t want to get into the business as much as he wanted to give his daughter and son-in-law something to grow into,” Davis says.

Junction True Value hasn’t always been at its current 44th/Edmunds site. It had two locations on California SW, first where Elliott Bay Brewing is now (which had been a hardware store even before that, as revealed in this WSB story), and then, around the time of the 1962 World’s Fair, moved to where Northwest Art and Frame is now. Davis remembers helping move the store across the street with a hand truck when he was 10 years old; he said he was already helping out at the store back then, with tasks such as inventory. The store was there until its current building was built in 1976, about two years after Davis first started working there fulltime. He says he’s been in charge since his dad had a stroke in 1983, but his parents remained owners “until they both passed on – with a lot of veto power.”

The name has changed from its original Junction Hardware; Davis’s parents originally joined a co-op called Hometown Hardware, bought by True Value in 1969. True Value also is a cooperative, Davis explains – “a really great system for smaller stores, (with) buying power and marketing power.” The store Rewards Program will save you money, too.

Funny thing about hardware stores – Davis says they’ve had their naysayers for a long time, with people insisting first they’d be taken out by discounters, then big-box stores, “each time, they said we’re going to be toast – but we’ve kept growing, still growing and thriving, doing better than ever – doing very well.” In no small part, certainly, because Junction True Value has kept evolving; if you think a hardware store is low-tech, consider that the store has had a computer system for 30 years! Davis analyzes store data to find out what’s gaining popularity and what’s not so popular (gardening, paints, and housewares are hot, for example) – although the human touch will never go out of style, from his late mom’s ideas for the gift department, to current staffers who “are very creative in their decorating and merchandising. It’s fun!”

He also enjoys working with the people who walk through the door each day, to shop and spend and visit: “Our customers love us and we love them. We do our best not to disappoint them.”

And so, you, Junction True Value‘s beloved customer, are invited to join the anniversary celebration. All week long, a sale is under way, including daily merchandise and gift-card drawings. Then on Saturday, the actual 60th anniversary of the store’s August 10th, 1953, opening, the party gets BIG – as also detailed on the store’s website – hourly drawings, free face painting, free balloons, free popcorn – and from 10 am-3 pm, hot dogs and pop at ’60s prices with the West Seattle Lions Club helping out! (Sunday, the drawings will continue, along with free popcorn and free balloons.)

As Bruce Davis says: “It’s really just appreciation of the customers – we want to say thanks.”

Junction True Value is at 4747 44th SW, 206-932-0450, online at junctiontruevalue.com, and on Facebook here. (Also check out the money-saving coupon on the WSB Coupons page!)

(Alki Arts co-proprietors Tom Wyrick and Diane Venti, photographed on AA’s 2nd anniversary last year)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After three years of brightening up the beach with art and music, gallery/event venue Alki Arts has been notified that its “temporary lease” will end September 30th.

That’s according to proprietors Diane Venti and Tom Wyrick, who took over the space at 2820 Alki SW in July 2010, after a pet shop closed with time left on its lease.

In those ensuing three years, not only have they shown and sold a wide variety of art, they also have hosted a wide range of events – ones they planned themselves, such as musical performers on days/nights both quiet and not (Art Walk, Pirates Landing, Summer Streets) and privately booked events (even weddings).

Via e-mail, Diane tells WSB, “We have HIRED (I don’t believe in free music) 90+ musicians, sponsored at least 40 donated events for schools, and local nonprofits, and made friends in this community for the rest of our lives. We have shown art for over 100 local ‘working artists’ and sold over 1/2 a million dollars of original art during a recession! Who knew!!!”

She also reflected:

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The only business that is moving because of the 4755 Fauntleroy Way (Whole Foods, etc.) megaproject – Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home – is getting its new location ready. Howden-Kennedy’s Len Burton-Hardin told us during West Seattle Summer Fest, when the Rotary Club of West Seattle (which he leads as its current president) joined us in the Info Booth, that HK had just received the keys to its new home at 35th and Ida in the Gatewood area (formerly Michael’s Barber Shop, whose owner retired), and today he sends word that sign work has begun at the new location, adding, “We hope to be in the temporary location by August 26th.” It won’t be an exact replica in size or scope; Burton-Hardin explains that the funeral business is changing, as families’ needs and interests change, and the need for a large chapel is no longer what it was, so they’ll be focusing the new Howden-Kennedy facility more on life celebrations than somber memorials. They will be opening their office first at the new location, and then adding new facilities on the site. Howden-Kennedy is just seven years short of its centennial!

The walk-in haircut chain Great Clips is opening a West Seattle outlet, according to that sign we spotted this afternoon in one of the remaining vacant spaces in the California-fronting retail strip built along with Admiral Safeway two years ago. The chain’s website says they have more than 3,000 outlets in the U.S. and Canada, and notes, apropos to this location, “… Our franchise hair salons are conveniently located in high-visibility strip malls …” There already are more than 60 Great Clips locations in the greater Puget Sound metro area. We have an inquiry out to corporate HQ to see when they’re planning to open.

Another business is moving to Morgan Junction:

Thanks to a tip from Sue, we’ve learned who’s taking over the storefront at 6701 California SW that’s been vacant since Pet Elements‘ recent move to a new, larger location (6511 California). Be Pilates is heading south from its current Charlestown-area location. E-mail to clients says that Be Pilates expects to open in the new location in early August.

Every so often, we get a question about whether Admiralty House Antiques in The Admiral District is open or closed. Our somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer has usually been “yes.” But soon, the answer will be definitively “closed.” Chris Foss from Foss Estate Sales has announced that Admiralty House’s owner Fred Dau is retiring at age 97 after more than 45 years in business, and “has hired Foss Estate Sales to liquidate the inventory and all the store fixtures.” We stopped by Admiralty House (2141 California SW) this morning as Foss prepared for the sale, for a quick peek at some of the items (like those above) that Foss is cataloging. He says his photos and info will start appearing on this special webpage soon. The sale will run 8 am-4 pm Friday, July 26th, and 9 am-4 pm each of the following two days.

We’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor today, West Seattle’s Thunder Road Guitars! Here’s what they’d like you to know:

Thunder Road Guitars offers a unique, hand picked selection of fine vintage and used guitars and amplifiers as well as boutique effects from some of today’s most innovative pedal builders. Also offering professional guitar repair and a great selection of accessories for the gigging musician, it’s safe to say that Thunder Road Guitars has been a welcome addition to the West Seattle community.

Frank Gross, owner and founder of Thunder Road Guitars, has had a passion for vintage instruments from a young age and has worked in the instrument retail field for more than a decade. At the end of 2011 he decided to launch TRG, initially operating as a web-based business. The store quickly expanded, and Frank opened their physical storefront in his hometown of West Seattle in November 2012. Since opening in West Seattle, TRG has expanded to offer a larger and constantly rotating selection of fine vintage, used, and rare guitars and amplifiers, as well as more recently offering professional guitar repair services by guitar tech Chris Thompson.

Thunder Road Guitars is located at 3916 California SW (map) and is open Wednesdays – Saturdays 10 am – 6 pm and Sundays-Tuesdays by appointment, and online 8 days a week at thunderroadguitars.com. Stop in and say hello!

We thank Thunder Road Guitars 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.

Thanks to the tipster who forwarded the e-mail announcement: Wax On Spa, which bills itself as “Seattle’s original waxing spa,” is about to open in The Junction, its . No telltale paper-covered windows gave this one away – its entrance will be on the alley east of California SW, north of SW Alaska (same entrance at 4546 California SW as WSB sponsor Fitness Together). According to the e-mail announcement, they’re opening Friday and will have reps at the nearby northeast corner of California/Alaska during Summer Fest on Saturday. The announcement also says – in the spirit of at least one competitor – “liquor license coming soon”; the state filing says it’ll be a “snack bar” license, meaning beer only. Wax On also has locations in Belltown, Capitol Hill, Fremont, Portland, and Boulder, Colorado.

HomeStreet Bank will have its first West Seattle branch within a few months when its purchase of the AmericanWest Bank branch in The Junction closes. The deal for HomeStreet to buy that branch – which was Viking Bank until AW bought that company in 2011 – and an AmericanWest branch in Bainbridge Island has just been announced. Ahead, the official news release:

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When you come to The Junction for West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday, visit the Info Booth, not just to say hi to us and the folks there with us, but also to get a brand-new cling showing your West Seattle pride with the slogan above. It’s part of the “why independent local businesses matter” conversation we’ve been talking about here for weeks now. It’s explained as follows by Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association – but it’s about MORE than The Junction; businesses and community members from all over the peninsula are collaborating:

West Seattle businesses are uniting for, West Seattle – WE HAVE THAT!

Watch this summer for the campaign to unfold…

§ We’ll be TALKING about the importance of local businesses and the role they play in our community.
§ We’ll be ENGAGING our community to explore how we can strengthen our partnership.
§ And we’ll be APPEALING to the neighborhood to shop at local businesses to help West Seattle thrive.

Our local business flavor is a big part of what we love about our ‘hood. West Seattle is awesome because whether you’re talking about cool shops, the best ice cream, stellar parks, people who care, the walk-all-ways intersection, or the best sunsets in Seattle, we can all say, West Seattle – WE HAVE THAT! Show your neighborhood pride by finding and displaying a We Have That sticker at the West Seattle Summer Fest info booth.

This effort is a partnership between West Seattle businesses, the West Seattle Junction Association, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

During Summer Fest, you’ll find the info booth right in the heart of The Junction at California/Alaska. And year-round, you’ll find your independent local businesses all over the peninsula – provided community support continues. (That goes for us, too, and we’re saying thank you for YOUR support, right here and right now.)