Story by Janet Grella
Photos by Scott Schaefer

What do you get when you cross a fireball with a firecracker?

You get Discover Burien’s new Executive Director, Steve Gilbert.

What a rare and unique find for the city of Burien.

BTB sat down with Steve for breakfast last week at one of Burien’s busiest breakfast eateries, 909 Coffee & Wine. At warp speed, we covered everything from his family, past positions and his vision for Burien and Discover Burien.

“Burien is an absolutely spectacular community,” Steve said. “It’s like one of those small town mid-American communities where everyone knows each other and everyone has got your back. It’s really really neat to see the energy in Burien.”

He continued his rah-rah head cheerleader role, continuing: “…with a strong business base, access to parks, the water and the airport – Burien’s got it all!”

With pieces already in place from a business and community standpoint, Steve sees “Burien full-out sprinting” from the recession.

With Steve at the helm, I have no doubt.

In his opinion “Burien is primed to do something great, yet we cannot lose track of where we’ve been.”

Looking forward, Steve sees the very board who hired him as a group of “very enthusiastic individuals who listen to ideas and are all going in a common direction, with a shared vision. When everyone has a single goal, they become an unstoppable force.”

That unifying vision of direction will be flushed out at the Discover Burien Board retreat on January 13.

I asked him in a nutshell how he would explain to our readers what the Discover Burien Association is; his response:

“Discover Burien is a gathering place for business and community leaders to get together to positively affect change in their own community.”

“Discover Burien presents a real opportunity to people to make a difference to make a difference in the community they live, work and play in,” he concluded. “Participating in Discover Burien is the best investment a business can make.”

Membership to Discover Burien starts at just $25 per year. If you are interested in joining, you can check their website for a membership application, or call the office at 206-433-2882.

What’s next for Steve and Discover Burien?

He plans to bring back the education series held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The first seminar will be conducted by Devon Rich of the Small Business Development Center on Business Financial Loans on Feb. 24th.  He will also be introducing an Educational Series with a Retail focus.

And really good news – the monthly Discover Burien After Hours for business networking will resume again in January.

When Steve isn’t cheerleading for Burien, he’s living with his family in Issaquah that includes daughter Madison, 11, son Cooper, 8, and his wife Becky, “the love of my life”.

The commute?

“It isn’t bad. I leave the house at 6:20 in the morning and arrive in Burien at 7 am, ready to hit the ground running.”

We don’t doubt that at all.

by Janet Grella

This Saturday (Dec. 5th) during Winterfest, you’ll find two new shops in Olde Burien: Howard and Marge, and You’ve Been Worn – so be sure to stop by and welcome them to the neighborhood!

The first is Howard and Marge, which is moving east from their Seahurst location. Owner Robin Dunkle is pleased to be moving to Olde Burien. She started her cutting edge clothing and gift boutique about 18 months ago. She offers unique, edgy, chic clothing and accessories and gifts for kids and grownups. The store will open Saturday Dec. 5th just in time for Winterfest. Robin will have refreshments and musical entertainment on hand for the opening event. Robin will also be giving out free Howard and Marge t-shirts with every $50 spent in the store that day.

Howard and Marge will be in the ‘corner store’ formerly occupied by Poggi Bonsi.

You’ve Been Worn is a designer store of gently-used merchandise that will be open as well.  Debra Perkins and Michelle Guest, Windermere Real Estate agents with a passion for designer jeans and purses, have teamed up to open their first location at 902 SW 152nd, next to the Burien Market.

Debra and Michelle have worked together for 15 years, first at Café Debra in Des Moines, continuing at Windermere and now at You’ve Been Worn. You can expect to see such designers as Rock Revival, Joes, Dooney Burke, Coach, Guess and Juicy Couture, and more. And right now, to get started on consigning your designer clothes they are offering a 50/50 split on the sales.

Debra tells us that she’s open and accepting consignments and ready for sales. You can call 206-940-1007 or 206-248-0050 to arrange an appointment.

[While other people claim to "know" Burien business, we actually have proof that we do, via our nearly 40 Advertisers who enjoy our overwhelming traffic statistics of 49,000+ Unique Visitors per month. Eyeballs + Blogvertorial stories = Customers. Email Janet now and join The B-Town Blog-o-lution!]

Our good friend Dan “The Sausageman” House has opened his new “Tin Cellars” wine, gift shop and bar.

His new “Tin Theater” is scheduled to open in mid-January or February, with the classic “Wizard of Oz” slated for the big premiere (stay tuned to the BTB for more details soon).

Here are the details for the Tin Cellars opening:

WHAT: Grand Opening of “Tin Cellars”

WHEN: Doors open Thursday, Nov. 12th at 11am; be sure to stop in, say hi to Chirlee and check out the place, as Dan is re-utilizing even more historic artifacts from the historic old Tin Shop that used to be in this location, making this another altar of sorts to the historic old Burien business which originally opened in 1930. Be sure to admire the old wooden sign above the new bar, circa 1940; here’s photographic proof:

WHERE: Tin Cellars is next to The Tin Room Bar at 923 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien.

INFO: From their press release, which also includes updates on the “Tin Theater”:

Tin Cellars Is Opening!

We are proud and excited to announce the opening of Tin Cellars Thursday, November 12th!

Many of you have questions about Tin Cellars, the Tin Theater and Dan the Sausageman. Hopefully this will answer a few of them.

What is Tin Cellars?
Tin Cellars will be a wine shop featuring Dan the Sausageman sausages, assorted cheeses and Dan’s gift packs during the holidays. Hours of operation will be from 11 AM to 5 PM Monday thru Saturday with extended hours this Thursday for our Grand Opening Celebration. After Thanksgiving we will be open 7 days a week from 11 AM to 5 PM.

When will the Tin Theater open?
We are hoping for late January or early February.

What movies will you play?
Classics, foreign films and second run movies. We are hoping to hear from you on what movies you would like to see.

Can the theater be used for private parties?
Yes, you can book the entire theater as well as Tin Cellars, bring your favorite movie or DVD’s of family photos and enjoy your own theater for a night. Tin Cellars is available immediately for private parties so please call ASAP if this is something you would like as the days are already starting to be booked.

Why is there another bar in the Tin Cellars?
This will be the bar to service the movie theater when it opens. Also it will handle the overflow for the Tin Room allowing our guests to enjoy a new atmosphere, a drink and an appetizer while waiting for a table. You just might find it so comfortable and such a different experience from the Tin Room that you may just want to stick around.

Is the Tin Cellars open now?
Yes, it is open to handle whenever the Tin Room needs more space and it is available for private parties.

Thank you so much for your patience and we hope this is going to be a great new addition to the neighborhood. See you at the movies!

This month Kelley, Nikki and Kristin M are celebrating anniversaries working with the Tin Room. Kelley and Nikki will celebrate 5 years with the Tin room and Kristin M has been with us for 4 years. Chef Daniel and Rigo both have birthdays this month as well.

And, last but not least, the Tin Room will be celebrating it’s 5th birthday this month!!! Join us on Saturday, November 21st for an all out party where we will be giving away gifts and having an all-around great time. Thank you Burien for 5 great years! We’re looking forward to celebrating with you!

Kelly DeRitis, co-owner of Poggi Bonsi, confirmed to The B-Town Blog Thursday that they would be “relocating” the original Poggi Bonsi Gift Store (the corner store in Olde Burien at 9th SW and SW 152nd) to a new location in the Renton Landing.

The new store will be called Poggi Bonsi and will contain a mixture of gourmet kitchen products, as well as imported ceramics, linens and gifts., like Poggi Bonsi Cucina.

The new Renton store will be twice as big as Cucina, with 2,800 square feet.

Until then, they’ll be holding a Moving Sale, with 30% off Imports, 40% off selected Gift Merchandise and 50% off all jewelry. They’ll be open every day starting Nov. 1st at their corner store location (901 SW 152nd).

In mid-November the store will be closed to move the merchandise to the Landing, which will open Thanksgiving weekend. The new store will be located at 920 N. 10th, Suite F, in Renton.

“We’ll still have two stores now in two distinct shopping areas,” said DeRitis. Their Cucina store will remain in Olde Burien, as well as the management of their website (www.poggibonsigifts.com)

BTB Advertiser Howard and Marge Clothing and Accessories will be leaving their Seahurst location to occupy the corner store spot.

Owner Robin Dunkle “hopes to open towards the end of the November, and asks BTB readers to watch for the grand opening.”

by Ralph Nichols

Although vacant commercial properties in downtown Burien are beginning to fill up with new and returning businesses, as we reported last week, a couple of big pieces still are missing.

None of the street-level retail space in the Town Square condominium complex at SW 152nd St. and 6th Ave. S. is occupied five months after the development opened, with no indication that any businesses are likely to move in anytime soon.

And a twice-anticipated hotel, which just a few years ago was expected to have welcomed its first guests long before now, still is just a dream.

So, despite all the encouraging news, what’s going on with these stalled commercial ventures?

According to Dick Loman, the city’s economic development manager, a combination of factors beyond the control of the city, Town Square private developer Urban Partners and other investors are at play.

But Loman is optimistic that these pieces will fall into place “hopefully sooner rather than later.”

With a number of hotels clustered in SeaTac and more in Tukwila, Burien, which is less than four miles from the airport terminal, seems like an ideal place for the next hotel development in this area, he said.

But while being first in a new location is seen as a marketing advantage for lots of businesses, the hotel industry – in which several properties often are located close together – considers “a pioneering effort” as having “a higher degree of risk,” Loman explained.

So Burien continues to wait for a hotel to come here. Still, there have been promising signs of interest.

In December 2005, Loman recalled, a Tacoma group signed a development agreement with Burien to build a hotel on the vacant city property at SW 150th St. and 2nd Ave. SW. Less than two years later, however, they ran into serious problems with a hotel already under construction in Lakewood and had to withdraw. The city released them from the contract.

A few months later, another group signed a letter of intent with the city to build a hotel at the same site. “But during the course of that process the financial markets began to drift,” he said. “They couldn’t proceed. There was too much risk.”

Despite these setbacks, Loman is optimistic. “I’m very confident that we’ll get a hotel here as soon as the market changes,” he said, noting several hotel chains have expressed interest in building in Burien in the future. “The demand is here. (A hotel) is needed. It will be a wonderful piece of our redevelopment.”

The wait to fill Town Square retail space may not last as long, but in the short term it’s a more complicated process. The primary problem is that leasing retail space in the complex involves working through the same maze with the construction loan that Urban Partners must navigate before condo units can qualify for financing.

“Urban Partners needs to talk to the bank, but they don’t know who (in the banking group) to talk to” right now, Loman continued. In the meantime, the developer tells him “yes,” businesses are interested in leasing this space. “But potential tenants want to know who (will hold the lease) before making a commitment.”

Although he has “no idea” how long it will take for Urban Partners to work things out with the banking group that now holds its construction loan, “I can’t imagine it will last more than 90 to 120 days. It’s too important an asset just to sit there.”

A new local business networking group, the BNI “B-Town Business Builders,” is holding a “Visitor’s Day Luncheon” at The Mark Restaurant on Wednesday, July 29th from 11:30am to 1:30pm, and is inviting local businesspeople to attend.

WHAT: BNI B-Town Business Builders “Visitor’s Day Luncheon”

WHEN: Wednesday July 29th, from 11:30am —1:30pm

WHERE: The Mark Restaurant, 918 SW 152nd Street, Burien, WA 98166

COST: Actual cost of your lunch order

RSVP: Susan Fromm, 206-686-8888, or via email: susanismyrealtor@comcast.net

WHO ARE THE BNI B-TOWN BUSINESS BUILDERS?
The BNI B-Town Business Builders is a group of local professionals who refer clients, business associates, friends, family and neighbors to one another. This new chapter is currently represented by 20 members/professions, and in the short time it’s been meeting they’ve already begun giving and receiving referrals and closing business. Its mission is to develop a powerful group of area professionals with the common goal of increasing business for members.

WHY ATTEND?
At the Visitor’s Day Luncheon you’ll have the opportunity to learn about BNI, meet other area professionals involved and experience the power of our BNI Chapter to see if it may be a good fit for you and your business (if attending, please bring 50 of your business cards).

WHY CONSIDER BECOMING A B-TOWN BUSINESS BUILDER?

• Are you looking to grow your business?
• Do you rely on referrals to grow your business?
• Would you like to be part of a powerful group of professionals who will refer business to you?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

• Increase your closed business
• Receive warm referrals (not leads) from people who know you and your business
• Learn to promote your business effectively
• No direct competition among members, only one person per profession
• Develop relationships with other quality area professionals

ABOUT BNI
BNI—Business Network International— is the largest business referral organization of its kind. Our primary purpose is to
facilitate the exchange of qualified business referrals. Last year BNI members passed over 5.6 million referrals in nearly
5300 chapters resulting in more than 2.3 billion in closed business for it’s members.

For more information, visit the BNI website here, or contact Susan Fromm at 206-686-8888, or via email: susanismyrealtor@comcast.net