Archive for March, 2013

Fred Meyer is expanding its fuel points program so customers can save up to $1 per gallon at the pump.

The new plan will be available at Fred Meyer, QFC and participating Shell stations and take effect on Monday, April 1. Currently, customers could only redeem 100 fuel points each time they fill up the gas tank. Under the new program, customers can redeem some or all of their fuel points, in 100 point increments. For example, if a customer has 400 fuel points, he or she can choose to redeem 200 points (20 cents per gallon) or the full 400 points (40 cents per gallon).

This offer is valid for up to 35 gallons of fuel on one vehicle per purchase.

Customers earn one fuel point for every dollar spent on qualifying items when they use their Fred Meyer Rewards Card. For further details, click this (link) .

Mark West is bringing his brand of Philly cheesesteak to Bellingham.

West, who operates Just Philly inside the Rome Grocery Store at 2908 Mount Baker Highway, is opening a truck trailer operation near Cornwall Park. It’ll be at 3219 Meridian St., in the parking lot of the Jim Harber State Farm insurance office.

West plans to have the trailer ready on Monday, April 1. Once open, hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except for the occasional trips made to special events. The trailer will have the same menu items currently served at the Rome store.

“That spot will be our base,” said West.

Just Philly at the Rome Grocery Store will continue to operate until Sunday, June 2, which is when the lease expires, West said.

Personal income in Washington state rose 4.5 percent in 2012, the fourth highest increase among U.S. states, according to a new federal report.

Much of Washington’s increase came in the form of net earnings,  followed by dividends and rental income. Transfer receipt income, which includes income from the government such as social security and unemployment benefits, was about the same as as 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

As defined by the BEA, personal income is income received by all people from all sources.

Nationally, personal income rose 3.5 percent in 2012, slower than the 5.2 percent increase in 2011. State personal income growth ranged from a 0.2 percent decline in South Dakota to a 12.4 percent rise in North Dakota. According to the report, South Dakota’s decline was partially due to the impact of last year’s drought on farm income.

North Dakota had the fastest personal income growth of all states for the fifth time in six years. In 2012, mining and construction income accounted for 43 percent of private nonfarm income growth in the state. Mining includes oil and gas extraction, which has grown significantly in recent years.

Inflation, as measured by the national price index, rose 1.8 percent in 2012.

Washington’s per capita personal income in 2012 was $45,413 in 2012, which ranked 12th highest in the U.S. and 106 percent of the national average.

Here’s a couple of restaurant-related items to pass along…

– Less than one year after opening, Scotty Browns Airport Restaurant is expanding.

The Port of Bellingham’s Board of Commissioners approved a lease modification that adds 526 square feet to the restaurant and another 576 square feet at the airport for Scotty Browns office and storage.

“We are expanding due to the enormous success of therestaurant in the terminal,” said Scotty Browns Manager Jason Cooper, in a news release from the port. “The airport has been a great addition to our restaurant brand, and has been well received by the Canadian public due to our association with Browns Restaurant Group.:

The Bellingham International Airport is in the midst of a $38 million terminal expansion and work is underway for the additional restaurant space. The restaurant expansion will be completed by the end of April.

With the expansion, the restaurant will occupy nearly 2000 square feet, not including the new office and storage area. It presently provides seating for about 80 people and will provide additional seating for after the expansion. The business employs about 30 workers and has invested over $1.1 million in construction of its facilities, according to the news release.

– With the closing of Cicchitti’s on Friday, Amia Froese of Saratoga Commercial Real Estate said the owner of the building (1427 Railroad Ave. in downtown Bellingham) plans to market the space for a new restaurant user, keeping the existing equipment in place.

Froese said they’ve also been working with the Cicchitti’s to help them with the transition to its concession stand in Deming.

” We have enjoyed our relationship with Cicchitti’s over the past few years and, though we are sad to see them go, we wish them best of luck in their future endeavors,” Froese said.

Anyone interested in this downtown location is welcome to call 360-676-4866 or email amia@saratogacom.com for additional leasing information.

The Bellingham office of the Washington State Department of Revenue is hosting a free workshop for new and small business owners from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9.

It’s at the Washington State Patrol/Washington State Dept. of Transportation Conference Room,  at 3920 Airport Way (at turnoff to airport).

Participants will learn about Washington excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, tax incentives, sales tax collection, and record-keeping requirements. All receive a workbook and helpful reference guide to Department of Revenue rules and regulations.

To register, visit the Department of Revenue web site at dor.wa.gov or call 360-594-4840.

Space is limited. A complete schedule of workshops statewide and a short streaming video version of the workshop in English and Spanish are available on the website.

Here’s a (link) to an article in the Vancouver Sun about the Canadian meat company Premium Brands buying a longtime family business in Canada.

The purchase has an interesting local tie. Premium merged with Hempler Foods Group of Ferndale back in 2006. Premium plans to use its newest acquisition, Freybe Gourmet Foods, to help Hempler’s grow its U.S. sales by supplying product. Hempler’s has experienced double-digit growth for the past three years, said Premium’s CEO, George Paleologou in the article.

Whatcom’s unemployment rate rose to 8.6 percent in February, the highest in a year.

February’s rate is up from a revised rate of 8.4 percent in January and the same as February 2012, according to data from the Washington State Employment Security Department.

This area did add 400 nonfarm jobs between January and February, but 290 more people were listed as unemployed for that same period.

A trend that appears to be developing across the state is a the difference between rural and urban employment. King County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 5.6 percent, followed by Snohomish County at 6.3 percent. Many (24) rural counties in the state have unemployment above 10 percent. Ferry County has the highest rate, at 15.1 percent.

The employment agency WorkSource is organizing a spring job fair, to be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 4.

The event will be at St. Luke’s Education Center at 3333 Squalicum Parkway in Bellingham. WorkSource is looking for employers interested in having an exhibit table, which are provided at no cost. Space is limited, however. The event is open to all businesses actively seeking employees.

For more information or to reserve a space, contact Bill Adamek (wadamek@esd.wa.gov or 360-676-3203) or Rudy Cortez (rcortez@esd.wa.gov or 360-676-3271).

TD Curran is opening a store Saturday, March 30 in Burlington.

TD Curran’s third store is at 1771 Burlington Blvd., near Costco’s main entrance and the intersection with George Hopper Road. Saturday’s grand opening will include free tacos from noon-2 p.m. from business neighbor Taco Del Mar, plus drawings for a 13-inch MacBook Pro and $5,000 in computer accessories.

TD Curran offers Mac computers and a full line of Apple products.  Education discounts are available for students and teachers. TD Curran also offers one-on-one training for customers. It is the only Apple Authorized Service center in Northwest Washington, according to a company news release, enabling it to handle products covered by an Apple warranty.

Founded in 1992, TD Curran also has stores on Bellingham’s Squalicum Harbor and in Everett.

“We have many customers in Skagit County who have visited our other stores and are excited to have found an ideal Burlington location for serving them,” said Troy Curran, president of TD Curran, in a news release.

The Burlington store, managed by Rob Chapman, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information about TD Curran, call 800-645-2533 or visit tdcurran.com.

Duane Stewart is closing his longtime business, D&L Body and Plastics, on Friday March 29.

Stewart has been in the business for quite some time. He and his father, Less, opened the business at 1421 N. Forest St. in 1962. Now 80, he started working in the industry as a teenager.

Customers are welcome to stop by and say good-bye to Stewart this week. For details about the business, click this (link).