Monthly Archives: August 2016

DICK’S Sporting Goods hiring in Silverdale

dicksDICK’S Sporting Goods is hiring in Silverdale as it prepares for a September store opening.

The retailer plans to bring on about 70 full- and part-time workers to staff the Kitsap Mall location, according to a news release.

More information about the jobs is available at dickssportinggoods.jobs.

The store will offer clothing and equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting and fishing. The Silverdale location will be one of the first to include a “new and improved footwear section designed to offer a broad selection of sports performance and casual footwear,” according to the release. 

An opening date has not been set.

DICK’S isn’t the only new sporting goods seller coming to town. Sierra Trading Post has been confirmed as a tenant at the nearby Trails at Silverdale shopping center.

Application filed for Bainbridge Landing development

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A view from the southwest corner of the site.

Plans are moving ahead for a 140-unit housing development near the Winslow ferry terminal.

Bainbridge Landing would incorporate 115 apartments and 25 town homes on a 4.7-acre lot on Ferncliff Avenue, just north of the Harbor Square condominiums.

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Site plan. Click to enlarge.

Owners have submitted subdivision and site plan review applications for the project, according to a notice published by the city Friday.

Comments will be accepted for the next two weeks.

The site plan for Bainbridge Landing shows town homes and lofts surrounding a U-shaped apartment building.

A portion of the project bordering Ferncliff Avenue would be set aside for a park.

Olympic Property Group is spearheading the project. Charlie Wenzlau is the architect.

Here’s the full set of plans included in the application:

New brewery planned in West Bremerton

badbulldogsThe former Grainger building across from Safeway could soon be home to Bremerton’s fifth brewery.

Silverdale residents Dave and Dawn Dodge (pictured) bought the Callow Avenue building last year and have applied for licenses to begin brewing in a portion of the 11,000-square-foot space. They hope to launch their Bad Bulldog’s Brewery as early as December.

Dave is a retired Arizona police officer who home brews beer and now works at Sound Brewery in Poulsbo.

“It was a blessing,” Dave said of landing his job at Sound, which has familiarized him with brewing on a commercial scale. “They’ve been really inviting to me.”

14034912_1412432445437392_2110010914126635088_nThe Dodges plan to build out their Bremerton brewery in stages. They’ll start by installing a 3.5-barrel brewing system in the lower level of the building and open a simple tasting room with a patio for outdoor seating.

Later the couple will add a full-scale tasting room one of the building’s street-level storefronts. A bar built around an opening in the floor will allow patrons to sip beers while watching brewers at work below.

Eventually the Dodges hope to transform the entire building into a beer-centric hub. The structure encompasses four separate commercial spaces with individual addresses, giving them plenty of room to experiment. They envision hosting a home brewers collective and perhaps a bottle shop.

It’s an ambitious vision, but Dawn is confident they can pull it off.

“When Dave decides to do something, he does it right,” she said.

Marijuana, not beer, was the Dodges’ initial plan for the building. They owned Emerald Coast Collective on Wheaton Way before it shut down at the end of June along with other medical marijuana dispensaries.

The couple applied for a license to place a recreational marijuana shop in the Grainger building, but were never approved. They joined a class action lawsuit against the Liquor and Cannabis Board with the hope of still landing a license.

If they prevail, Bad Bulldog’s Brewery could share the building with a marijuana store.

Marijuana grow approved in Kingston

The state approved a fourth recreational marijuana grow for North Kitsap this week.

Producer and processor Greenleaf Growers will be located in a business park at 26178 United Road, off Bond Road, according to Liquor and Cannabis Board records.

Greenleaf is the 14th producer/processor licensed in the county.

Here’s my new and improved map of licensed marijuana businesses in the county (zoom in to see individual locations):

Bremerton Marina now 85 percent full

harbor3_18647849_ver1.0_640_480Bremerton Marina crept closer to full occupancy this summer.

Boats filled 187 of 221 permanent moorage slips in the downtown marina in July, up from 164 in July of 2015, and 88 back in 2012. July and August are peak months for the facility.

Marina marketing consultant Bob Wise told Port of Bremerton commissioners Tuesday that the port’s “two-for-one” moorage discount continues to reel in boaters.

The deal allows tenants to pay moorage every other month, if they agree to a two-year contract.

The port rolled out the discount in 2013, and offered it again at the Seattle Boat Show in January. That resulted in 31 new leases, Wise said.

Most tenants are sticking around to sign full-rate contracts after their two-year discounts expire. The retainment rate for boaters attracted by the two-for-one deal is about 70 percent, Wise said.

The discount “gives us an opportunity to showcase what we have to offer,” he said.

More downtown activity is also helping draw attention to the marina. A revamped Rock the Dock concert series drew large crowds this summer (the last concert of the season is Saturday). Brewfest and the Harbor Festival are popular with boaters.

The port continues to aggressively plug the marina on social media, in magazine ads, and at boat shows. Revenue has increased as slips filled up, but the facility is still far from breaking even.

Sport Clips opens Monday in Silverdale

14053812_338181899904032_4131198526593199660_oSports-themed barber shop Sport Clips will open in Silverdale next week.

The business is located at 9414 Ridgetop Blvd NW, across from Best Buy.

A ribbon cutting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday with a grand opening celebration continuing until 6.

The Texas-based hair styling franchise caters to men and boys. The company has more than 1,500 locations.

The shops feature lots of TV screens tuned to sports channels. Walk-ins are welcome.

Click the flyer to the right or check the Facebook page for more information.

Tax break was ‘absolutely critical’ to Bremerton apartment project

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_nThe 606 Apartments in Bremerton was the first project to make use of the city’s mutli-family tax exemption program, as I noted in a Sunday story.

PJ Santos, whose Lorax Partners company developed the 606, was off on vacation last week when I put the story together, but called Monday to give me his thoughts on the program.

Put plainly, Santos said the apartments couldn’t have been built without the incentive, which exempts to value of new apartment buildings from property taxes for up to 12 years.

“The project would not have happened if we didn’t have the abatement,” Santos said. “It was absolutely critical to make it viable.”

Rents in Kitsap are much lower than in Seattle, but construction costs are just as high. Santos aid the tax exemption, which saved 606 owners roughly $25,000 in 2016, made the project pencil out.

He noted cities are still able to tax the improvements as new construction once the exemption expires. But the delay in taxing the full value provides a much-needed boost for building Bremerton.

“It helps kick start development,” Santos said.

You can read more about Bremerton’s multi-family tax exemption here.

JCPenney is back in the appliance business

0715_major_appliace_showroom_at_vista_ridge_mall_in_lewisville_texasJCPenney is returning to its department store roots this year with the rollout out of appliance showrooms in 500 stores.

One of those stores is the JCPenney in Silverdale, which will unveil its appliance department Friday, according to a news release.

Each showroom will display more than 100 name brand appliance models , including refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, washers and dryers. The store will offer no-interest financing, free delivery and a price match guarantee. It is highly suggested to read reviews on the things you want to get first before going to the store. This is to minimize the time you will be spending there and have a more informed decision. Online reviewers like Top9Rated can help you decide.

Appliance sales are part of a three-year strategy announced by JCPenney’s CEO in August to grow profits. Other strategies include a focus on special clothing sizes, beauty products and jewelry.

The company has already bolstered its e-commerce capabilities with a redesigned mobile app and more shipping options for online orders.

Courtesy image. 

More than 500 planes confirmed for Bremerton airport fly-in

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Registration numbers are soaring for an aviation convention planned this weekend at Bremerton National Airport.

B0015742479--722623As of Wednesday morning, 523 pilots had confirmed they planned to land at the airport for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-In, which kicks off Friday evening and continues through Saturday.

Nearly 160 participants planned to camp under the wings of their planes.
Total registration for the event had topped 1,700, but closer to 3,000 attendees are expected, according to airport director Fred Salisbury.

“It should be a packed house,” he said.

Weather forecasts should help boost attendance. The National Weather Service predicts sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80s this weekend.

The Bremerton event will double the size of the AOPA Fly-In Spokane hosted in 2014, which attracted 1,500 attendees and 240 planes. (A torrential rainstorm the day before festivities began dampened attendance.)B0013904477--374701

Big registration numbers for Bremerton are encouraging to organizers, who believe the event will provide an economic boost to the area.

AOPA Fly-Ins typically generate about $680,000 for the local economy, according to the association. The conventions create business for hotels, transportation companies, food vendors and contractors.

Jack Edwards, manager of Bremerton’s Baymont Inn & Suites, said roughly one-third of his rooms (about 50 units) were booked for the weekend by Fly-In participants. He started receiving reservations from AOPA members as early as April.

“We’re still getting calls from them, but we’re full,” Edwards said.

A plane flies above Mt. Rainier as seen from the window of a Beechcraft Baron piloted by Avian Flight Center's Pat Heseltine on Friday, June 3, 2016. (MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN)

Visitors who waited until this week to book rooms would be hard pressed to vacancies anywhere in Bremerton, he said.

Visit Kitsap Peninsula Executive Director Patty Graf-Hoke said the Port of Bremerton deserved praise for bringing the Fly-In to Kistap.

“The AOPA very prestigious national organization and their West Coast event offers locals new opportunities to introduce hundreds tourists to the region,” Graf-Hoke said in an email. “Guests are filling up hotel rooms which is good for local businesses and the economy.”

The AOPA Fly-In is free and open to the public. Click here to learn more about the event.

You don’t have to be a pilot to enjoy the beauty of the Kitsap peninsula from the air. Click here to see Meegan Reid’s gallery of aerial photos taken earlier this year.

New owner, new name for Bremerton’s Wobbly Hopps Brewery

bremertonbreweries01_27506929_ver1.0_640_480One of Kitsap County’s newest breweries is set for a relaunch.

Wobbly Hopps Brewery, which opened on Fourth Street in Bremerton last fall, will change hands at the end of August and be rebranded as Dog Days Brewing sometime in the next few months.

Wobbly Hopps owners Jon and Sheree Jankowski are selling the business to fellow brewing enthusiast Jeffery Scott of Port Orchard. Scott takes the helm Sept. 1, just in time for Blackberry Festival.

The Jankowskis originally planned to hire a professional brewer to oversee operations at Wobbly Hopps, but that never came to pass. Jon said the couple has too many other interests and obligations, including full-time jobs, to carry on running the brewery.

“I haven’t mowed my lawn in a year,” he said.

Jon believes Scott will preserve the friendly atmosphere and unorthodox brews customers enjoy at Wobbly Hopps.

“I waited until someone came along who I could trust to take it over,” Jon said.

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Jeff Scott brewing at Wobbly Hopps

Scott said he’s been homebrewing for five years and worked an apprenticeship at Sound Brewery in Poulsbo.

He was considering opening another brewery in downtown Bremerton before striking a deal with the Jankowskis.

Scott will take over a five-barrel brewing system and a lively taproom with an outdoor seating area. He’ll continue serving Wobbly Hopps’ beers at first, while gradually adding his own recipes to the mix.

Scott’s first beer, a “Dog With No Name IPA” is already brewing for the Sept. 1 opening.

“I can’t wait to serve some beer to the neighborhood,” Scott said.

Check the Wobbly Hopps and Dog Days Brewing Facebook pages for updates. And keep an eye on this blog for more Bremerton brewery news coming soon.