Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 1, January 2003
Copyright 2002 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.
Business Briefs
Costco coming to North Seattle?
Costco Wholesale Corp. Chairman Jeffrey Brotman recently publicly announced the Issaquah-based warehouse club chain's interest in open several new stores in the Greater Seattle area, including one in North Seattle, along Aurora Avenue.
The Haller Lake Community Council's December newsletter reported that Costco is thought to be considering building a warehouse store on the southeast corner of NE 125th and Aurora Avenue N (kitty-corner from a proposed Krispy Kreme doughnut shop). Sue Linnabary, land use chair for the HLCC, told the Seattle Sun that Costco hasn't formally applied for a permit for the property.
While a new Costco store would be welcome news to bargain-hunting shoppers in North Seattle, Linnabary said Haller Lake residents are concerned about the increased noise and traffic the mammoth store would create. A community meeting to discuss the project is tentatively planned for January (a date was not set as of the Sun's deadline). For details, call Sue Linnabary at 365-2626.
Lombardi's owner to head group
Diane Symms, owner of Lombardi's Cucina in Ballard and two other Lombardi's restaurants, was recently elected chair of the Washington Restaurant Association's Retrospective Rating Trust.
The member-funded group works to maximize members' Labor & Industry worker compensation refunds and reduce costs. The Trust, made up of 10 to 12 people from all factions of the hospitality industry, is responsible for ensuring the viability of the program, and also oversees safety programs that help employers maintain safe operations and comply with regulations in an effort to keep claims down.
"I'm eager to dive into this new role as Chair of the Retro Trust and work with this team of outstanding hospitality leaders," said Symms. "It's going to be particularly important this year that we lobby the Legislature to ensure a healthy retro program continues here."
New shops open in Fremont
Two retail shops recently opened at 720 N. 35th (across the street from the Still Life Cafe). Fremont Leather Works is owned by Stephen Burrell, who formerly ran a leather store in New York's Greenwich Village for more than 30 years called New York Leather Company. His new store carries a variety of hand-made leather goods including bags, hassocks, leather pillows, hats and belts, as well as jackets, pants and skirts. Sharing the space is a new shop called Bellefleur, which sells European-style women's lingerie.
Northgate Olive Garden opens
The recently opened Olive Garden restaurant at 300 NE Northgate Way debuts a new look for the successful Italian food chain. The eatery, located in the Northgate North complex that also houses Target and Best Buy, is the first of the chain's U.S. restaurants to feature a new urban-oriented design based on the cafes of Milan and Rome. The focal point of the Northgate restaurant is a spacious open bar through which seating areas both large and small can be reached through brick framed archways. Adding to the restaurant's European feel is an eclectic mix of colorful artwork and contrasting black-and-white photographs of Italian life that adorn the restaurant's walls. Like other Olive Garden locations, the Northgate restaurant includes a signature Italian family table in this case a reproduction of a large dining table used in The Osteria, a landmark Italian cafe in Florence.
Two Phinney florists choose cooperation over competition
A pair of Phinney Ridge flower shops have merged to become Florist on the Ridge.
The new flower store is located at 7405 Greenwood Ave. N, former home of Kelly Butler's The Flower Company. New business partner Myra Harris has closed her Phinney Ridge Florist shop at North 65th Street and Phinney Avenue North.
"We had very similar opinions on the types of flowers we like to work with and the type of arrangements we like to do, so we just decided to join forces instead of compete," says Butler. The two partners agreed to make the change in September; the first day of operation for their joint business was Oct. 28.
Florist on the Ridge is a full-service florist.
The first few months of business have gone well, but have been extremely busy, says Butler. "We thought we'd get some time off, but what we did was we doubled our business."