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BELLINGHAM HOT TUB & FIREPLACE

If you want to change your temperature, whom do you call? According to David Mireault, owner of Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace, you may want to consider experience and knowledge when seeking an answer to that question. And if what you’re looking for involves heat and/or hot water, the answer may very well be David Mireault.
Mireault also owns Bellingham Plumbing and Heating as well as Bellingham Concrete Cutting and Coring. His hot tub and fireplace business, which opened September 1, 2005, was a logical and complimentary addition.
With a résumé that includes 24 years of experience working with forced hot air heat, hot water heat, steam heat, boiler design and installment, plumbing, and concrete cutting and coring, Mireault takes pride in knowing what he sells and selling what he knows. His main line of products includes Beachcomber Hot Tubs as well as propane and woodstove fireplaces from Blaze King, Kozy Heat and Vermont Castings. He is enthusiastic about putting his years of experience to use, selling and installing the Beachcomber Hot Tubs.
“People assume that the person installing the hot tub must know something about water, they must know something about pumps and piping, because they’re selling hot tubs, but the truth is that’s as far from the truth as you can imagine,” Mireault said. “There’s a whole range of people doing things that they may or may not be qualified for.”
In Mirealt’s business, he is as confident about the product as he is about installing it. “In this case, I certainly am qualified to tell folks that the plumbing and the piping all of the things that go into the making of this particular hot tub are of sound quality and good installation practices,” he said.
Prior to opening Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace, Mireault’s experience with hot tub installation was extensive, including custom design and installation in challenging scenarios. One such installation called for multiple hot tubs to be located on an outdoor deck in Colorado at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The tubs had to withstand freezing temperatures yet remain quiet and functional. Mireault designed and installed the heat source, which came off a boiler room, incorporating the heating of the water, the controls, the design and strength of the pumps, the placement of the jets, and all of the piping on the tubs.
Another element of service unique to Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace is the ability to work closely and in partnership with Mireault’s other two businesses, especially Bellingham Concrete and Coring. The complimentary nature of his businesses, according to Mireault, makes scheduling related services much easier, allowing him to provide more comprehensive service to his customers.
“I’m not just selling a product,” Mireault said. “I’m – hopefully – making a customer and a friend for life. And that’s really the truth of it. Our business lives are only a short period in our lives, so giving people a good service and value for their dollar is really important to me.”

K&K INDUSTRIES

Barely a year into operation, K&K Industries, a Bellingham-based laser cutting service, is already breaking down walls, literally. K&K Industries has begun a growth spurt that owners Sandy Keathley and Ben Kinnebrew predict will continue, with expectations they will have doubled their business by this time next year.
Having already remodeled to accommodate a larger office area, Keathley and Kinnebrew have rented the second half of the building they now occupy near the Bellingham airport, knocking out a wall that will allow them to double their square footage in order to accommodate their growing customer base.
As the only laser-cutting service in Whatcom County, and the largest service between Vancouver, B.C., and Everett, Keathley and Kinnebrew, had an idea their services would be needed.
“We thought, well, there’s probably a market here, and if we don’t do it, probably somebody else will,” Keathley said. “But our customer base has grown so much. I’ve got to believe that we’re bringing lots of work back into the county.”
Laser cutting, a technology, which, according to Keathley, has gained popularity in the last 10 years, utilizes a combination of concentrated light beams, mirrors, liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen to cut through various surfaces. The design of the cut is programmed into a computer-aided design program, AutoCAD.
“We can cut up to 1 inch in mild steel, half inch in stainless steel and aluminum, and up to 1 inch in acrylic and wood,” Keathley said. “It’s just amazing to watch it work.”
With a customer base of mostly manufacturers, K&K Industries has provided everything from parts for dentist chairs, to berry-picking machines to parts for military jet engines. In a more personal request, a father of a child with scoliosis hired K&K Industries to make a part for a special chair he had designed to help his son. After using the chair for six months, the child not only no longer required surgery, the effects of scoliosis had begun to be reversed. The father returned to K&K Industries and is now working with Keathley and Kinnebrew to make a prototype of his invention.
K&K Industries is currently in negotiations to purchase another piece of equipment, a router, which will allow them to cut aluminum pieces, as well as acrylic and wood, with greater ease. Keathley anticipates they will be able to further diversify their customer base, cutting and shaping material to create signage and parts for aluminum boats, an area with which Kinnebrew has specific expertise, having built steel and aluminum boats in Alaska prior to moving to Washington state.
Keathley and Kinnebrew aren’t taking their fortunes lightly. In fact, they have a goal to donate to a local philanthropic organization each month.
“The community has been really good to us,” Keathley said, “and it’s just helped us so much, and I think we both feel pretty strongly about supporting the community because the community has supported us.”

PACIFIC CHEF

It isn’t often that opening a new business is described as “coming home,” but for Pacific Chef co-owner, Ray Dunn, opening a kitchen store next to the restaurant he had owned and operated since 1985 was just that. In November of 2004, just two years after selling Colophon Café in historic Fairhaven, Dunn moved in next door, teaming up with veteran small business owner Vicki Rogers.
“I sold the Colophon to the people who worked for me, and then I went off for a couple of years, volunteering for national parks and doing that sort of thing,” Dunn said. “But then when I came back and saw everything that was going on in Fairhaven, and saw that Village Books was moving out of this side, I knew I had the wherewithal to put the package together.”
Dunn and Rogers, both of whom have a life-long love of cooking, quickly recognized that a kitchen store would fill a needed niche in the growing Fairhaven shopping district. Their partnership is a complement of skills and experience. Dunn has 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He also is the author of four cookbooks. Rogers, owner of Bellingham Cruise Terminal’s Inside Passage’s Gifts and Bellingham Airport’s Henry’s Gifts and Café, has17 years experience operating small businesses, with an emphasis on gift sales. She is, as Dunn describes her, a “very talented buyer” with a “good eye for what the public wants.”
In addition to their thriving business partnership, Dunn attributes their entrepreneurial success to an ability to maintain a depth of inventory that is in direct correlation to their customers’ interests. It’s a business practice Dunn has employed since the early days of operating the Colophon Café, a popular Bellingham restaurant with a full menu.
“I opened it (the Colophon Café) as an ice cream parlor and coffee shop, and then I gave the customers whatever they wanted after that,” said Dunn. “We do pretty much the same thing here. When our customers want something, that’s the direction we start going in.”
Dunn and Rogers have continued on that path, responding to their customers’ interests by opening the “Pacific Chef Culinary Institute” in collaboration with Whatcom Community College in March 2005. Classes, which are held after hours at Pacific Chef, have run the gamut from pressure-cooking, taught by Dunn himself, to making pesto.
Outside of the operating the store, Dunn and Rogers remain active in the community. Rogers is a member of the Mayor’s Tourism Commission and serves on the board of the Fairhaven Association, working with the City of Bellingham Community Development Program. Dunn is active in Fairhaven Merchants Association and continues his volunteer efforts for the National Parks. Although he has taken steps toward retirement, he finds himself drawn back to work he still finds enjoyable.
“I’ve always wanted to be involved in a kitchen store because I’ve been a life-long cook, and it’s really been a lot of fun,” Dunn said. “If you’re not having fun at it, you’re in the wrong business.”

BELLINGHAM HOT TUB & FIREPLACE If you want to change your temperature, whom do you call? According to David Mireault, owner of Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace, you may want to consider experience and knowledge when seeking an answer to that question. And if what you’re looking for involves heat and/or hot water, the answer may very well be David Mireault. Mireault also owns Bellingham Plumbing and Heating as well as Bellingham Concrete Cutting and Coring. His hot tub and fireplace business, which opened September 1, 2005, was a logical and complimentary addition. With a résumé that includes 24 years of experience working with forced hot air heat, hot water heat, steam heat, boiler design and installment, plumbing, and concrete cutting and coring, Mireault takes pride in knowing what he sells and selling what he knows. His main line of products includes Beachcomber Hot Tubs as well as propane and woodstove fireplaces from Blaze King, Kozy Heat and Vermont Castings. He is enthusiastic about putting his years of experience to use, selling and installing the Beachcomber Hot Tubs. “People assume that the person installing the hot tub must know something about water, they must know something about pumps and piping, because they’re selling hot tubs, but the truth is that’s as far from the truth as you can imagine,” Mireault said. “There’s a whole range of people doing things that they may or may not be qualified for.” In Mirealt’s business, he is as confident about the product as he is about installing it. “In this case, I certainly am qualified to tell folks that the plumbing and the piping all of the things that go into the making of this particular hot tub are of sound quality and good installation practices,” he said. Prior to opening Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace, Mireault’s experience with hot tub installation was extensive, including custom design and installation in challenging scenarios. One such installation called for multiple hot tubs to be located on an outdoor deck in Colorado at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The tubs had to withstand freezing temperatures yet remain quiet and functional. Mireault designed and installed the heat source, which came off a boiler room, incorporating the heating of the water, the controls, the design and strength of the pumps, the placement of the jets, and all of the piping on the tubs. Another element of service unique to Bellingham Hot Tub and Fireplace is the ability to work closely and in partnership with Mireault’s other two businesses, especially Bellingham Concrete and Coring. The complimentary nature of his businesses, according to Mireault, makes scheduling related services much easier, allowing him to provide more comprehensive service to his customers. “I’m not just selling a product,” Mireault said. “I’m – hopefully – making a customer and a friend for life. And that’s really the truth of it. Our business lives are only a short period in our lives, so giving people a good service and value for their dollar is really important to me.” K&K INDUSTRIES Barely a year into operation, K&K Industries, a Bellingham-based laser cutting service, is already breaking down walls, literally. K&K Industries has begun a growth spurt that owners Sandy Keathley and Ben Kinnebrew predict will continue, with expectations they will have doubled their business by this time next year. Having already remodeled to accommodate a larger office area, Keathley and Kinnebrew have rented the second half of the building they now occupy near the Bellingham airport, knocking out a wall that will allow them to double their square footage in order to accommodate their growing customer base. As the only laser-cutting service in Whatcom County, and the largest service between Vancouver, B.C., and Everett, Keathley and Kinnebrew, had an idea their services would be needed. “We thought, well, there’s probably a market here, and if we don’t do it, probably somebody else will,” Keathley said. “But our customer base has grown so much. I’ve got to believe that we’re bringing lots of work back into the county.” Laser cutting, a technology, which, according to Keathley, has gained popularity in the last 10 years, utilizes a combination of concentrated light beams, mirrors, liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen to cut through various surfaces. The design of the cut is programmed into a computer-aided design program, AutoCAD. “We can cut up to 1 inch in mild steel, half inch in stainless steel and aluminum, and up to 1 inch in acrylic and wood,” Keathley said. “It’s just amazing to watch it work.” With a customer base of mostly manufacturers, K&K Industries has provided everything from parts for dentist chairs, to berry-picking machines to parts for military jet engines. In a more personal request, a father of a child with scoliosis hired K&K Industries to make a part for a special chair he had designed to help his son. After using the chair for six months, the child not only no longer required surgery, the effects of scoliosis had begun to be reversed. The father returned to K&K Industries and is now working with Keathley and Kinnebrew to make a prototype of his invention. K&K Industries is currently in negotiations to purchase another piece of equipment, a router, which will allow them to cut aluminum pieces, as well as acrylic and wood, with greater ease. Keathley anticipates they will be able to further diversify their customer base, cutting and shaping material to create signage and parts for aluminum boats, an area with which Kinnebrew has specific expertise, having built steel and aluminum boats in Alaska prior to moving to Washington state. Keathley and Kinnebrew aren’t taking their fortunes lightly. In fact, they have a goal to donate to a local philanthropic organization each month. “The community has been really good to us,” Keathley said, “and it’s just helped us so much, and I think we both feel pretty strongly about supporting the community because the community has supported us.” PACIFIC CHEF It isn’t often that opening a new business is described as “coming home,” but for Pacific Chef co-owner, Ray Dunn, opening a kitchen store next to the restaurant he had owned and operated since 1985 was just that. In November of 2004, just two years after selling Colophon Café in historic Fairhaven, Dunn moved in next door, teaming up with veteran small business owner Vicki Rogers. “I sold the Colophon to the people who worked for me, and then I went off for a couple of years, volunteering for national parks and doing that sort of thing,” Dunn said. “But then when I came back and saw everything that was going on in Fairhaven, and saw that Village Books was moving out of this side, I knew I had the wherewithal to put the package together.” Dunn and Rogers, both of whom have a life-long love of cooking, quickly recognized that a kitchen store would fill a needed niche in the growing Fairhaven shopping district. Their partnership is a complement of skills and experience. Dunn has 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He also is the author of four cookbooks. Rogers, owner of Bellingham Cruise Terminal’s Inside Passage’s Gifts and Bellingham Airport’s Henry’s Gifts and Café, has17 years experience operating small businesses, with an emphasis on gift sales. She is, as Dunn describes her, a “very talented buyer” with a “good eye for what the public wants.” In addition to their thriving business partnership, Dunn attributes their entrepreneurial success to an ability to maintain a depth of inventory that is in direct correlation to their customers’ interests. It’s a business practice Dunn has employed since the early days of operating the Colophon Café, a popular Bellingham restaurant with a full menu. “I opened it (the Colophon Café) as an ice cream parlor and coffee shop, and then I gave the customers whatever they wanted after that,” said Dunn. “We do pretty much the same thing here. When our customers want something, that’s the direction we start going in.” Dunn and Rogers have continued on that path, responding to their customers’ interests by opening the “Pacific Chef Culinary Institute” in collaboration with Whatcom Community College in March 2005. Classes, which are held after hours at Pacific Chef, have run the gamut from pressure-cooking, taught by Dunn himself, to making pesto. Outside of the operating the store, Dunn and Rogers remain active in the community. Rogers is a member of the Mayor’s Tourism Commission and serves on the board of the Fairhaven Association, working with the City of Bellingham Community Development Program. Dunn is active in Fairhaven Merchants Association and continues his volunteer efforts for the National Parks. Although he has taken steps toward retirement, he finds himself drawn back to work he still finds enjoyable. “I’ve always wanted to be involved in a kitchen store because I’ve been a life-long cook, and it’s really been a lot of fun,” Dunn said. “If you’re not having fun at it, you’re in the wrong business.”
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