Longtime Burien business Veracruz Mexican Restaurant, located at 623 SW 152nd Street, has been listed for sale for ‘$70,000 obo’ on Craigslist.

“Over 31 years of operating this business,” reads the Craigslist Ad. “It’s time for retirement.”

The restaurant is still open for business, and its hours are Mon. – Thurs., and Sun. from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Fri. – Sat. 11 a.m. – 10 .pm.

We put a call into the restaurant to get more information, but as of Saturday afternoon (Sept. 3) had not yet heard back.

According to the Ad:

“Great location in downtown Burien.

Over 31 years of operating this business, it’s time for retirement.

Full kitchen and diner, etc. We pay about $1,300 a month rent for 5 year lease, just to give you an idea.

Diner seats 64.

Come check it out if interested. Give us a call ask for Laura, Luis, or Jessica. We can set up an appointment.”

Veracruz can be reached at 206-242-5108.

by Nicholas Johnson

Jim Todd, 71, and his wife Karen, 63, sit side-by-side in computer chairs, each roaming the Internet on their respective computers. Karen sits back as she picks up a lit Swisher Sweets cigar from the ashtray on her desk and takes a drag – it’s the third one she’s had today. Jim lights up as well and the 10-foot by 10-foot room fills with smoke, illuminated by dim sun rays pouring in from between the blinds that cover the room’s only window.

The grey-haired couple spends most days right here – in a cluttered, cramped, ground-floor apartment on the south end of White Center, Wash. They call it home, smoke-stained walls and all. And, for the past month, Jim’s nephew Vern and his wife Melissa have called the living room home. They moved in after losing their fifth-wheel trailer.

Two small dogs and a parrot named “Patty Bird” also call the apartment home. Patty Bird sits perched in a cage in the corner of the room, bird seed spilling out onto the floor. Boxes, clothes, pairs of shoes and other odds and ends fill about half the room, leaving little space to walk. When Jim married Karen 30 years ago, the two put their combined belongings into storage. But, with fewer dollars to dedicate toward storage rent, those belongings found their way into the apartment they’ve shared for the past 12 years.

Wearing dirt-smudged jeans and a blue T-shirt that reads “D.A.R.E. DASH” in bold, red letters, Jim fidgets with the hearing aid in his right ear. He touches his chin for a moment – covered in white stubbles of hair – and as he does, his wedding band catches the light. He wears it proudly, and says it was long in God’s plans that he and Karen would be together. Before Karen, Jim had been married for more than 17 years until his wife suffered a heart attack while grocery shopping.

“It was like God said, ‘I’ve given you this woman for so many years, but this woman is sitting over here waiting to come in’,” he says slowly and quietly. “It was all made before we ever got here. It was all set up.”

Although these two have their problems – especially since Jim has been out of work – they’ve never stopped looking for ways to pick themselves up. Jim has a plan, but first he needs $6,000 in start-up money. He dreams of owning and operating a cotton candy machine – in fact, he’s got it all picked out. Someday, he’d like to sell cotton candy to children at Seahurst Park; but for now, he’s just concerned about getting on his feet.

“I’m just trying to get ahead,” Jim says. “I don’t want to be a burden on society. I want to be my own support.”

Karen agrees.

“We’d all like something better than what we have,” she says. “Some people are satisfied just to be somewhere and stay there. If you have any drive at all you want to better yourself, you want to do something else. You want to progress a little bit; you don’t want to just stay where you’re at. You don’t want to get into a rut and stay there.”

Food stamps and stinky ears
Currently living off of monthly Social Security checks and food stamps, the Todd’s struggle to afford food and rarely leave their room. The two receive $92 in food stamps each month from the state’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

“At $92, we can go ten days between us spending $9 a day for us to eat on,” Jim says, indicating that he’s done the math. “And the rest of the month we’re going to starve.”

Social Security pays Jim $881 a month, half of which goes toward rent, which is reduced with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, otherwise known as Section 8. With Karen’s $403 Social Security check and what remains of his, Jim pays the utility bill and other expenses throughout each month.

Income, however, is not their only problem.

At 58, Jim was working in security. That’s when he began to develop an ear infection. He eventually lost 93 percent of his hearing in the left ear and 86 percent in the right. As a result he lost his job, and his ear infection remained.

“They’re always running and draining and stinking and whatever,” he says.

Jim’s doctor recommended hearing aids for both ears, but DSHS would only cover the cost of one hearing aid – for his better ear.

More recently, Jim says he has a cataract in his eye that will need operation soon.

Getting older and getting rejected
For the next few years Jim worked as a Union Pacific Railroad crew hauler between Seattle and Portland. He’d drive out to Chehalis or Cosmopolis or any other city along the tracks to pick up Union Pacific Railroad crews when their shifts ended. Labor laws stipulate that railroad crews work an eight-hour shift – no shorter, no longer – and often these crews’ shifts end miles away from home.

When he lost that job, finding another became harder than he could’ve imagined.

“I have worked and supported my family,” he says in his deep, scratchy voice. “But in the past couple of years it has all been on a downhill slide. As I get older I am finding it harder to find a job. People don’t tell me they won’t hire me because I’m old, but that’s how it is.”

He knows his hearing makes job interviews a hassle, and he doesn’t blame the interviewer when he never receives a call back. He says, “It’s not their fault.”

For nearly ten years Jim has been out of work, and he absolutely hates it.

“I want to get up and do something,” he says as his voice breaks and a tear forms in the corner of his eye. “I’m tired of not being out working and supporting my family and bringing stuff in. I’m tired of my wife having to sit around 24 hours a day and not being able to go out and do anything or spend any money or have any freedom. And I want to do it myself. I don’t know where else to go.”

Trying something new
Over the last few years, Jim has sat at Seahurst Park in Burien selling photos he takes while at the beach. Jim and Karen collaborate on greeting cards – self-written, self-printed, self-folded and self-sold – which they call “off the wall” because of their quirky humor. Jim has even sought small grants, but he gave up when he realized most are aimed at women and minority groups.

With a room full of stuff and a keyboard at his fingertips, Jim has tried selling such things as a pair of CB radios on Craigslist. He wasn’t having much luck, so he figured if no one was interested in paying for what he had to offer, he might try a new route.

After seeing a video on ABC’s news website about a 26-year-old Canadian man who traded one red paper clip for a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan about four years earlier, Jim decided he may as well try “trading up,” too.

Kyle MacDonald traveled the country, checking his e-mail and making trades as he went. After 14 trades, MacDonald had a house – and an adventure to share with the world. Of course he wrote a book, and now appears on talk shows and gives motivational speeches.

In July of this year a 17-year-old California high school student managed to trade his old cell phone for a 2000 Porsche Boxster S, a process that took two years and 14 trades. When questioned by his friends, he said such successful bartering takes time and patience.

Surely, stories of successful Craigslist bartering have prompted many to take the first step: posting a paperclip, an old cell phone or, in Jim’s case, four paper binders:

But when Jim took that first step on Sept. 24, it didn’t take long for an unknown person to flag his post and send a hate-filled e-mail saying, “just because one guy did it with a paper clip, you think you can do it?”

“I wasn’t trying to defraud anybody,” he says. “It’s not like I was offering nothing. I don’t know what appeals to you and you don’t know what appeals to me, so how do I know what might appeal to somebody else?”

Eventually he stopped reposting the paper binders, mostly due to continued harassment from the unknown flagger. But on Oct. 19, Jim posted a new item: a Mini Maglite flashlight (click here to see the ad):

Independent all his life
Although the same person flagged it once again, Jim reposted the flashlight and his post has remained untouched since. Jim says he feels the anonymous flagger thinks he is looking for a free ride, an easy way out.

“If there’s one thing I hate it’s somebody thinking I’m going to have to be dependent on them,” he says. “I don’t want to be dependent. I’ve been independent pretty much all my life.”

Jim grew up in Alexandria, Va. His father died when Jim was eight years old, leaving him to care for his three-year-old sister. By the time Jim was 13 years old he had moved to Burien and joined the 1954 inaugural class at Sylvester Middle School.

“We used to ride on drags behind a tractor weighting down on the pallets moving up the rocks and leveling out the field,” Jim says with pride. “All those little trees around Sylvester, we planted all those, our science class did.”

He attended Highline High School during the 1950s, and by 1958 he left to finish his schooling with the U.S. Navy. Now, after years of working security and managing convenience stores, Jim has found himself asking for help from others – something he’s managed to avoid most of his life.

“All I want to do is get ahead myself, and maybe someday I can help somebody else get ahead too,” he says, with eyes wide. “You can rest assured in turn I’d be helping someone else down the line; it wouldn’t stop with me.

“I don’t want anybody to give me something for nothing. If I can get it, I’m willing to pay it back. I don’t want a hand out; I just want a hand up.”

If you have something you’d trade for Jim’s Mini Maglite, please click here to email us – we’ll not only connect you with Jim, but we’ll post progress reports as he attempts to “trade up.”

Come on Burien – let’s give this couple a helping hand!

A Craigslist Ad posted Sunday night (July 25) indicates that a company called Car Pros may be re-opening Burien Nissan, which has been closed and vacant since last March.

However, this isn’t the first time an Ad has teased a possible re-opening – as we first reported in September 2009, another, very similar Craigslist Ad hinted then that a re-opening was imminent (see that Ad here), but in the end it fell through – so we encourage our Readers to take this with a grain of salt until confirmed.

Another hint that something may be up at the longtime, recently-remodeled dealership was a Comment left by a Reader named Jen (read that here).

We’re currently investigating this story, and will post it as soon as we get more news, so stay tuned to The B-Town Blog by RSS Feed here, or via email here.

Here’s the Ad:

Burien Nissan Re-Opening (Seattle/Burien)
Date: 2010-07-25, 9:37PM PDT
Reply to: job-qqafp-1863276953@craigslist.org

Car Pros Automotive Group is re-opening Burien Nissan

All positions available in Parts and Service, come join the best in the Puget Sound region, our professionally managed Dealerships create the ultimate opportunity to accelerate your automotive career.

Forward your resume today to: Bradleyjwolf@hotmail.com

Applicants are subject to background and drug screening

EOE employer

Key words, new car dealer, dealership, auto technician, Parts, Service, mechanic, lube, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, Lexus,
Porter, lot attendant, car wash, detailer, Manager, driver,

The B-Town Blog has learned that longtime Burien business (and BTB Advertiser) E.B. Foote Winery has been put up for sale, with a suggested price tag of $1.25 million, by owner Sherrill Miller.

“It’s time for me to retire,” Miller said via email Monday (July 12). “The winery just isn’t the same without Rich (my husband of 35 years) as my partner.  My family, friends and Volunteer Vintners have been great about stepping up to help me do what needs to be done.”

The winery will remain open, at least for now, with “business as usual,” according to Miller.

According to a Craigslist ad posted last Friday (July 9), the winery has been producing “2,000 cases per year using Columbia Valley grapes … with the high quality level of the wines, there is plenty of potential to increase production and have distribution statewide, regionally or nationally.”

Here’s the Ad:

Winery for sale – $1250000 (Burien)
Date: 2010-07-09, 5:55PM PDT
Reply to: see below

Owner/winemaker of E. B. Foote winery is retiring and selling this urban, turn-key winery with a long history of award-winning wines.

Price of $1,250,000 includes trademarked brand name, production equipment, bulk and bottled wine inventory, and gift shop merchandise.

Production equipment includes fruit bins, open fermenters, six stainless steel jacketed tanks, crusher/destemmer, basket press, must and transfer pumps, cold-stability refrigeration system, oak barrels, barrel racks, plate and frame filter, 6-spout bottler, semi-automatic corker, semi-automatic labeler, capsuler, forklift, two pallet jacks and lab equipment.

Wine inventory includes 150 cases of white wine and 3000 cases of red wine and red blends, and 2300 gallons of bulk red wine.

Production has been 2000 cases per year using Columbia Valley grapes. With the high quality level of the wines, there is plenty of potential to increase production and have distribution statewide, regionally or nationally.

Currently occupying 8,000 square feet. Buyer would have to negotiate a new lease with the building owner.

For a list of current releases, photos, award history, etc., see the website www.ebfootewinery.com. Interested buyers can contact Sherrill at (206) 715-3114 or at winemaker@ebfootewinery.com.

Here’s a screenshot of the Ad:

Miller also adds:

With the name recognition and high quality level of the wines, the winery is primed and ready for growth in production for distribution locally, regionally or even nationally. But I don’t have the passion or heart to expand on my own.  It would be nice if a buyer wanted to keep the winery in Burien, but obviously I have no control over that.  It could take some time before a buyer comes forward, so it’s business as usual for me.  As long as the winery is mine and the wines have my name on them as winemaker, the wines will continue to be the high quality that customers expect from an E. B. Foote wine.

As a longtime B-Town Blog Advertiser, we cherish E.B. Foote’s support during our run, and hope that Sherrill finds a suitable new owner to continue their fine, local winemaking tradition.

by Rachel M. Lusby & Janet Grella

Local seamstress and artist Lupe “Marie” Montes is closing her shop, Marie’s Classical Tailoring & Alterations, located at 824 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien.

At 90 years old, Montes is moving to an assisted living facility and may still do some alterations and tailor work for her longtime, regular customers. On March 2, she fell across one of her sewing machines, breaking her ribs. Her grandson found her lying on the floor when he stopped by after class at Mt. Rainier High School. After a trip to Highline Medical Center, she’s been rehabbing at Riverton since.

Lupe "Marie" Montes, 90, is closing her Olde Burien alterations shop.

Montes was one of the oldest shopkeepers in Olde Burien.

“Now there’s just Lola at the (Danish) Bakery left,” she said.

Montes grew up in Bisbee, Arizona and is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her daughter Rachel Pizarro says her mother learned her trade largely on her own, but actually started out life wanting to be an actress. Montes moved to Los Angeles at age 18 to become a movie star, but could not find work.

“She was approached by a seamstress,” says Pizarro, “who asked her if she could sew.”

Montes found herself eventually in the L.A. garment industry and ended up managing huge factories of up to 200 workers. She was a bi-lingual production manager.

“She also worked fashion shows, and with illustrious designers in their showrooms, as an expert with very special fabrics and techniques,” says Pizarro.

Marie's trusty sewing machine.

According to her daughter, Montes learned the trade initially as a child from her mother. She sewed her own clothing to match the fashion magazines.

In 1969 1989, Montes moved to Seattle to be with her daughter and help provide childcare to her grandson.

Pizarro describes her mother as a “dynamo.” Widowed at the age of 39 with four children still to raise, Montes was the sole provider for her family.

She opened the shop around 1995 or 1996, according to Pizarro. “When my kids started going to school at Seahurst Elementary,” says Pizarro.

Montes bought the shop from a previous owner.

Prior to the shop, Montes would teach oil painting to seniors

“When I grew up and left home she started taking drawing classes and eventually became an accomplished oil painter,” says Pizarro of her mother. “Before she had the shop she taught painting at the Highline Senior Center when it was over on 136th and Ambaum.”

Many of Montes’ students continued lessons at the shop after it opened.

According to her daughter, Marie "traded in her car for a new set of wheels."

The key to Montes’ success, her daughter says, is her “ambition and skill.”

“She was born and raised in Arizona, so her bi-lingual skills gave her an advantage in the industry,” says Pizarro. “Her ambition and skill resulted in advancement to the executive offices.”

According to Rachel, “Marie has traded in her car for a new set of wheels,” as she noted Marie’s new walker.

The Montes kids (Rachel and son Frank) have been working all week on clearing out the store. They’re having a Garage Sale/Estate Sale now through this Saturday, March 27.

Merchandise includes:

• Industrial sewing machines
• Fabric
• Zippers
• Thread
• Used clothing
• Jewelry
• Nick knacks

They’ve also got furniture and fixtures. You can find Marie and her kids at 824 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien. Rachel tells The B-Town Blog that they hope to find a tailor to buy the shop. Interested parties should contact Rachel at 206-390-4129.

Here’s the Craigslist Ad:

Sewing Machines Alterations Shop-Going Out of Business – $1 (Burien)

Call or visit Rachel or Frank. The owner and their mother, Marie, is finally retiring and moving to assisted living. We need to move everything out by Sunday.

Here’s our hours this week – March 23-27, 2010
Tues, Wed, Thursday from 10am – 2pm
Fri & Sat from 9am – 4pm

Come and make a deal, please!

Marie’s Classical Tailoring and Alterations
824 SW 152nd Street
Burien, WA 98166
(206) 246-4020 (Shop)
(206) 390-4129 (Rachel)

If you just happen to be a local pirate looking for a last-minute gift idea, we’ve got a doozy – one of your neighbors is trying to sell a custom-milled, solid one-piece steel, “black powder cannon” that’s only been used twice for just $375!

Some of the features from the Craigslist Ad:

• Black Powder Cannon
• Custom milled solid 1 piece steel.
• Two year old Cannon
• Used Twice
• Fuse Hole
• Shoots Baseball sized objects

Our favorite part of course is this happy ending greeting:

Please email with any questions! Happy Holidays
Stacie

Wait, aren’t these things ILLEGAL?

Who cares…it’s Christmas! So act fast, and email your order in now:

sale-mrhhy-1520671908@craigslist.org

Oh, and whatever you do, don’t read this story about a makeshift cannon that killed a 4-year old boy in Thurston County in July, 2007.

Yes, “Happy Holidays” and have fun with your cannon!

Here at The B-Town Blog, our mission is not only to serve our community with the most up-to-date, relevant local news, events and more – it’s also to serve our Readers with resources that they might find useful.

To wit: today (Tuesday, Oct. 13th) we launched our new Jobs Page, where you’ll find continually-updated listings of the latest Burien-area jobs, as well as relevant stories, resources and more items as we find them.

As of launch, we have 14 different job “feeds” from various sources like Craigslist, Monster, HotJobs and other “big ones” as well as some more obscure ones like DevBistro.com and JuJu.com. Our goal is to list as many local/area job listings as possible, so if you know of one that we’re missing, please email us (just keep in mind that it must have an RSS/XML feed for us to use it).

To access this new feature, either click on “Jobs” in the top menu, or click here!

Thanks, and good luck in your search!

To utilize the map, simply click on any of the yellow push-pin styled icons, and a listing of that specific sale will pop up (HINT: if you feel like you’re “stuck” on one listing, just click on another icon):

We got an email tip from BTB Reader Jennifer about a Job Ad posted Monday (Aug. 31st) on Craigslist that implies that the closed/empty Burien Nissan may be re-opening in mid-September under new management from CarPros, which appears to own several dealerships in Tacoma, Seattle and Carson, CA.

Here’s the Ad:

Re-Opening Auburn & Burien Nissan (Auburn & Burien)

---

Date: 2009-08-31, 3:07PM PDT
Reply to: jobs@carpros.com

---

Automotive Parts or Service experience? Opportunity knocks!!!Nissan Dealerships are gearing up for mid September opening, we are seeking qualified applicants for all Dealership positions.

Bring your Parts or Service experience and join an award winning Puget Sound Automotive Dealer Group.
We set the standard for professionally managed Parts & Service, our environment encourages personal and professional growth and includes rewarding pay plans with superior benefits.

E mail jobs@carpros.com
Fax (563) 405-8144, experienced professionals feel free to direct dial Bradley Wolf @ (253) 222-4836

Applicants must be 18 years of age, possess a valid drivers license and be drug free. Car Pros is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Burien Nissan (their former website is still down and no new one could be found), located in a shiny lot at 16042 First Ave South, closed for business in May under ownership of the Rainier Automotive Group, which lost “flooring” (aka financing) and had their entire inventory reclaimed by Nissan in a 24-hour period in March.

Since then, the lot has stood empty, like a recently-remodeled $5 million, modern ghost town car lot in Burien.

We’re investigating this developing story further, and will have more in-depth coverage soon, so be sure to check back often, or subscribe to our free RSS Feed or receive updates via email.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• BREAKING NEWS: Burien Nissan Is Now Officially Closed
• Burien Nissan Expecting New Financing In “A Few Weeks”
• UPDATE: More Information On Burien Nissan’s Inventory
• Burien Nissan Loses Entire Stock, Now An Empty Lot

Burien’s Boehm’s Chocolates is for sale for $35,000, according to this Craigslist Ad, posted Thursday, June 18th at 11:54am:

Boehm’s Chocolates of Burien – $35000 (Burien)

---

Reply to: sale-sqs6w-1228079749@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-06-18, 11:54AM PDTExceptional Opportunity!!! Established local company since 1981. Up to 150 products available. Over $101K FF&E; 1400 Sq Ft in shopping plaza. Lots of parking. Contact Conrad Topacio, 205.669.0576; info@vantageseattle.com; Vantage Commercial Partners 206.402.5567.

• Location: Burien
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Boehm’s Chocolates, located at 148 SW 148th (near Safeway) has been in business since 1981. According to their website, the Burien location appears to be the only one other than the original, which is located in Issaquah:

We are Boehm’s Chocolates Burien of Seattle. We feature Boehm’s products which are manufactured or distributed by Boehm’s Candies Inc. in Issaquah, WA.

Julius Boehm (1897-1981), the original founder of Boehm’s Candy Kitchen in Issaquah, WA, was of Swiss-Austrian decent. After immigrating to the United States in 1940, he and partner George Tedlock opened the first Candy Kitchen in the Greenlake area of Seattle.

In 1956 the company moved to Issaquah where he built the Edelweiss Chalet and a beautiful Alpine Chapel in the shadow of the Issaquah Alps. To this day the Issaquah Boehm’s Candies plant manufacturers over 150 different confections.

Our location, Boehm’s Chocolate Burien is proud to carry many of these delightful confections.

Whether you browse through our online products or take a trip to visit the Boehm’s candy factory in Issaquah, you will find a variety of products and candies and also Boehm’s products that are clearly identified. You can be assured that Boehm’s gourmet confections are produced to the high standards Mr. Boehm set for candymaking over 60 years ago. Boehm’s is proud of their consistent quality and we are often told there is none better.

So…anyone know if chocolate sells more during a recession?

Any wanna-be Willy Wonkas out there in B-Town?