Tag Archives: suquamish

Suquamish Tribe completes casino expansion

The Suquamish Tribe put finishing touches this summer on a three-year expansion and renovation of Clearwater Casino Resort.

Mark Lindquist Campaign Kickoff The project launched in 2013 when lead contractor Korsmo Construction began work on a 700-stall parking garage attached to the casino.

Additional phases included the creation of a 98-room hotel tower, a fine dining restaurant and café, three commercial kitchens, a sports bar and lounge, a renovated buffet and service area, 3,500 square feet of non-smoking gaming space, and improvements to the existing gambling floor where people will continue to bet in the ncaa tournament but this time around they will have more options!

Construction wrapped up at the end of August with the upgrades to the main entrance, according to a news release from Korsmo. Work finished a month ahead of schedule.

New owner plans relaunch for popular Suquamish pizzeria

Tad Sooter

bella.luna.sunrise (1) — Sunrise from a table at Bella Luna

A new owner plans to relaunch Suquamish’s Bella Luna Pizzeria this month, rebranding the waterfront restaurant as Scratch Kitchen.

Lisa Hunt Ledbetter, who served as manager of Bella Luna for a year and a half, bought the business from former owners Bob and Kari Rowden in June.

In a farewell post on Facebook, the Rowdens thanked patrons for their support over 17 years, adding that “it’s been one hell of a ride.”

103_34621-300x277 Hunt Ledbetter said she hopes to broaden the appeal of the restaurant, but her Scratch Kitchen won’t start entirely from scratch.

Fans of Bella Luna’s pizza will be comforted to know the pizza recipes will remain intact.

Scratch Kitchen will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The eatery will have an Internet café vibe in the morning, with coffee, fresh baked goods, Wi-Fi, and perhaps a new seating area in the back room.

Hunt Ledbetter plans to expand the breakfast and lunch menus with more pasta recipes. Scratch Kitchen, as the name suggests, will emphasize locally-sourced produce and dishes made from whole ingredients, complemented by a selection of local beers (and kombucha.)

Hunt Ledbetter said she is a little nervous making changes to a restaurant that already has a strong following, but she believes Suquamish will embrace a fresh concept.

“I feel like in smaller communities, like the one we live in, people love something new,” she said. “… I’m only going to expand on what Bob had, and keep it going.”

Work on a light remodel will begin this weekend. Hunt Ledbetter said the makeover will include new floors, new paint inside and out, and a revamp of the back room used for trivia nights and live music.

The restaurant should remain open throughout the project. Scratch Kitchen is tentatively scheduled to debut Sept. 12.

Check out the Bella Luna page on Facebook for updates.

Suquamish Tribe opens marijuana store

Tad Sooter

UPDATE: Here’s our story on the opening.

The Suquamish Tribe’s marijuana store, called Agate Dreams, opened for business this week, according to a Facebook post:

The tribe recently entered into a compact with the state creating guidelines for regulating legalized marijuana on tribal land.

The Squaxin Island Tribe in Shelton signed a similar compact and opened a marijuana store in November.

The Suquamish store is located at 15915 Highway 305, next to the Texaco station. The enterprise is being operated as a subsidiary of Port Madison Enterprises, the tribe’s business arm.

We’ll have more on this story soon.

Bainbridge marijuana store welcomes tribal competition

Tad Sooter

After news broke the Suquamish Tribe would be entering the recreational marijuana market this fall, I was interested in gauging the reaction of the nearest state-licensed marijuana retailer.

That retailer is Paper & Leaf, a marijuana store that opened on Bainbridge Island in June. The Suquamish marijuana shop will be located about three miles north of Paper & Leaf on Highway 305.

In an email, Paper & Leaf co-owner Brendan Hill said he sees the tribe’s entry into the industry as part of a groundswell of support for legalized marijuana:

Personally, we are excited to see interest in the legalized retail OrganicCBDNugs and recreational marijuana landscape expanding. As one of the fastest growing new industries in Washington, we feel grateful to be invested in a business model that can welcome others with open arms.

When my partner, Steve Kessler, and I made the decision to open Paper & Leaf, it was because we had a unique vision for the store. We wanted to create a welcoming, artistic atmosphere that reflected both of our personalities and individual interests—as well as that of the community of Bainbridge Island—which we are fortunate enough to call home.

Judging by public response and consumer feedback, we’ve been successful in meeting this goal, and we feel confident in the unparalleled experience we are able to offer our customers.

With that being said, we have no concerns on the pending opening of any retail cannabis shop, as each new store is further testament to the increase in market demand and the public’s evolving opinion of cannabis in the main stream.

As more shops open, consumers not only benefit, but also the farmers and ecosystem of cannabis as a whole. We wish all those entering the market the best of luck in their new business venture.

Ribbon cutting set for Clearwater Casino hotel

Tad Sooter

Casino1_13289723_ver1.0_640_480 A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Suquamish Tribe’s new Clearwater Casino Resort hotel tower is set for 3 p.m. May 18.

The 98-room hotel was part of the second phase expansion at the Clearwater.

The new addition includes The Clearwater, a fine dining restaurant that opened May 6. The new Beach Glass Cafe and Beach Bru Coffee shop opened Tuesday.

A large conference room was also built into the hotel addition.

The Monday ribbon cutting event will include speakers, tours and a reception.

You can read our February story on the Clearwater hotel expansion here.

The priciest Kitsap home sales of 2014

Tad Sooter

Wrapping up my look at the biggest real estate transactions of 2014, here is a list of the 10 highest priced home sales on the Kitsap Peninsula. (I listed the top 10 on Bainbridge Island last week and rounded up the year’s major commercial sales).

The list for the peninsula was dominated by sales in North Kitsap, with one Central Kitsap property slipping in at No. 6. You can see a ranking of Kitsap median home prices by area at the bottom of this post.

Top Kitsap Peninsula Home Sales

These were the most expensive homes sold in Kitsap County in 2014, excluding Bainbridge Island. Details from public records and online listings.

1. Rural Kingston — $1.23 million

Sale date: Oct. 3

Location: Fir Hollow Drive NE, off Highway 104, near Carpenter Lake

Description: 10 acres of woods and fields; 4,320-square-foot, five-bedroom house built in 2006. Listing here.

2. Lemolo waterfront — $1.12 million

Sale date: April 25

Location: 15000 Block of Lemolo Shore Drive, near the mouth of Liberty Bay

Description: Under an acre of “no-bank” waterfront; 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom house built in 1979. Listing here.

3. Jefferson Point waterfront — $1.11 million

Sale date: Feb. 21

Location: 24000 Block of Jefferson Place NE, on Jefferson Point, South Kingston

Description: 3.5-acre property facing; 3,520-square-foot, three-bedroom house built in 1970. Listing here.

Continue reading →

Suquamish building new seafoods processing plant

Tad Sooter

Work has begun on a new processing plant that will allow the Suquamish Tribe to expand and diversify its seafood business.

The 16,000-square-foot plant is under construction off Sandy Hook Road in North Kitsap. Suquamish Seafoods’ current facility is just 2,000 square feet. The new plant will include chilled processing areas, live tanks, cold storage and air blast freezers.

Suquamish Seafoods has largely focused on geoduck sales since it was chartered in 1996. The new plant will help it branch out.

“With the new plant, we have the ability to deliver fresh clams, crab and salmon to our commercial customers,” Suquamish Seafoods General Manager Tony Forsman said in a news release. “We also plan to develop our product lines further, making them available directly to the consumer.”

Bainbridge Island’s PHC Construction is the contractor for the $2 million project, with the tribe’s Port Madison Enterprises providing site work. You can see an artist’s rendering of the new plant here.

I’ll be touring the construction site later this week, so stay tuned for a larger story on the expansion project.

Kitsap Tours seeking new owners

Tad Sooter

The owners of sightseeing company Kitsap Tours have set their sights on retirement.

Founders Jean and Jim Boyle plan to step away after their tour season ends in November. They hope to sell the company before then.

“I’d like to see someone take the business and do a lot more with it, rather than shutting the doors and selling the bus,” Jean said. “There are so many more opportunities.”

Kitsap Tours picks up passengers from the Bainbridge Island ferry and shuttles them to popular West Sound destinations. A video monitor in the bus plays interpretive footage along the way.

The company’s three main tour packages include a visit to Bloedel Reserve, an excursion around Bainbridge Island, and a foray from the island into Poulsbo, Port Gamble and Suquamish.Trips to the Olympic Peninsula and local farms are offered periodically. The business operates four days a week.

Jean sees potential for a new owner to expand Kitsap Tours with more vehicles (it currently has one bus) and a broader offering of tours and shuttle services. She said the company grown steadily since launching in 2010 and drew more than 1,000 tourists to Kitsap last year. It’s well reviewed on sites like TripAdvisor.

The Boyles are looking forward to spending more time in their garden, but they’ll also miss life as tour guides.

“It’s just fun,” Jean said. “It’s a fun business.”

Read our 2010 story on the launch of Kitsap Tours here. For more on the sale of Kitsap Tours, click here.