Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 6, June 2003

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BUSINESS BRIEFS:

Edward Jones opens new office

The financial services firm Edward Jones has opened its second office in the Wallingford neighborhood, which will be headed by investment representative Gary L. Ehret. The new Wallingford office is located at 4427 Wallingford Ave. N.

Essential Baking sees sweet future for historic building

The Essential Baking Company has purchased the former Red Hook Brewery in Fremont with an eye on expanding its chocolate business.

Owners Jeff Fairhall and George DePasquale paid $1.8 million for the building, whose acquisition was announced on May 20. Construction to convert the building into the home of Essential's pastry and chocolate making operations will begin this fall under the direction of Sclater Partners Architects. The project will include a cafe.

Essential Baking has an ambitious strategy to expand its chocolate business, which it hopes to successfully market as a specialty item, much like coffee or the microbrew beers that used to be produced in the Fremont brewery.

Built in 1905 as a storage and repair facility for streetcars, the red-brick structure is a designated city landmark. It is located on the northeast corner of North 34th Street and Phinney Avenue North.

Essential Baking was founded in 1994 as a division of Fairhall's Essential Foods. The company will maintain its bread-baking operations and its existing cafe at 1604 N 34th St.

Meadowbrook Family Center loses funding, will close doors

The Children's Home Society of Washington will close its Meadowbrook Family Center on June 30.

The closure is the result of funding cuts by the City of Seattle, the center's primary financial supporter. With the City dividing its limited funding on a geographic basis, the close proximity of the North Seattle Family Center in Lake City hurt its funding chances, say officials.

"We had hoped to generate additional funding to continue to operate Meadowbrook family center," Cathy Garland, the society's Northwest regional director, said in a written statement. "With the current fiscal climate, we were not able to do so."

She pledged to work with families currently served by the Meadowbrook facility to make sure they receive needed services.

The North Seattle Family Center, which is also operated by Children's Home Society of Washington, is located at 3200 NE 125th St.

Ryther adds new board member

Eric Tanaka, chief financial officer for Regence BlueShield, has been named to the board of directors at Ryther Child Center. Tanaka joined the accounting department at Regence BlueShield in 1989 as an entry-level accountant. He was appointed CFO in 2000 and also serves as treasurer and vice president of finance for Washington's leading health plan. Ryther Child Center, located at 2400 NE 95th St. in the Wedgwood neighborhood, serves more than 1,100 children annually who have been victims of abuse, neglect and chemical dependency through residential and outpatient programs.