For more than 44 years, Ostroms Drug & Gift store has been at the center
of daily life in Kenmore, a place where customers and store staff members are on
a first-name basis, and shopping ranges from personal emergencies to family and
friend celebrations.
But the city of Kenmore and local developers envisioned the 9.6-acre property
just north of Kenmore's main intersection -- Northeast Bothell Way and 68th
Avenue Northeast -- for a mixed-use housing and retail development.
Last month, the city of Kenmore and Kenmore Partners LLC announced an
agreement to build Kenmore Village by the Lake on the city-owned property, which
currently holds Ostroms, its mini-mall neighbors and an enormous parking lot.
The city, which in February bought adjacent land for a new City Hall, hopes
to revitalize its downtown center, provide market- rate and affordable housing,
and create open space for community gatherings. The King County Library is
building a branch across the street, and a new fire station -- pending approval
of a bond measure Aug. 21 -- is planned for nearby.
Concerns about displacing Ostroms spurred an outpouring of public support,
persuading Ostroms manager Todd Ramsey to keep the store alive -- somewhere.
Unable to nail down the right deal to become part of Kenmore Village, Ramsey
signed a 15-year lease last week for a new home four blocks away.
"Ostroms is a big deal in this community. It's important to a lot of people,"
Ramsey said. "I did feel some pressure. I didn't want our 25 employees to lose
their jobs -- I feel indebted to them. Customers would come in 'you have to
stay' and ask, 'What's going to happen?' Until last Tuesday, I didn't know."
Ostroms will remain at its current location until spring 2009, when it will
move to the site of the former Denny's restaurant at 6414 N.E. Bothell Way.
The Denny's building will be remodeled by property owner Kenmore Lakeview LLC
to accommodate Ostroms, including a drive-through pharmacy window long sought by
Ramsey.
The new Ostroms will be smaller -- 6,600 square feet compared with its
current 7,800 square feet, Ramsey said. But it will have a more visible location
off Kenmore's "main drag" (Bothell Way), and ample parking.
"I'm happy we've found a solution that will work for the business and for the
community," said Ramsey, 47, who took over managing the store from his
pharmacist father, Dick Ramsey, after he "retired." The elder Ramsey, 74, who
bought the store from Harry Ostrom in 1963, still comes in to work.
Customers, employees and city officials expressed relief.
"I'm disappointed they have to move, but I'm glad they've found a new place.
I can live with the new location," said Bill Hall of Kirkland. Hall said he and
his wife prefer going to Ostroms, rather than other places such as Totem Lake
Shopping Center, for business supplies, greeting cards, household and decorative
items and other knickknacks.
Laurie Sperry, a Kenmore City Council member and Ostroms customer, said that
while Kenmore "is in the beginning of an amazing transformation" with the new
development, locals did not want to lose Ostroms.
"Ostroms is a beloved family business that is highly valued by the
community," Sperry said. "It is a regional draw for its unique gift collection.
When they have their sidewalk sale in August, the entire parking lot is packed."
This year it is Aug. 9 to 11.
Part of the store's appeal, many customers said, is that it's "fun to browse"
and "has something for everyone." You can find everything from heating pads and
backscratchers to Husky and Coug golf balls. Online, the store has received rave
reviews.
Earlier this week, some people made a beeline for the pharmacy in the back of
the store, while others meandered up and down the aisles. Some stopped at
shelves with candles, vases and serving platters, while others picked out
picture frames or scrapbooks. One woman tried on necklaces, glancing in a
mirror, while kids played with toys and jangled the wind chimes.
There are gifts for pets, gardeners, cooks and people looking for religious
inspiration. One corner features colorful Jim Shore Christmas ornaments, while
another section wafts with scented soaps and herbal skin-care products. Among
the hot items, Ramsey said, are the "Beanie Baby"-type stuffed animals called
Webkinz.
But merchandise is only part of the appeal, said B-Z Davis, giftware manager
and a 33-year Ostroms employee. What started as a "convenient high school job"
evolved, giving her work satisfaction and flexible hours for volunteering in the
community. Davis served on the Northshore School Board for 16 years.
"Ostroms is my home away from home; it's like family, a small-town pharmacy
that's really the last of the Mohicans in a way," Davis said. "We know people,
and they know us. This store is very community-minded. I thought about leaving,
but where are you going to find a place that cares so much?"
Phil and Lesley Jones, customers for more than 40 years, can vouch for that.
Lesley Jones, a diabetic, recalls being snowed-in one winter and unable to drive
to the pharmacy. An employee delivered her medication.
"We never forgot that," Lesley Jones said. "There is a community feel that is
getting lost in stores as time goes by. So many stores, they're just sterile,
not personal."
Davis looks forward to the new building, but says store policy won't change:
"It's nice to be able to help people out."
IF YOU GO
OSTROMS DRUG & GIFT
6744 N.E. 181st St., Kenmore
Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday: 11
a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information: ostroms.com or
425-486-7711
