In this Bremerton beat blast, we journey to the end of
Pacific Avenue, in search of the city’s newest pop-up
store. (Spolier alert: We find it!)
In this week’s edition, you will learn:
1. What pop-up businesses are invading Bremerton?
2. Where can you spot Santa this Friday?
3. What cuts are the Bremerton City Council planning to make?
4. Where will Bremerton’s newest arcade be located?
5. Where can I take a free Bremerton history tour Saturday?
As always, let me know what you think. Oh, and see you Friday at
Winterfest, Magic in Manette, and more!
Remember the rumors of an acclaimed
baker coming to Bremerton? They’re true, and you’ll
even have a chance to try out some product at a special event
Friday.
Matt Tinder and his fiancee Kate Giuggo, owners of
Saboteur Bakery, will open
a pop-up bakery at 6 p.m. Friday at Honor Bar, 1223 McKenzie
Avenue.
Tinder and Giuggo recently relocated to Bremerton
following stints in San Francisco and Napa Valley, where Tinder
worked at Michelin-starred restaurants. When it came to opening a
bakery, however, they found a lot of red tape in California.
So they came north.
In a happy accident, Tinder stumbled upon Bremerton’s
Quonset hut, that practically indestructible semicircular abode
with a steel exterior 3/4 of an inch thick. The couple felt
Bremerton has an “up and coming vibe,” reminding them of the
urban Renaissance that Oakland, California’s been
experiencing.
They plan to convert the hut into a commercial
bakery, with deliveries and pickups in the back and retail in the
front. They’d like to open the fenced yard into a grassy picnic
area that feels connected to Evergreen-Rotary Park across the
street.
Tinder said demand for their product around the
region will support their operations. He’s hopeful Bremerton can
help support them, too, but he believes the bakery will be
successful regardless. He sees the city as going through a kind of
revival and wants to be a part of that, even if it takes time,
he said.
Tinder said they’re blessed to have a product they
can sell regionally, but do so as Bremerton
changes. “However long it takes, we can wait it out,”
he said.
They plan to open in the spring. But in the meantime,
you can get a sneak peek Friday.
But wait, there’s more. Even after nearly 200
apartment units open in downtown Bremerton in the next year, there
are more projects planned around the corner.
The next one is located on the corner of Warren Avenue and
Burwell Street. Remember that fire in late September (see photo)
that damaged the boarded-up town homes there? It may not be long
before bulldozers take them all out entirely and replace them with
a 25-apartment complex.
The fire in
September.
The 1010 apartments, planned by the same developers as the ones
wrapping up 71-unit 606 project down the street, have recently won
approval from the city’s design review board. PJ Santos with Lorax
Partners said there’s no timetable yet for construction.
The project spans four parcels between 1002 and 1018 Burwell
Street, each currently owned by Diamond Parking. Lorax plans to buy
the properties when construction looms.
Here’s a status update about the projects going
around downtown. These three are a go:
The 606: Pre-leasing has begun
on the $9 million project, which is scheduled to open Dec. 1,
according to a
Facebook post. (Thanks to Kitsap Sun Business Reporter Tad
Sooter for the
update.)
Spyglass Hill: Work is
progressing on the $15 million, 80-unit project on Highland
Avenue. While it was supposed to open in January originally, later
in 2016 is a forgone conclusion due to some earlier delays.
The Monterey: The 48-unit project by
longtime Kitsap County resident and developer Dale Sperling (who
hasn’t disclosed the price tag)
at the former Nite Shift Tavern and Evergreen Upholstery is
making its way through the design review board; Sperling expects
construction in early spring.
Two other developments are still clouded in
uncertainty:
Michelle Baxter Patton’s decision to take her
popular flea market at Uptown Mercantile &
Marketplace on Pacific Avenue from Sundays to
Saturdays boils down to two simple reasons.
“God and the Seahawks,” she said. “I can’t compete
with them. Nor would I want to.”
As fall approached, she felt Saturdays made more
sense for “The
Merc” at 816 Pacific Avenue, noting there’s more happening in
Bremerton that day that might spur people to stop by the
market.
There’s good reason: she’s got pre-loved vintage
items for sale from as many as 40 vendors between the store and its
flea market space, a gymnasium-sized showroom that once was a
Pontiac dealership (see photo).
Among the goodies for sale right now: a 19th century
bed frame that was reportedly where the sheriff who arrested Billy
the Kid laid his head, she said. The price: $350.
The flea market’s new day kicks off this Saturday,
Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with loads of festivities all day
long. A “vintage” car show will complement the market and Aaron
McFadden and the Whiskey Jackets will also be playing. Two food
carts — the Tiki Truck and Ray’s Dogs — will also be on hand.
It’s obvious Baxter Patton has a passion for her
business. The former hair dresser, raised in the family who started
and continues to run Bremerton Bottling Company, has
entrepreneurship in her blood. She
took over the Mercantile in February from Amber Breske. Since
then, she’s loved just about every minute.
While on a tour of businesses in eastern Washington in
early August, Dino
Davis spotted an opportunity. The Bremerton City
Councilman was listening to an executive producer of the SyFy show
“Z Nation,” who mentioned
that the show was in need of a Navy ship for filming.
“I raised my hand and I said I know a guy,” Davis
said.
Not even two months later and the show is here in Bremerton. On
Wednesday, members of the production company The Asylum, which makes the show,
will set up on the USS
Turner Joy Museum; filming will commence Thursday, according
to John Hanson, president of the Bremerton Historic Ships
Association.
A sign went up at the Bremerton Marina to alert boaters and
onlookers that “strange noises including gun fire, screaming and
shouting,” will be part of production.
“In addition, the characters will be in full make-up and dressed
as Zombies,” it reads, adding that a Zodiac boat will be in the
water Friday as part of filming.
Davis said he’s pleased that the film crew has chosen Bremerton
as its backdrop. He was on a tour of Eastern Washington businesses
put on by the Puget Sound Regional
Council and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, one that included
stops in Spokane, where The Asylum is based and is taking advantage
of the state’s
film incentive.
Another Castle Arcade Edition is coming to 305 Pacific Avenue,
former home of Alchemy Tattoo & Gallery.
The Edmonds-based adult “barcade,” which started as a video
store in 2006, expanded to serve drinks to its gaming customers.
They’ll soon open similar barcades in Bellingham and Bremerton,
according to Jason Alloway Greye, the company’s district manager.
The expansion speaks to the state of the industry, he
said.
“Demand is growing exponentially,” he said.
Greye, who happens to be from Bremerton, pitched the idea to the
company to give downtown Bremerton a try. He sees a city that needs
more for younger people — those over 21 — to do. Plus, he figured
there’s plenty of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workers nearby that
would want to give the place a try as well.
Like Quarters Arcade around the corner, there will be a mix of
old and new games. You’ll be able to play about a dozen
pinball machines and around 30 arcade games.
“We focus on classic and retro but not exclusively,”
Greye said.
Bremerton’s will be the only location with a full bar, he
added.
1. What new letterpress company just
opened in downtown Bremerton?
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