Category Archives: Business

A Chris Casad feast and other ways to give thanks

The late Chris Casad was known for his integrity and dedication to justice.
A Kitsap County deputy prosecutor and member of the Kiwanis Club of Port Orchard, Casad died a year ago of a sudden illness while visiting his daughter in Albania.
The South Kitsap Kiwanis Breakfast Club and the Family Inn at Manchester will host a Chris Casad Feast, open to people in need who would appreciate a complete Thanksgiving dinner and good company.
The celebration begins at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the restaurant, 2386 Colchester Drive in Manchester. The restaurant is closed to the general public during the feast, and no alcohol will be served at the event.
Organizers of the Chris Casad feast have put out the word among social service agencies. Transportation is available for those who need it.
Upon Casad’s untimely death, members of the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement praised Casad for his compassion and work ethic.

“Work was his life, but he really thrived on it,” said Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer. “If Chris said it, his word was gold.”
According to Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge, Casad was responsible for many innovations at the office, including improved relations and better training with law enforcement, and record-keeping.”
Steve Horn, a friend of Casad’s, said, in a press release, that honoring his memory through such a celebration is fitting, because Casad dedicated his life to helping others.
“In this day and age, it is a challenge to find people who put the needs of others in front of their own,” Horn said. “Chris did, and this feast is for those of us who are less fortunate and is a small way to thank and honor him for his philanthropy.”
Sissy and Doug Holme, owners of the Family Inn, also knew Casad, a Manchester resident and frequent guest at their restaurant.
“Doug and I want to thank the club for their continued generous financial and personal support to this endeavor. We miss Chris so much,” they said.
Apparently Casad was a fan of the band America. A line from one of their songs goes, “This is for all the lonely people, thinking that life has passed them by.” That is the motto of the event.
Also helping with the feast are South Kitsap Helpline, the Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition, Kitsap Transit and local churches.
For information on the feast, call the restaurant at (360) 871-8199.

MoonDogs Too in Port Orchard will once again host a Thanksgiving dinner, open to the general public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The price is $1. That’s right, ten thin dimes will do, but if you’re inclined to do more, donations of cash and food will go to South Kitsap Helpline.
MoonDogs owner Darryl Baldwin has made this a much beloved tradition in downtown Port Orchard.
I once asked him if he ever missed having a Thanksgiving at home with his feet up. He said no, because the people who come to the restaurant are “my family.”
The restaurant is at 714 Bay St. For information, call (360) 895-2300

And one other neat tidbit about local restaurants and Thanksgiving: The Boat Shed has been inviting customers to write what they are thankful for on slips of paper. The papers have been made into a chain that stretches nearly around the whole restaurant.
Owner Kathy Hayfield said that after making a paper declaration of thanks for her family, she added another for the opening of the new Manette Bridge.
Hayfield looks forward to the completion of work, which includes demolishing the old bridge, so that life can really get back to normal in Manette … well, as normal as Manette gets, anyway.
Just kidding Manette, you rock.
The Boat Shed is at 101 Shore Drive (98310), (360) 377-2600.

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When competence just cannot be tolerated

On June 23 there appeared on a rival news site an editorial written, I assumed, by someone for whom I have a begrudgingly huge amount of respect. He might have once worked here at the Kitsap Sun, I’ll have to check. So many times when he (or she, because I’m doing this with the pretense of not naming him [or her]) would write something I would find myself insanely, (No, that’s not right.) profoundly, (Closer, but not quite there.) somewhat (That’s the one.) jealous that I didn’t write it myself. Over here, assuming this writer did work here, there was a byline attached. Over at the rival there was not on the particular piece I found to be so brilliant that it merited again my envy.

Example:

“First, be born rich. Not smart, that only leads to problems. And best is if you are rich with money you didn’t earn. In this case, someone else will pay your skyrocketing tuition bill so when you graduate with your anthropology or — heaven forbid — journalism degree and cross your fingers for a job flipping hamburgers, you will be able to spend your paycheck on $300 e-book gadgets to replace $5 paperbacks rather than fending off collection agents.”

At the end you discover the point of the sarcastic (i.e. the author doesn’t really believe people shouldn’t go to college.) treatise. I’ll let you discover it.

The column is especially pertinent today, because the writer in question was just today released from his employment at our rival. He made that paper better and trained some good writers over there, but his reward for a job well done was a heartfelt letter about the publication wanting to go in a new direction. Whatever direction that is not somewhere I want to go.

Good luck Andy.

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Stopped by Trader Joe’s

I am not sure these people ever left the store. (Photo by Larry Steagall, Kitsap Sun
One of the things Yogi Berra is credited with saying is, “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”

On Saturday while gassing up at Costco I got the fool notion to stop by Trader Joe’s, which is described as the Krispy Kreme of grocery stores or the Wal-Mart for yuppies by its detractors and fans. I had only been to the store a couple of times when I was living in Camas and I didn’t really catch the vision of what so many people seem to appreciate, or idolize, or detest.

We had a few calls last week telling us we hadn’t done enough stories on Trader Joe’s leading up to its opening. Based on the crowd I saw on Saturday we did plenty. I managed to find a good enough parking spot. I had planned to go to Costco to get the meat I’d be barbecuing Sunday for Father’s Day, but thought maybe Trader Joe’s would have what I wanted and that maybe the crowd would be manageable to negotiate.

This is the part of the story where I reveal that I am a little claustrophobic. It’s situational. I especially get it when I’m carting around my kids. Put me alone in a crowd of people exiting Safeco Field and I’m fine. Put me in a grocery store with a 4-year-old boy and I’m fidgety like Robin Williams during a moment of silence. I managed to make it back to the meat and browsed enough to see that the store has a lot of things I would like.

No way, though, was I going to stand in line behind 18 people just to get out of there. I stood in a line that long to get out of Mexico once and I’m not eager to repeat it. That experience was tainted by the fact that I had to pull my car into the border patrol station so officers could search for illegal drugs, fireworks or people. At least I was traveling alone.

I’ll actually have to try some of the Trader Joe’s stuff before I render judgment. I want to try those frozen pizzas with the spinach and tomatoes. The prices really were decent. It looks like a place I would have loved when I was single. I wasn’t hauling around kids then. I was probably more patient.

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Dragonfly Rising: Port Orchard Cinema Reopens Friday

In case any of you missed the Kitsap Sun’s most recent article on attempt to revive the cinema in downtown Port Orchard, the Dragonfly Cinema — formerly the Orchard Theatre — will open its doors Friday, with the recent Paul Giamatti indie flick “Win Win” and one of the evergreen cult movies, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

New owner Gryphon Schafer credits the relatively swift resuscitation of the theater, which closed five months ago, to a cadre of volunteers/fans who call themselves Reel Friends of the Dragonfly Cinema.

What films would you like to see brought to the Dragonfly?

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Dave of Dave’s Killer Bread coming to Silverdale

I’m convinced Washington is like Oregon, just a little less hip. Kitsap County is getting hipper all the time, with the introduction of Dave’s Killer Bread to local grocery stores.

Folks who stop by the Silverdale Costco Friday through Sunday may someday be remembered as the hippest of movers and shakers for their role in determining which of Dave’s killer products the store will carry. Samples will include Good Seed (one of Dave’s personal favorites), 21 Whole Grains, Peace Bomb, Powerseed, Sin Dawg cinnamon rolls and other of Dave’s organic, socially responsible products that have garnered a growing following of die-hard fans.

Dave himself is hoping to make an appearance at the store between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Dave Dahl is spread pretty thin these days expanding distribution of the bread that got its humble start at the Portland Farmer’s Market in 2005, tending to the family-owned company’s charitable causes and giving testimonials about his remarkable life.

Dave is an ex-con who got a second chance at life thank to “humility, medication and education.” Now, as the face of Dave’s Killer Bread, he’s spreading the company’s vision “to make the world a better place one loaf at a time.”

As a youngster, Dave helped out at the family owned bakery. The official name is AVB Corp. for “a very big corp.” It’s a joke.

Dave was clinically depressed and high strung. He didn’t like working in the bakery and he didn’t like his family. He turned to drugs, then crime, ending up in prison for a total of 15 years, during four stays.

During his last stint of incarceration, he “found anti-depressants” … and humility. “You have to actually want to change,” he said.

He learned drafting and became computer literate. When he was released from prison at age 43, on Dec. 27, 2004, he asked his family for an entry level job.

He moonlighted, experimenting with new products, which the company test-marketed at the Portland Farmer’s Market. When the market closed down for the season, fans begged for more.

“Within a few months, people were clamoring for it to be in stores,” Dave said. “A little store here, a little store there, it just snowballed.”

And how! The bread is now carried in lots of little stores and by major grocery chains, including the recently added Costco, in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and Utah. Their plant in Milwaukie, Ore., produces 250,000 to 300,000 loaves per week, besides other of the company’s less edgy products.

Dave’s Killer Bread got its name in part from the nickname early customers bestowed. The “killer” is not literal, thankfully, Dave said. The only one he might have killed in his dark years was himslef.

Dave’s brother Glenn, the company president, wanted to call it Dave’s Bread. “I was cool with that,” said Dave. “But I knew we had to tell my story, because I was Dave. It was, ‘Who’s Dave?’ People thought, you can’t tell a story like that on a package of food. It turned out to be the opposite.

“My story really seems to resonate with people, because it’s ‘anybody can turn their lives around.'”

Dave’s Killer Bread just sounded right, and it stuck.

When he’s not making bread, Dave stays busy with speaking engagements and adding to the company’s ever-growing list of charitable causes. AVB Corp. donates 800 loaves of DKB to Loaves & Fishes, a meal program for the elderly. The company’s outlet store donates half its profits to various causes, and Dave’s is involved with a prison program, Project Pooch, that matches teenage inmates with dogs. The list goes on.

Dave stressed that while people focus on him when they think of Dave’s Killer Breads, “This is very much a family operation. It’s not just me taking credit for the success we’re having.”

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Pep Boys wants a do-over

People remember things. Even if they don’t remember things 100 percent correctly, they remember negative experiences years after the fact.

That’s a reality facing Pep Boys as it returns to Kitsap County, buying one of the former Big O franchise stores, the one on Kitsap Way in Bremerton. The company has more than 600 stores across the county, so it has clearly earned some favor in other parts.

Joe Cirelli, senior vice president of business development for the company, credits company CEO Michael R. Odell for the company’s transition from stagnation to profitable and said the company is well poised to be more successful in the Pacific Northwest this time around.

Based on the amount of business I saw taking place when I stopped by, there are enough people who don’t remember what happened in 2000.

As mentioned in our story from this weekend, Pep Boys closed up shop abruptly in East Bremerton. Here is what Travis Baker wrote for the Oct. 30, 2000 edition of The Sun:

“A Chevrolet Blazer sat atop a hoist in one of the 12 bays at the huge Pep Boys auto repair and parts store in East Bremerton Sunday, partially disassembled, pieces of its engine scattered beneath it.

“A work in progress, it was mute testimony to the abruptness of the closure of the store Saturday.

“The store didn’t open Saturday morning, reportedly without its employees being told in advance.

“Information was sparse for the public. The windows of the retail-display area were papered over. A sign read, ‘This store is Closed,’ and invited shoppers to visit Pep Boy stores in Everett or Puyallup.”

Although I would never base my beliefs solely on the testimony of Kitsap Sun story commenters, that’s how some of them remembered Pep Boys’ earlier exodus. Here’s a sample of what they had to say when we told them the company had returned:

“Didn’t Pep Boys in E Bremerton literally close with cars on lifts, and in various states of repair? Way to serve the customer.”

“You’re right Artie, packed up and hauled off in the middle of the night.”

“They treated their employees terribly when they closed down. No notice or anything. They won’t be getting my business.”

“Pep Boys left Bremerton in the middle of the night about a decade ago. They packed up and split leaving cars on the lot in various stages of repair, hosed over their customers, and did worse to their employees.”

“After my experiences with the old one on the East Side (That could have hurt someone), it would take a lot to convince me to use them again…”

That last commenter did wish the company well. And a couple of commenters had kind words for the store’s current staff, including its manager.

Cirelli said the company as a whole was struggling when it came to Bremerton last time around. Trying to make it in a new market when the overall picture was not so bright was a tough task. “We were losing money as a company at that time and we were very new in this market,” he said.

And his memory of the past departure differs from our commenters and our other story. “I don’t recall us leaving that abruptly,” Cirelli said. “I guess people remember things differently.”

He points to the fact that the company “never really left the market,” the “market” being defined as the Seattle area. Pep Boys did maintain two stores, one in Puyallup and another in Everett. The seven stores the company just added won’t be the last. “Now that we’re back in the market, it is our intention to continue expanding,” Cirelli said.

The Bremerton store will be remodeled to showcase the Pep Boys colors and to highlight its preferred brands. Its basic personality as a tire service center will not change. Employees will be trained in Pep Boys operations, which Cirelli said reflects the emphasis demanded by Odell, one of customer service.

The company may never win back some of those who felt burned last time around, but if what Cirelli said is true, Pep Boys can perhaps establish a new reputation in Kitsap County.

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Poulsbo’s Sound Brewery grand opening

Brynn writes:

It seems Poulsbo is becoming Kitsap’s fastest growing brewery town. I receive a call today from Mark Hood, who is the general manager and one of five partners of Sound Brewery, the latest beer-focused establishment to open in Poulsbo.

It comes four months after Valhöll, another small brewery, opened along Front Street just outside of downtown Poulsbo. According to the story fellow reporter Tristan Baurick wrote at the time, a third brewery — Slippery Pig Brewing — is set to open along Finn Hill soon.

Once Slippery Pig opens, Poulsbo’s brewery total will double the number of breweries in all of Kitsap County. Kitsap’s breweries outside of Poulsbo are Hood Canal Brewery in Kingston, Silver City Brewery in Silverdale and Der Blokken Brewery in Bremerton. (Not to be overlooked is Hale’s Ales in Silverdale; they don’t brew on site, but they are a part of the local brewing community).

To celebrate Sound Brewery’s opening, a ceremony is planned for 5 p.m. Thursday (yes as in tomorrow, April 14). Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson will be there to cut the ribbon, along with the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce. The public is invited to attend the event to check out the new tasting room.

The brewery is located at 650 Bovella Lane, off Viking Avenue at the south end of town. The grand opening is a family-friendly event, Hood said, adding children are invited to attend and will be served root-beer if they want it.

The brewery has been brewing for two months and has 24 batches of beer for people to try in nine different styles, Hood said. Already the brewery is selling its draft beers in  Kitsap, Tacoma and Seattle. It is also scheduled to participate in Seattle Beer week, and has four “Cuisine a la bier” dinners planned including its first one at Tizley’s Europub in Poulsbo next Thursday, April 21.

“Our motto is ‘Tradition Liberated’ because we brew traditional beers, with expensive traditional ingredients and try to liberate the styles with our own interpretations,” Hood said in an email.

Sound Brewery is located in a 3,400 square foot building that is equipped to produce 140 barrels a month. The brewery’s “Monk’s Indiscretion” brew just won third place in the People’s Choice award category at Seattle’s Csskfest.

Now that its open, tasting room hours will be Monday through Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 2 to 9 p.m.

Here’s a list of beers and descriptions from Hood: (They also have a Belgian Dubbel, a kristalweizen — heffeweizen that is totally clear, like a pilsner — and a dunkelweizen, but they are not kegged yet.)

Koperen Ketel Belgian Style Pale Ale: Soft Biscuity malt and fruity esters are well balanced with the finest Slovenian Styrian Goldings hops, making for a refreshing, easy drinking copper color ale.

Poundage Porter: Smooth creamy tan head covers a beautiful dark ruby brown beer. Aroma of chocolate, coffee and plums with toasted grains. Totally balanced with bitterness from noble hops and roasted grains. 5.5% ABV

Bevrijder Belgian Style Double IPA: Bevrijder means liberator in Flemish. Crafted from British malt, Belgian yeast and American hops, Bevrijder is dry yet malty with a complex aroma of malt, hops and spicy Belgian yeast. 8% ABV

O’Regan’s Revenge: Made with traditional ingredients, O’Regans Revenge has an outstanding traditional Irish style balance and malty character. Not overly sweet and chewy like most typical Northwest reds. Made from the finest floor malted maris otter and hopped with East Kent Goldings, O’ Regan’s drinks easy and very well balanced, but is extremely complex for a $5.9% ABV Red Ale.

Monk’s Indiscretion: “Monk’s” is balanced like the best Belgian Strong Golden Ales, yet has flavor and aroma hops that are as aromatic… and intense as any Imperial IPA. Double dry hopped, and fermented with our aromatic yeast strain, “Monk’s” has an intensely tropical hoppy nose and yet drinks easy and smooth without the intense bitterness that is normally associated with such a hoppy brew. 10% ABV.

Tripel Entendre: The best Belgian Tripels are made from a simple recipe, the finest ingredients, and the utmost attention to process. At Sound, we use the best Belgian Pilsner malt, Slovenian Styrian Goldings hops and a Trappist Yeast strain to craft a fine Belgian Style Tripel that even the Monks would be proud of. 9.8%ABV.

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What’s Going on With Delilah’s Cozy Kitchin?

Delilah’s Cozy Kitchin is one of several ventures started in downtown Port Orchard by radio personality Delilah Rene Luke. The restaurant, on Harrison Avenue, closed after the Christmas season, and it’s uncertain when or if it will reopen, said Kraig Kitchin, Deliah’s business partner.

Delilah was honored as the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce‘s 2010 Woman of the year for her investment in the downtown economy. (Man of the Year was McCormick Woods resident and civic activist Dick Davis.) Beside Cozy Kitchin, Delilah has a clothing boutique, Hootchie Wear, an event Center, the Port Orchard Pavilion, and she provided a space for local artists to display their wooden crafts and art work, Wooden You Love It.

Delilah and Kitchin started Cozy Kitchin three years ago, with a kitchy menu of comfort foods. The restaurant — like other downtown businesses — has been uneven, said Kitchin.

“There were some days it was incredibly robust, and some days it was not,’ he said. “We had run this for three years, and our thinking was we may want to remodel in terms of a new menu designed to make it more profitable.”

Staff members were let go, said Kitchin, who would not say when they might make a decision on the place. The restaurant is located in a strip of small boutique-like spaces that have seen considerable turn-over during the past three years. One long-time business, Bay Street Outfitters, folded during 2010, according to the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce. Amy’s on the Bay, on the water side of the block, is alive and apparently thriving.

Delilah’s other downtown ventures are going well, however, Kitchin said. The Port Orchard Pavilion has seen a steady stream of bookings for weddings, sock hops, class reunions and the like. According to Kitchin, it’s the only place for hire in Port Orchard that can accommodate up to 500 people.

Leah Watree, former full-time manager, is no longer with the Pavilion, but she was not fired, Kitchin said. It was simply a change in the business plan. “Leah’s a wonderful woman and a good person,” Kitchin said. “But we needed to make a change. The work that’s involved in the pavilion is better suited to part-time specialists.”

Watree holds no ill will toward Delilah. “Delilah is a friend. She’s still a friend, and I still have that same loyalty.”

In other news of downtown business closures, the Historic Orchard Theatre shuttered its doors earlier this month. Owner Jeff Brein of Bainbridge Island is looking for a more sustainable business plan, such as running the theater as a “mom and pop” business.

Los Cabos Mexican restaurant on Bay Street closed several weeks ago, according to Coreen Haydock Johnson, executive director of the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce. Blondie’s, not in the downtown area but off Bethel Road, closed shortly before Christmas. The property owners are hoping to get another restaurant in that space, Haydock Johnson said.

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Friday Afternoon Club (Early): Last Call for the Orchard Theatre

We’ve heard the Historic Orchard Theatre is closing. Tonight is its last night. Reporter Ed Friedrich is working on a story.

In an earlier post, Southworth resident James Kelsey indicated that the theater, with other arts venues, was struggling for lack of support. The building has been the site of a number of movie theater businesses that have come and gone. I’d welcome your thoughts on the end of this run.

Did you patronize the Orchard? Why do you think it was unable to survive? What do you think will (or should) go in its place?

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