business briefs

JET CITY MAVEN - VOL. 4, ISSUE 5, MAY 2001

Antique shops switch retail spaces in Greenwood

Q: When does two minus one equal three?

A: When you're talking about Pelayo Antiques' plans to close one of its two Greenwood stores. Antika Antique Mall plans to move from its current location at 8532 Greenwood Ave N across the street to the spot being vacated by Pelayo Antiques at 8421 Greenwood N.

This will double Antika's physical size, and give them a workshop to clean and repair their stock.

Pelayo Antiques owner Pedro Pelayo says he plans to continue operating his store at 7601 Greenwood N, and is looking forward to a lighter work load.

"I been in the business 28 years," Pelayo said. "It's time to slow down."

According to Meridee Kortan, one of Antika's owners, the store will stay open as long as possible during their move, and reopen in its new spot on June 1.

Antika's old store front will not stay empty. Charlie Finds Great Old Stuff, an antique store located at 6820 Roosevelt Way NE, will open a second store in Antika's old spot on June 1. With all this activity, it seems that Greenwood is strengthening its position as one of Seattle's antique meccas.

"(Greenwood) is at a high point right now (for antiques)," said Kortan.

Bick's Grill turns 4

Bick's Broadview Grill, located at 10555 Greenwood Ave N, celebrated its fourth anniversary in April. Manager Dan Schuette, who has been with the restaurant since it opened, says he, owner Greg Beckley, and the rest of the Bick's staff don't intend to make a big deal out of the milestone.

"We just want to keep doing better," said Schuette.

It took three years for Beckley to find the Broadview house that has become the site for his restaurant, and it took an additional year to remodel it, said Schuette.

When asked why Bick's chose to locate in the Broadview neighborhood, Schuette said that downtown was saturated with restaurants and that they wanted to bring "downtown-style food" to the neighborhoods. Broadview seemed like a good location because it wasn't inundated with similar businesses.

Schuette describes Bick's food as northwest regional cuisine in a neighborhood bistro setting. "It's a neighborhood joint," said Schuette.

Bliss Soaps opens at Northgate Mall

Bliss Soaps, a kiosk that sells handmade bulk soaps, shampoos and bubble bath products, has opened at Northgate Mall, near the south end of the shopping center. The business's owners are Phillip Wright and Charles Sapronetti.

Burnt Sugar to open store

Burnt Sugar, a Fremont shop that sells everything from cowboy hats to a faux mink chaise, will have a sister store in the neighborhood by mid-May.

Kathy Faulk, owner of Burnt Sugar, will open a shoe store called Frankie at 617 N 36th St. According to Sunny Anderson, an employee at Burnt Sugar, the new store will carry both footwear "staples" and "funky, fun shoes."

"We're filling a need Seattle has for cool shoes that are not Nordstrom," Anderson said. Burnt Sugar is located at 601 N. 35th St.

Cafe Karamara opens in Lake City

Genet Tezare and Hibret Yilma took over the Gamut Espresso space at 3010 NE 125th St. in Lake City at the end of March. Their new business is called Cafe Karamara.

Both women are originally from Ethiopia, and their heritage is strongly reflected in the shop. Cafe Karamara serves coffee made from beans grown in Africa, but roasted by an Italian, except on Sundays at 5 p.m. when a weekly Ethiopian coffee ceremony is performed. In that case, the coffee beans are roasted right in front of visitors!

Tezare and Yilma also plan to serve food, with Ethiopian fare offered on weekends.

Casa Compagna moves

Casa Compagna a "general store" which sells housewares and gifts in Fremont will move from its current location at 602 N. 34th St. at the end of April, with the intention to reopen at its new site at 462 N. 34th St in early May.

According to owner Susan Risso, the building she currently occupies will be torn down so that the Red Door Building can travel through that space. While she'll miss her current location, which she's been in for about a year, her landlord, Fremont Dock Co., has "bent over backwards," to help her get a new space. She also said that the month to month rent at her current location helped her start the business.

"I've had a really good year - in spite of the construction," Risso said.

Computer Books at Half Price now Bargain Book Co.

Computer Books At Half Price in Roosevelt not only changed its name in March to Bargain Book Co., it has also changed its stock.

While the store will continue to offer computer books, it will now offer publications of more general interest as well, including fiction.

Owner Mitch Press, whose company, West Coast Bargain Books, owns four other, similar stores in Western Washington, said he felt the revamped store will better fit the needs of the neighborhood.

"We felt a that a lot of people coming in wanted a broader base," Press, said. The Roosevelt store is located at NE 65th and 12th Avenue NE.

DMEC moving to Lake City

A new business will be moving to Lake City: the Developmental Movement and Education Center, a nonprofit currently located at 10303 Meridian Ave. N., in the Licton Springs neighborhood. DMEC offers education and therapy for learning challenged and head-injured children and adults. Its new address, as of June 1, will be 12351 Lake City Way, Suite 201, in the CAPO Building.

Dexter & Chaney

Dexter & Chaney, a software company based in the Meadowbrook neighborhood, has won a major account: Integrated Electrical Services Inc.

Houston, Texas-based IES, a leading national provider of electrical and communications services to the commercial, industrial, residential and services markets, has ordered Dexter & Chaney's Forefront Enterprise Construction Management Software for each of its more than 150 locations.

The software will be used to run many of IES's day-to-day functions, including payroll, service management, accounting, human resources management, project management, inventory control, job cost and dispatch. The software connects IES offices and job sites via the Internet and frame relay and features flexible reporting, access to real-time information and integrated fax, e-mail and document imaging.

Dexter & Chaney, located at 9700 Lake City Way NE, develops software that helps construction companies manage information.

Gaspare's throws 10th birthday bash

Gaspare's Ristorante Italiano, located at 8051 Lake City Way NE in the Maple Leaf neighborhood, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a "Best of Gaspare's Buffet" on Sunday, April 22. In addition to the authentic Italian dishes that Gaspare's is famous for, the evening featured a performance of live Tango music by a group called Tangoheart. Dianne Trani, who owns the restaurant along with husband Gaspare, said they received a whopping 162 dinner reservations for the bash, which resulted in their decision to keep their restaurant open four extra hours rather than turn anyone away. Dianne said she and her husband were overwhelmed by the turnout and grateful to have so many loyal customers.

Greenwood Market sale off for now

Fred Meyer's proposed purchase of the Greenwood Market is apparently off, at least at this time, as the deadline for the deal has expired with the two companies unable to come to terms.

"At this time, it's not being pursued further," said Fred Meyer spokesman Rob Boley of his company's proposed deal to acquire the Greenwood Market, located at 8500 3rd Ave. NW, from Town & Country Markets. Boley added, however, that "we're going to keep talking with them." Fred Meyer wanted to purchase the Greenwood Market and tear it down to make way for an expansion of its own store, located next door, at 100 NW 85th.

The two-story Greenwood Fred Meyer, which has been in operation since 1959, is one of the few locations in Fred Meyer's 127-store chain that doesn't have a full-service grocery department.

"I don't know that it's over," said Boley, referring to the possibility that a deal could eventually be worked out with Town & Country Markets to acquire the Greenwood Market site. However, he added that his company is also exploring other options that could allow it to expand the Greenwood Fred Meyer.

One possible option could be working with other neighboring landowners to build a large mixed-use urban village-style project that could include, as one of its components, an expanded Fred Meyer store.

"This is all very, very early," Boley said.

Ptarmigan Press comes to Broadview

Ptarmigan Press, a print shop that handles both commercial and personal printing jobs, moved to the Broadview neighborhood from its former location at 2727 NE Blakeley St., near University Village shopping center, this past February. The business is now located at 14310 Greenwood Ave N.

Ptarmigan had to move because its old building was being torn down to make room for condos, but employee Konnie Rincon, a customer service professional, said the change is working out well.

"So far it's great," Rincon said. "We're happy to be in the neighborhood, and being on Greenwood is really nice."