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Portal Café Owner: Charlene
Zucca Next time you’re heading for Blaine, time your trip to include some of the nourishing homemade fare at Portal Café, 463 Peace Portal Drive. The Portal Café is located in the Drayton Harbor Professional Building. Both are owned by Charlene Zucca. When Zucca decided she wanted to open a restaurant, she contacted Robbi Bartlett, whom she had met aboard the M.V. Tahoma during a charter cruise. Bartlett and her husband own this restored vessel, which offers tours of local islands and artistic workshops wherein a local artist teaches eight to 10 students during a cruise. Having observed Bartlett cooking on board in the ship’s small galley, Zucca knew Bartlett was the one to organize and run this new venture. She promptly hired her sister, Cheryl Patrick, to add her serving skills. There are two other part-time employees. When you enter the Portal Café, your attention will be drawn to the outstanding mural painted by local artist Jill Nymeyer. The maritime décor is a marvelous mix of buoys, fishing net, ships’ portholes, shells, driftwood, ships’ lamps and other treasures scavenged from the beach. The ancient marine charts on the walls are from the M.V. Tahoma, built in 1939. All the food is prepared on the premises. The breakfast selections, available all day, are well priced from $3.75 (for a Belgian waffle, breakfast sandwich, ham-and-cheese omlet or veggie omelet) to $5.75 for the breakfast special. A set menu of mid-day meals at $6.95 offers the following: Tuesdays, lasagna, salad and garlic bread; Wednesdays, turkey and dumplings; Thursdays, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, salad; Fridays, deli sandwich, soup and salad; and Saturdays, cook’s choice. Of course, there are many other selections on the menu. Deli sandwiches, served with chips, cost $4.50 and hot sandwiches are available at $5.75. Consider such treats as French dip (roast beef au jus, Swiss cheese and onion on a grilled French roll), a classic club sandwich, a Reuben sandwich, chili or stew, fancy coffees, desserts and more. Expect to find plentiful portions, cheerful, friendly service, an impeccably clean restaurant and a relaxed ambiance. Call the Portal Café at 332-7274 to inquire about take-out or catering possibilities. — Claire Hurley
LeChateau Faux Owner: Deborah Breslow “Everything is artificial, except me!” Deborah Breslow, owner of Le Faux Chateau, tells customers as they come through the door. The customers glance around the boutique with an amazed look on their faces. “But the flowers are so realistic!” one of them exclaims. Besides artificial flowers and plants, Le Faux Chateau also sells home décor and gift items at its ground-floor location in the newly constructed Finnegan’s Alley in Fairhaven. “There is something for everyone looking for home décor and gift items. Prices range from $5 to items for collectors with lavish tastes,” says Lee Breslow, Deborah’s husband. “Deborah created the shop, designed it and operates it; and I applaud it,” he adds. The shop also serves as Breslow’s studio where she arranges the flower displays. Her specialty is faux, or fake, water. She fills elegant vases with a clear resin and then fills them with her own unique floral arrangements of artificial flowers. According to Breslow, the flowers must closely emulate nature. Some arrangements even have soil or moss that give the illusion they have just been watered. Each one-of-a kind arrangement becomes Breslow’s own work of art. “They are also great conversation pieces,” she notes. Breslow surrounds herself with things she loves and basically buys products for herself. “I love fun, whimsical items that are different. I’m too old for crayons and coloring books, so this is my creative outlet!” she exclaims. She especially enjoys her white-on-white flower arrangements. “You can add a few different colored flowers to change the look — for example, yellow tulips for spring. My signature is dropped artificial petals of the same flower as the arrangement to strew around the base to add even more realism,” she explains. Breslow used to work with real-estate agents and designers who sold upscale offices and model homes in Arizona. They wanted an extra touch to assist with the appeal of a home or office for sale. “I couldn’t find the kinds of displays I wanted, so I started arranging the flowers myself. Then we moved to Florida and I worked with interior designers there. I opened Le Faux Chateau in Boca Raton,” she recalls. The Breslows left Florida because they wanted the quality of life that Bellingham offers, and a milder climate. They considered Seattle, but decided it was too crowded. They visited Bellingham two summers ago and liked it. They had two places in mind for Le Faux Chateau: the marina and Finnegan’s Alley. Their final choice was Finnegan’s Alley because of the unique building and storefront. “We liked the newness of the building, but we loved the huge showcase window. My business consists of the use of bright colors and this was the place to show them off. We have 45 feet of window on the street and 20 more that wraps around. There’s so many cloudy days here that people come in just to feel good because of the light, bright colors. That, to me, is the ultimate compliment,” Breslow states. — Patricia Rathbun
Bellingham DateNight Owner: Julie Thompson You know you’re getting older when seven dates in a night sounds tiring rather than exciting. But the concept of speed dating — being brought to Bellingham by Julie Thompson — is more like an extended introduction than a dinner and a movie. Thompson says it’s ideal for anyone not in college anymore. “Bellingham is kind of a hard place to meet people,” she remarks. Thompson is launching Bellingham DateNight this month at three locations in the city: 7 p.m. May 15 for ages 33-50 at Poppe’s at the Best Western Lakeway Inn, 5 p.m.; May 20 for ages 50 and older at Anna’s Kaddyshack and 7 p.m.; and May 21 for ages 25-37 at The Calumet. “I’m trying to do it on nights that are typically slower for the businesses,” she notes. The young entrepreneur also is owner of Leapfrog Marketing, which she started in June 1999. Under Thompson’s speed-dating format, an equal number of preregistered men and women — a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 24 — meet at a local venue. After a brief social period, they are paired up at tables for two. When the bell rings, they have seven minutes to get to know each other. At the end of the seven minutes, the men stand up and move to the next table. This is done seven times during the evening. “You get to meet seven different people in one evening and it’s relatively low pressure,” Thompson says. If a participant meets someone they like during the evening, they indicate it on their scoreboard and submit it to Bellingham DateNight. If a mutual match is made, participants are notified within 48 hours and given each other’s contact information. Interested participants can register by mail with brochures being distributed throughout Whatcom County or online at www.BellinghamDateNight.com. The cost is $20. A schedule of future events also is on the Web site. Thompson believes speed dating is great for meeting people. “It’s better than the bar scene and the Internet,” she adds with a chuckle. — Dave Brumbaugh
ConstructionGear.com Owner: Tom,
Lydia, Michele and Todd Wanek A two-pronged approach to sales — a physical store and an Internet site — is being tried by ConstructionGear.com, a retailer of premium work clothes, boots and accessories. The Web site was launched Dec. 27 and the store opened its doors April 4. “They both support each other,” says Tom Wanek, president of the company. “If we’re ultimately successful, it’s because they both support each other.” The store is located just south of East Bakerview Road in Hannegan Plaza, a site chosen because of its proximity to several industrial parks and its easy access for Bellingham and county residents. The 2,000-square-foot space is split evenly between the showroom, where products are displayed, and the warehouse, which merchandise is store and Internet orders are filled. “We wanted to provide an atmosphere where construction-type workers felt comfortable doing their shopping, which is why we located in Hannegan Square near complementary businesses,” Wanek remarks. The business ownership stayed in the Wanek family: Tom Wanek and wife Lydia, his brother Todd and his mother Michele. “The idea for a workwear store on the Internet, including a store in the Bellingham area, was conceived in early 2000,” Tom Wanek recalls. “My brother, Todd, works in construction and expressed his frustration of having to visit several different stores to satisfy all his workwear needs.” The brothers had a small construction company in Lorain, Ohio, located near Cleveland, but didn’t like economic prospects there as manufacturing plants were closing. Having periodically visited their father in Bellingham, the rest of the family decided this was an ideal place to live as well as start their new venture. ConstructionGear.com isn’t just for construction workers. Its products also will draw customers from industrial and logging companies and anyone who primarily works outdoors. Its emphasis has been on quality products that are durable. Construction Gear.com features Carhartt work clothes and Chippewa boots. It also offers rain gear, jeans, gloves, shirts, safety glasses, belts and coveralls among 150 products available, with more being added each week. — Dave Brumbaugh
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