Valentine’s Day is just about two weeks away, which means that now would probably be a good time to start shopping for something for your sweetie.

We here at The B-Town Blog strongly believe in shopping local, which is why we highly recommend that all our Readers buy their Valentine’s Day gifts from Burien-based Advertiser Dan the Sausageman.

I mean, what says “I Love You” better than a groovy gift box full of high quality meats, cheeses, chocolates and other goodies? And what better way to spend your money than by keeping it local?

Dan the Sausageman has been in business in Burien since 1988. Back then, Dan House (who also owns The Tin Room and the soon-to-be-opening Tin Theater) used to drive around selling sausages to car dealers and other businesses in the south end. Eventually he opened a tiny retail store in Seahurst, then moved into the classic old Hi-Line Tin Shop in Olde Burien where he still works every day.

And no, Danny hasn’t retired his retail sausage business – he’s just moved it in preparations for his new “Tin Theater” (which will be opening soon – stay tuned to the BTB for details) and is doing most work online now (check out his website here).

For Valentine’s Day, Dan the Sausageman is offering a great deal – purchase any gift box, and you’ll get both an extra 9oz Summer Sausage as well as a dozen chocolate kisses!

Gift Boxes are available at this web page, and here are three favorites:

“Dan’s Favorite“: Packed inside this hand made pine crate (15″ x 6.5″ x 4.5″) are all the things Dan loves and is a consistent top pick among our loyal customers. Contents: Summer Sausage (9oz), Sharp Cheese (4oz), Pepper Jelly (5oz), Smoked Salmon (3.25oz), Smoked Pate (3.25oz), Spiced Almonds (1.5oz), Sweet’N'Hot Mustard (2oz), Crackers (1oz), Chocolate Truffles (2pcs), Chocolate Covered Cherries, Blueberries, Cranberries and Apricots (4oz) – all for just $53.95! Click here to order.

“Retro Lunch Box“: If you took a lunch like this to work every day, you probably would WANT to go to work. Our nifty retro lunch pail is filled with all of the stuff that keeps our customers coming back for more. Contents: Summer Sausage (9 oz.), Hot Summer Sausage (9 oz.), Santa Barbara Garlic Stuffed Olives (2 oz.), Bandon Sharp Cheese (8 oz.), Seattle Chocolate Truffles (2.5 oz.), Gourmet Caramels with Almonds, Spiced Almonds (1.5 oz.), Venus Crackers (2 oz.), all for just $54.95! Click here to order.

“Perfect For The Palate“: No, we haven’t started selling paint like Martha Stewart. We do fancy the can though. Whether it is the office, home, or outdoors – all you have to do is spread this out and paint a smile on your face. Contents: Summer Sausage (9 oz.), Hot Summer Sausage (9 oz.), Santa Barbara Garlic Stuffed Olives (2 oz.), Bandon Sharp Cheese (8 oz.), Toffee Almond Cranberry Crunch (8 oz.), Eastshore Pretzels (4 oz.), Sweet ‘n’ Hot Mustard (2 oz.), Spiced Almonds (1.5 oz.), 1 Gallon Collector Paint Can. Just $47.95. Click here to order.

You can order these gift boxes online, as well as many others, safely and securely here (you can also order ala carte items too!).

Longtime BTB Advertiser Dan the Sausageman is having a very special FREE holiday offer that even Santa’s taking advantage of – with every order placed online, you’ll get a FREE Summer Sausage!

But to get it you have to act fast – you must order online before Dec. 10th to receive this FREE gift!

To order safely and securely, please click here.

And remember, even Santa loves high-quality, locally-produced foods!

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!

Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence is holding their 2009 Oktoberfest fundraiser Dinner, Dance and Auction on Saturday, Oct. 10th from 6pm to 11pm at the Normandy Park Cove.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Highline Schools Foundation Oktoberfest Dinner, Dance and Auction

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 10th, from 6pm to 11pm; Happy Hour 6pm – 7:30pm, when beer & wine will be half price

WHERE: Normandy Park Cove

INFO: “This year we are partnering with Dan “The Sausage Man” House (Tin Room) for the Brat Trot on October 4th which will start off a week long event that ends on the 10th with the Dinner, Dance and Auction. Dan is supplying the Brats while Elliott Bay Brewery is covering the beer. Tickets are $30 per person in advance and $35 at the door. Remember, happy hour is from 6:00 to 7:00 PM with half price beer and wine.”

• Must be 21 to attend
• Returning Foremost DJ

TICKETS: For tickets or more information please call (206) 248-5196.

SPONSORS:

• Dan the Sausageman
• Elliott Bay Brewery
• Fernwood at the Park
• Fred Meyer

More info available at www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org.

The Wurst is coming to Burien on Sunday, Oct. 4th folks…are you ready?

By “Wurst” we mean the very unique fundraiser known as the (first-annual) “Brat Trot” 5K run (which you can count down to with our handy-dandy timer over there in the right sidebar…).

As we first reported here on Aug. 3rd, Brat Trot is being “braut” to you by The Tin Room, with help from the good peeps who helped run the Cove to Clover Race back in March (which raised $12K), with proceeds benefiting:

• Safe Kids of South King County
• WestSide Baby

BRET THE BRAT (with Hot Link in the old country)

We were able to obtain an exclusive interview with “Bret the Brat,” who’s become a sort of official mascot of the event, which we present to you below in its unedited entirety (NOTE: Bret speaks with an accent, so it’s best to read this with one in your head):

Q: What is this “Brat Trot” thing anyways?
A: Think of this as gesture of goodwill…the sausage community extending handshake of friendship to nearby humans. Though we are sorry about that sausages will crush humans in the running challenge.

Q: Why Olde Burien?
A: Dan the Sausageman is near the center of the known sausage universe. All sausages want to come here…though most do not come because they can’t walk. And oddly, the ones who do end up here seem so happy, they never leave. Is odd.

Q: Is this a fundraiser?
A: Yes, yes, yes. We want to help smaller human children by helping WestSide Baby and Safe Kids of South King County. Maybe, we are working to help those organizations to care for perhaps, little bratwursts in future as well.

Q: Who the heck are you and why should we care?
A: Why you curse to me? I am a friendly Bratwurst trying to make place of Burien friendly. Humans and sausages we become nice friends, no?

Q: Will you be running?
A: I have been training for this for more than one month, I will be most likely be winning.

Q: What’s this about an oompa band at the finish line?
A: Bratwurst are from Bavaria, so naturally we love the oompah and this band is the best (and is very large). We tried to get German rock band Scorpions but they want more than $500…much, much more…is too bad.

Q: What can runners expect during the race?
A: Please prepare to lose running competition to highly trained running sausages. Other than that, there is much fun for human adults and children. Bratwurst with kraut, beer garden, root beer garden (free food and root beer for kids), floating brat races for the kids and of course dancing sausages. And have whole family take photo with a sausage for your special yuletide greeting cards.

Q: What’s this about a relay race with a hot dog?
A: NO HOT DOGS WILL BE AT MY RACE! The brat-ton is a faux sausage handcrafted from foam rubber. It will be a cherished item passed from down in family of high class. You want more details you go to this webpage! NO MORE SPEAKEN DAS HOT DOGGEN!

Q: Rumor has it that the “Yodeling Dominatrix” may be there as well?
A: Hmmm, is new information to me. Maybe special friend of Sausageman?

Q: Where the heck is this all happening again?
A: Oh for the sake of Der Schlussenfuffel, here’s das mappen – clicken to see larger version:

Q: What is this about a Pub Crawl on Sat., Oct. 3rd, the night before the race?
A: Ah yes, well yes I will be there, and will be allowing you humans to “warm up for race” with me during this fun pre-event. Pick up official crawl bib # ($10) at Tin Room beginning at 6pm, then crawl to at least five of the official crawl stops for “crawl drink and food specials.” At each you are to gather visitation stickers to qualify for door prize drawing to be held at Tin Room at 11pm. Humans asked to dress in traditional German costumes (not just hat mit das feather) or come dressed as a beautiful Bratwurst (even better) and you crawl for free (well, actually you’ve paid with your self respect in the case of the brat suit). Humans asked also please have what you call “designated driver” or taxi take you home, no? Seeking ze further info here.

Q: We understand that you’re in a video. Can we post it?
A: No. Whatever you does, no posting no viewing of video. I sign no release, and whoever watches will pay bigtime und hearen from mein lawyers!

In a B-Town Blog exclusive, we’ve just learned from longtime Burien business owner Dan House, proprietor of both The Tin Room Bar and Dan the Sausageman, that he’ll be building a brand new combination movie theater/bar at 923 SW 152nd, in the space where his retail business was located.

The new theater/bar, to be called The Tin Theater, will not only show movies in an intimate setting, it will allow 34 moviegoers to eat and drink at their seats, similar in concept to McMenamins, a combo theater/bar with numerous locations in Portland.

Here’s a scan of the plans, exclusive to The B-Town Blog (click on the image below to see a larger size):

Below is a Q & A interview with Dan, who proudly became a father of a baby girl Monday July 6th, and he’s looking for name suggestions (see below):

Q: Why are you building “The Tin Theater”?

A: The same reason why we built the Tin Room, I think Burien needs it badly.

Q: How did you come up with this idea?

A: There is a bar owner in Portland that has done this for awhile and I always like the idea, they are the McMenamin bars, they have about five theaters.

Q: What kind of films will you be showing?

A: We will be showing all kinds of Movies, we may have James Bond week (Martini and a movie), Clint Eastwood week, etc. and I would like to have the Burien Film Festival, maybe have the Highline School District or local people enter short movies.

Q: What will you show as the the first film?

A: First movie I am leaning towards is The Wizard of Oz, for the Tin Man.

Q: What will make your theater different from others?

A: The Tin Theatre will be small and intimate, not a monster “get lost in the parking lot” multiplex. You will be able to eat and drink in our lounge-type setting. We are thinking the theater may be for rent so you can invite 45 of your favorite friends to view your best movie or see a screening of your wedding, vacation, graduation etc., or for sporting events, with this you will be able to have your own server/bartender.

Q: What will happen with the Dan the Sausageman shop?

A: In front of the Theater will be a new Dan the Sausageman/Tin Cellars focusing on our wines, sausages and cheese but it will also be the area to hang out and mingle with Chirlee (my mother) and wait for the movie to start.

We will be taking our internet business off site to make room for the Movie Theatre, and we are looking for a location in Burien with warehouse space that we can build our gift boxes from and ship out; we have been around for 21 years and have no plans of stopping.

We just had a baby girl today at 4:04, we need a name, got any ideas?

Please post your baby name ideas (or thoughts on The Tin Theater) in the Comments below and we’ll make sure Dan gets ‘em (our suggestions: a name that can be shortened to “Tin” like Tindal, Tingley, Tinnea, Tinney, Tinsley, etc.).

by Scott Schaefer

That’s New York Times best-selling Author Robert Dugoni above on the left, along with Burien businessman Dan House, right. Dugoni has incorporated the Burien area into his latest novel, “Wrongful Death,” including this pivotal scene set in House’s The Tin Room:

Dugoni will be celebrating his creative ties to Burien with a reading and book-signing party at The Tin Room at 6pm on Wednesday, May 6th.

We recently caught up with Dugoni, along with longtime Burien resident and businessman Dan House (aka “Dan the Sausageman,” and yes, his name was purposely misspelled in the book as “Hause”), and spoke with both about Burien, writing, and the importance of using authentic locations in a story.

House asked Dugoni why he chose to set the novel’s main character David Sloane’s home in Burien, and why he included The Tin Room.

“Burien is a very interesting place,” Dugoni said as he sipped an iced tea. “On one hand you’ve got this relatively remote, rich area with gorgeous views and beautiful waterfront homes, while just up and over the hill there are pockets of poverty. I just love the contrast, and the possibilities it allows for a mystery are tremendous.”

Another reason Dugoni may have decided to include The Tin Room could be because it’s located next to House’s other retail business, “Dan the Sausageman.”

“One time I was driving through Burien and I saw this odd red neon sign that said ‘Dan the Sausage‘ and I just had to stop,” Dugoni laughed. “I parked, went inside and spoke with an older woman (Dan’s Mom Chirlee) who pointed out that the sign actually read ‘Sausageman‘ but because it was bent to go around a corner it looked like it only said ‘Dan the Sausage.’ I thought that was very unusual. Then I ate at The Tin Room and that was it.”

Dugoni, who makes his home in Kirkland, has family ties in Burien and often spends summer days down on the beach at Three Tree Point. This is his third novel, with the previous two being “The Jury Master” and “Damage Control.”

Here’s the synopsis for Wrongful Death, along with some early reviews:

Acclaimed attorney David Sloane (from the New York Times Bestseller, The Jury Master) agrees to take on a wrongful-death claim with a strong emotional tug. Beverly Ford, the widow of a national guardsman killed in Iraq is convinced her husband perished under nefarious circumstances. Sloane soon learns that established case law makes the prospect of victory over the federal government nearly impossible. When Sloane discovers that other members of Ford’s platoon have died under suspicious circumstances since returning to the U.S., he suspects a conspiracy to conceal the truth. In a battle for justice, Sloane must keep himself, and those he loves, from becoming the next casualties.

Mixing the suspense of a Grisham legal thriller with the political angle of a Baldacci. Dugoni is knocking on the A-list thriller door.
- Booklist

Page-turning action…
- Publishers Weekly

An entertaining thriller. Good guys to like, villains to hiss, windmills to attack.
- Kirkus

And here’s a publicity video produced for publisher Simon & Schuster that showcases some Burien areas – see if you can identify any:

Here’s Dugoni’s bio:

Robert Dugoni was born in Pocatello, Idaho and raised in Burlingame, California. Growing up the middle child in a family of ten siblings, Dugoni jokes that he didn’t get much of a chance to talk, so he wrote. By the seventh grade he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Dugoni wrote his way to Stanford University where he majored in communications/journalism and creative writing and worked as a reporter for the Stanford Daily. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and worked briefly as a reporter in the Metro and San Gabriel Valley Offices of the Los Angeles Times before deciding to attend the UCLA law school. Dugoni practiced law full-time in San Francisco as a partner at the law firm, Gordon and Rees and is currently of counsel for a law firm in Seattle.

While practicing law he satisfied his artistic thirst studying acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, appearing in equity and non-equity shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. His longing to return to writing never wavered, however, and in 1999 he made the decision to quit the full-time practice of law to write novels. On the 4-year anniversary of his wedding, he drove a u-haul trailer across the Oregon-Washington border and settled in Seattle to pursue his dream.

For the next three years, Dugoni worked in an 8 x 8 foot windowless office in Seattle’s Pioneer Square to complete three novels, two of which won the 1999 and 2000 Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association Literary Contests.

Burien’s Little Theater announced today that it will be producing the first all-nude musical to ever be performed in Burien.

“Finding Nudo,” is a Dingleberry Award-winning musical about a lost, naked fish and a hungry shark who befriends him. It will be performed entirely naked in a pool by a cast of 45 starting June 31st.

As part of the innovative “show,” the entire BLT auditorium will be flooded during the first act. The audience will be required to not only wear life jackets, but each viewer will have to pass a strenuous Coast Guard-certified swimming test prior to the curtain rising.

It will feature special guest appearances by various local celebrities, similar to what BLT did with “The Rocky Horror Show” last year. BLT informs us that they’ve already secured appearances by the mayor, city manager, the parks director, and three employees of RedFlex, who now run the entire city finance department. All are currently rehearsing and learning how to swim at a pool at a local health club.

They’re also seeking other residents by placing flyers in local gym showers and various “saunas” located on Ambaum Blvd.

Sponsored entirely by Dan the Sausageman, auditions  for “Finding Nudo” begin Thursday night (April 2nd) at 7pm sharp, and thespians who can sing and are comfortable naked in front of uncaring Burienites are encouraged to show up in front of The Tin Room, unannounced, totally nude and ready to sing a showtown using a sausage as a microphone.

The Seafair Pirates not only have the ability to scare the livin’ bejesus out of any B-Towner, they also have the ability to help needy families, especially during this time of year.

That’s why they’ve brought in their Holiday Treasure Chests to the following two Olde Burien businesses, where they’ll be on display and awaiting donations until Wednesday, Dec. 24th:

• Dan the Sausageman’s shop, located at 923 SW 152nd Street
• Goodie Gumdrops Toy Shop, located at 816 SW 152nd Street

Generous B-Towners can donate:

• Non-perishable food items (cans, boxes, etc.)
• Toys

Text from the Seafair Pirate’s P-Arrrrgh:

While we’re a notoriously scurvy bunch, we Pirates have big hearts and simply can’t stand the thought that there will be children that wake up Christmas morning with nothing to open. With that in mind, in 1996, we began the Holiday Treasure Chest program.

We discovered that far too many families were going without a Christmas because they were unable to find assistance. The Seafair Pirates heard the need, and met the challenge to help these deserving folks. That is how our program was born.

Since the creation of our program, with the help of local businesses and “Pirate Santa’s” throughout the community, we have served thousands of individual families; have provided countless tons of food and goods to local service providing charities and distributed tens of thousands of new gifts to children throughout the Puget Sound region.

We distribute throughout the Puget Sound area. We are constantly on the lookout for donated warehouse space as the holidays approach. As soon as we have established a “home base”, we begin filling it with our collections from the community and the purchases that we make. We create two areas within the warehouse. One holds the “treasures” where our clients can come and choose gift s for their children and the other holds our foodstuffs.

The families will receive enough food for the holidays and countless days after the holidays have passed. With greater resources and more diligence, we know that we could have served an even greater number of deserving families. For this reason, we have begun our eff orts even earlier this year. We began organizing immediately following the Torchlight Parade and are currently accepting donations as well as taking names of individuals interested in volunteering. In order to make this program a success we spend countless hours acquiring the necessary goods and funds. It doesn’t end there however. If at all possible, we spend individual time speaking with each family and ascertain their needs. If we find that there is a special request, we will network within the community to fulfill it if at all possible.

We need to give credit where credit is due, and thank you for the role you play in making our program possible. We would not be able to continue our work without your kindness and generosity. You are truly a tribute to compassion and we value each and every one of you.

Every year, thousands of poor, sad, lonely dogs are abandoned and neglected.

This Father’s Day, why not help a needy dog out and make Dad happy at the same time by adopting a very unique canine named Spike:

http://www.b-townblog.com/wp-content/media/DTSM_Spike-HI2_320x240.flv

Go to Dan The Sausageman’s website and order now, and you’ll receive a FREE 9-Ounce Summer Sausage!

CREDITS:

• Written/Directed by Scott Schaefer
• Voiceover by Henry Dardenne