Monthly Archives: October 2014

New Kingston brewery starts pouring Saturday

10469077_632285936869231_1134511466380340708_nA much-anticipated Kingston brewery and taproom is set to begin pouring this weekend.

The aptly-named (given our recent weather) Downpour Brewing plans to open Saturday in the former Sacks Feed building on Highway 104.

Suquamish electrician-turned-brewer Dan Williams and wife Kristen began work on the brewery early this year.

Dan said the Downpour taproom features seating for 30 and bar seating for nine. There’s also a play area for kids and outdoor seating for when the sun reappears.

Nine tap handles will pour a rotation of Downpour’s brews, including an IPA, blond, pale,  stout and SMASH (single malt, single hop),  among other styles.

“We love trying new recipes using fresh local ingredients and experimenting with our standard favorites, substituting different malts and hops to vary the flavor profile,” Dan said in an email.

Downpour will offer its own root beers and cream sodas, a guest hard cider and beers from other microbreweries. Like most microbreweries, Downpour will also provide a selection of snacks and patrons are invited to bring their own food. Menus from local restaurants will be on hand.

For information and updates check the Downpour page on Facebook, visit the brewery website (under development), email downpourbrewing@gmail.com, or call 360-881-0452.

Downpour is the eleventh brewery open in Kitsap County. It joins Hood Canal Brewery in the Kingston area. You can find more local brewery info on our beer page.

Watch for a full story on Downpour in our upcoming Monday edition.

Health district issues statement on Ebola

Kitsap Public Health District sent out a news release Thursday detailing its efforts to prepare the possibility of an Ebola case being identified locally.

The district stressed there have been no cases in our area, and the chance of Ebola of a case being found in Kitsap is extremely small.

The full statement from the district is posted below: Continue reading →

Kitsap marijuana sales off to modest start

Crockpot6_7542034_ver1.0_640_480The marijuana industry in Kitsap is just getting started.

That fact was underscored this week by recreational marijuana revenue numbers released by the Liquor Control Board.

Marijuana01_6661026_ver1.0_640_480There were three marijuana businesses up-and-running in the county long enough to report sales to the state. Those three businesses combined for $392,398 in sales from July through the start of October.

Two producer/processors, Nine Point Growth Industries of Bremerton and Green Apple of Silverdale, accounted for $234,346 of that total. Crockpot, a retail outlet in Port Orchard, reported $158,052 for August, September and October.

The state collected $98,101 in excise tax from those three businesses.

Sales should pick up as the so-far sporadic marijuana supply becomes more robust. Two new marijuana stores also opened this month, and a third marijuana producer/processor recently came online.

HWY420PotShop02_8751235_ver1.0_640_480-1Early marijuana sales were a mixed bag across the state. The Associated Press reported the state’s top two retailers were both in the Vancouver area (conveniently close to Portland). One of those shops reported $1.7 million in sales.

According to the AP, the state hopes releasing the numbers will  provide more financial transparency and prevent money laundering in the industry. It allows a bank or credit union to check for discrepancies between the revenue marijuana businesses’ report to the state and the money funneled through their bank accounts.

Financial institutions remain leery of working with marijuana businesses, despite having received conditional approval from the federal government. Many of the federal conditions involve monitoring marijuana business activity for signs of fraud.

Along with revenue numbers, the liquor board also released a list of warnings and fines it has issued to marijuana businesses so far. No Kitsap marijuana companies were listed.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Future CK shopping center filling fast

Greavesway_jpg_7555919_ver1.0_640_480
There are no buildings up yet, but the new Silverdale shopping center is filling up fast.

trails@silverdaleRepresentatives of developer CenterCal say company has tenants lined up for 85 percent of the roughly 45 spaces available in the future Trails at Silverdale.

CenterCal CEO Fred Bruning said the company will probably begin announcing tenants six months before the center opens. The Greaves Way development is slated to open in the fall of 2015.

About 60 percent of the businesses interested in locating to the center are new to the Kitsap market, he said.

“What we think we’ll be developing is a really amazing mix of retail, entertainment and restaurants in an architecturally charming matter,” Bruning said.

Work began on the trails of Silverale in August. The development will create about 200,000 square feet of commercial space on 12 acres.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Brothers PowerSports adds mall outlet

Unknown-1Brothers PowerSports, known for its Bremerton offroad vehicle dealership, is branching out with a shop in Kitsap Mall.

Brother’s new Apparel Outlet carries specialty clothes, motocross accessories, outdoor gear and standup paddle boards.

“This store is a lot of fun because you will see things for sale you simply cannot find anywhere else”  owner Brian Nilsen said in an email.

“Our product lines are specific to the motocross lifestyle and usually aren’t found in a mall environment and it will be fun to offer those products in a location with customers who may not visit the dealership.”

See the Brothers page on Facebook for updates.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Great American Furniture owner retiring

furniture
A familiar Sixth Street furniture company will soon change hands.

Longtime Great American Furniture owner Sally Glivar plans to retire, after 24 years running the Bremerton business.  Glivar said she’ll miss working with staff and customers.

“I’m happy in a lot of ways but in a lot of ways I’m sad,” she said. “I love this business.”

Over the past two decades the furniture retailer adjusted sweeping industry changes brought on by online retail and weathered the recent economic recession. The company is still ticking, though Glivar admits its Charleston location “isn’t what it used to be.”

Glivar said a potential new owner is in line to take over the shop. In the meantime, she’s liquidating product.

“We have a lot of inventory to clear out,” Gilvar said.

Our colleagues at Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal profiled Great American Furniture and Glivar in August.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Apartment rents creeping up in Kitsap

178865_3409342_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap apartment hunters found slightly higher prices in the third quarter of 2013.

The average rent for units in large apartment complexes rose by $6 from the second quarter of the year, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights. The average rent per unit was $924 a month in the third quarter, or $1.09 per square foot, 1.4 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile the vacancy rate in Kitsap increased to 4.48 percent, still significantly lower than last year. The lowest vacancy rates were in Silverdale, at about 3.7 percent. Bremerton had the highest at more than 5 percent.

Cain noted the apartment market is strong from the perspective of landlords in Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties, with low vacancy rates and rent trending upward. About 1,800 units are under construction in the three county area, but nearly all are being built in Pierce county.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.

Kitsap home sales were way up in September

Kitsap’s real estate market is suddenly very lively.

For the first eight months of the year, pending sales essentially mirrored 2013. In September, they made a somewhat startling upturn.

A total of 493 residential sales were pending at the end of the month, up from 352 in the previous year, according to fresh numbers released by Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Pending sales also rose between August and September, at a time when we usually start seeing sales tail off for the fall.

Most impressive, the jump in pending sales was experienced across all Kitsap population centers:

Continue reading →

October Business Journal highlights nonprofits

The October issue of the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal is out and this month’s edition spotlights the value of nonprofit organizations, beyond just their charitable contributions.

  • Contributor Rodika Tollefson examines the importance of nonprofits as employers. She notes the YMCA added close to 300 jobs since opening its Silverdale facility.
  • Terri Gleich writes about REI’s support of local conservation groups, and how philanthropy fits into the outdoor retail giant’s business philosophy.

You can read the digital version of the journal here, peruse the KPBJ website, or pick up a paper copy at the Kitsap Sun office in Bremerton.

Task force studying what medical services are needed in Bremerton

A task force is meeting to discuss what medical services Harrison Medical Center should maintain in Bremerton after it moves its main hospital campus to Silverdale.

urlThe group will also study options for repurposing the 1965 East Bremerton hospital.

Harrison convened the “Bremerton Community Health Care Advisory Group” in September. The committee will meet monthly between October and March.

After the six-month study period, the group will present a prioritized list of recommendations to the Harrison board.

“CHI Franciscan Health believes this is an important endeavor to solicit community support and feedback in our planning process,” spokesman Scott Thompson said in a statement provided to the Kitsap Sun. CHI Franciscan is the parent company of Harrison.

The committee includes Bremerton community leaders “who have a vested interest in ensuring health care access for area residents,” according to the statement. Franciscan isn’t releasing the names of committee members to ensure they remain “unbiased.”

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said she is part of the task force.

The need for an urgent care clinic in Bremerton is already being discussed by city leaders. The Doctors Clinic recently announced it will relocate its Bremerton practices, including urgent care, to Silverdale.

You can let us know what health care services you think are most vital to Bremerton by leaving a comment below.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.