Archive for April, 2012
Will update with a few more details later on the home page:
BELLINGHAM – A longtime Whatcom County auto dealership was sold to an Oregon company.
Jerry Chambers Chevrolet Cadillac was sold to Lithia Motors Inc. of Medford, Ore. The sale was completed over the weekend and the Chambers dealership was closed on Monday, April 30 for employee training and getting operations transferred over to Lithia’s system. The dealership will open at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 1 and operate under normal hours, said John North, vice president of finance and corporate controller at Lithia.
North said they are planning on a seamless transition with no major changes at the dealership. The 55 employees at the dealership will remain in place. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The dealership has been a fixture in Whatcom County for decades. In 1973, Jerry Chambers joined Roy Robinson as part owner of Robinson-Chambers Chevrolet in Ferndale. Chambers assumed full ownership in 1983, moving the dealership to Northwest Avenue in Bellingham in 1987. Chambers died in February 2007 and has been operated by the Chambers family for the past five years.
Lithia was founded in 1946 as a Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealership in Ashland, Ore. The company steadily grew across southern Oregon and became a publicly traded company in December 1996. It’s currently one of the largest automotive retailers, with more than 100 dealerships listed throughout the West and Midwest on its website.
North said the company tends to look at markets around Bellingham’s size and smaller when looking for dealerships, because that’s how the company itself started. He said they were particularly interested in the Chambers dealership and its roots in the community.
“It’s a store that fits our profile,” North said.
Below is a news release from NW Security and Sound, which moved from its Bellingham office to Snohomish. The company will continue to offer services to this area, however, stretching from Whatcom County to Tacoma:
Trusted local security and sound systems company NW Security and Sound will reopen in a new location on Tuesday, May 1.
NW Security and Sound specializes in low-voltage systems of all kinds, and are leaders in their professional industry. NW Security and Sound has been providing clients with custom-designed products and systems for over 15 years, from basic home security to full in-home audio-visual systems, from total integration systems with touch-screen displays.
The company’s technicians are fully-licensed, have passed rigorous background checks, and stand ready to assist you with your project, whether it be large and commercial, or your own family home. Service includes 24-hour, on-call assistance, and the support of NW Security and Sound’s exceptional sales, service, support and administrative personnel.
Many of NW Security and Sound’s clientele have been referred to the company by satisfied, existing clients. All new inquiries are welcome! Contact NW Security and Sound today for more information on products, services, and how their professional staff are waiting to help.
NW Security and Sound’s offices will open Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 1208 10th St., Snohomish. For further details, call 360-691-4200.
AB Crepes is now open for business at 1311 Railroad Ave., in the former pawn shop space near Avenue Bread.
The restaurant was started by two Western Washington University seniors, Adalberto Avelar and Bayly Peterson. Both were interested in starting a business and liked the idea of focusing on crepes, which can be filled with a variety of ingredients. They were able to transform the space themselves, remodeling the space while going to school.
Although they opened on Friday, April 20, they’ve already received quite a few inquiries about its “ABC’ auce,” a sweet cream-cheese topping that can be used as an alternative to Nutella for the sweet crepes. They’ve also had an Alphabet Challenge: Two people sitting down and eating 26 crepes (one for each letter of the alphabet) within an hour. Those that are successful will get their money back, an AB Crepes t-shirt and a picture on its wall of fame.
Along with indoor seating, AB Crepes has a walk-up service window in the front.
The restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday, 8 a.m. to after midnight Wednesday through Saturday, closed on Monday. For de-tails, check out the company’s Facebook page.
Here’s a press release from Kidder Matthews about the Kimberly-Clark property in Everett:
Kidder Mathews and Binswanger have been retained by Kimberly-Clark Corporation to sell its exceptionally rare waterfront industrial property in Everett. Located on the central Everett waterfront at 2600 Federal Avenue, the Everett Waterfront Industrial Property boasts more than 2,500 linear feet of deep-water industrial shoreline area and a total land area in excess of 66 acres. The property is immediately adjacent to Naval Station Everett, home of the USS Nimitz carrier battle group, and the Port of Everett main terminal.
Whatcom County retail sales grew at a faster rate for the year than the state average, according to a new report.
Taxable retail sales in Whatcom County totaled $3.03 billion in 2011, up 4.1 percent compared to 2010. Retail trade, which focuses on items sold in stores, totaled $1.5 billion, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous year.
Across the state, taxable retail sales increased 3 percent to $103.8 billion in calendar year 2011, according to the Washington State Department of Revenue.
Retail trade increased 3.5 percent over 2010 to $47.9 billion.
Among major industries across the state, construction was down 1.7 percent but still much better than the 12 percent decline in 2010. New and used auto sales were up 8.3 percent compared to a 2.8 percent gain in 2010. Accommodations and food services rose 5.1 percent, apparel and accessories increased 5.5 percent, and sales of building materials, garden equipment and supplies declined 0.3 percent.
Here’s a list of the latest Bellingham business registrations (April 17-23). Most of these registrations are companies entering this market, but some are companies that have changed location/ownership.
Michelle Johnson Photography, 4242 Wintergreen Cir #364, Bellingham
In-Your-Home Tutoring, Academic Partners LLC, 3411 Crestline Place, Bellingham
Bremen Contractors LLC, 700 Highland Drive, Bellingham
Here’s a (link) to a press release about Portland-based Miller Paints acquiring 10 Kelly-Moore Paints’ stores in the Puget Sound area. It was unclear in the news release which stores are being acquired, but it did mention one of the stores in Kent will close as it merges with a nearby Miller Paints store. The deal is expected to close on Monday, April 30.
Kelly Moore has a store 345 Ohio St. in Bellingham.
Here are some interesting items I found while looking at Bellingham building permits:
Issued permits:
– At 202 E. Holly St., units 206-209, 309-312, convert tenant spaces to eight apartments.
Permit applications filed (but not yet approved):
– At 4176 Meridian St. (in the former Barron Heating building, across street from Bellingham Athletic Club), plans were submitted to convert it to a family entertainment center called Captain Jack Jr’s.
– At 103 E. Stuart Road (near Walmart), an application was submitted to convert a tax preparation office into a small restaurant called Cupcakes Like it Sweet.
– At 1707 N. State St., plans were submitted to convert a former nightclub (Hot Shotz) into a cafe and indoor kids play area called Family Clubhouse Cafe.
Here’s the tally on cell phones/documents recycled at the recent Secure Your ID event (news release from the Better Business Bureau):
HUNDREDS TURN OUT FOR BBB’S SECURE YOUR ID DAY
DuPont, Wash. – April 25, 2012 – In conjunction with Better Business Bureau’s national effort to proactively combat identity theft, BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington offered four Secure Your ID Day locations to help local consumers shred 38,948 pounds—more than 19 tons—of documents and recycle 481 cellular phones on April 21, 2012.
Anchorage, Alaska
162 cars
5,400 pounds
9 cellular phones
Beaverton, Ore.
503 cars
21,000 pounds
96 cellular phones
Bellingham, Wash.
235 cars
7,148 pounds
47 cellular phones
DuPont, Wash.
124 cars
5,400 pounds
329 cellular phones
Recycle Revolution estimates that the recycled shreddings will save 331 trees, 136,318 gallons of water, and nearly 59 cubic feet of landfill space.
The next Secure Your ID Day will take place on Oct. 20, 2012. For shred event partnership opportunities, or to suggest a future location, contact BBB at events@thebbb.org or call 206-676-4187.
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