Sammamish City Council adopts new business regulations
May 24, 2012
New: May 24, 2:18 p.m.
The City Council tilted a set of regulations on home businesses to favor the neighbors of those businesses. The council, at its May 14 meeting, cited concerns about the traffic, noise and other impacts on residential neighborhoods.
The updated regulations passed 6-1 after extensive last-minute amendments. Councilwoman Nancy Whitten, the dissenting vote, led the charge on the neighbor-friendly tweaks, worrying that the Planning Commission-crafted law would lead to a proliferation of people running disruptive businesses out of their homes. She said that the changes still did not go far enough to protect the neighbors. Read more
Council lukewarm on home business regulation update
March 22, 2012
New: March 22, 11:18 a.m.
A plan to rewrite regulations surrounding home businesses seems likely to get an overhaul by the City Council.
After months of deliberation, the Planning Commission proposed a set of rules governing how the businesses should operate. Some on the City Council are lukewarm to the ideas, saying they favor businesses over homeowners. Read more
Ace Hardware may move to new location
March 7, 2012
Sammamish Ace Hardware’s prospects for staying in town are looking up.
Owner Tim Koch confirmed March 2 that he has signed a contract for a spot for the hardware store in a proposed commercial development near the corner of Southeast Fourth Street and 228th Avenue. He declined to comment on the specific location or when the new store may be opened. Read more
Indian tastes arrive in Sammamish at Apna Bazar
February 21, 2012
Got a craving for hot naan, fresh from the oven? Sammamish residents no longer have to head out of town for Indian ingredients thanks to the grand opening of Apna Bazar.
Third in the Apna Bazar grocery family, the store right off of 228th Avenue is the product of a nearly five year ambition to bring an Indian market to Sammamish.
“This is a location that will make our relationship stronger with our customers,” said co-owner Samir Bhatt, who with many friends in the area, said he spends a lot of weekends in Sammamish.
There are two other Apna Bazars, one each in Bellevue and Bothell, and for several years people have been making the trip from Sammamish to shop at the stores. The manager of the Bellevue store, as well as the new Sammamish location, Anand Joshi, said that many customers have been asking for an Apna Bazar in their own town.
“The [Indian] community is growing up there for sure,” said Joshi, who splits his days between the Bellevue and Sammamish stores. “The idea is to reach the whole Indian community.”
Bhatt started looking for property in the area for their store in 2007 but finding one with 5,000 square feet was not that easy. Size was non-negotiable for him and his business partners Vijay Beniwal and Srinivasa Sanagaballi.
As the three all come from different regions of India they wanted their stores to cater to the diverse foods that come from the country’s many cultures. They now carry more than 3,000 products and are on the look out for more – like organic spices.
“We think that, not only the Indian population, but the American population would appreciate them,” said Bhatt.
Apna Bazar also wants to make Indian food more accessible to people who may not be well versed in making curries.
“We’ve got a lot of curious people and they are very happy that there is a store opened in Sammamish,” said Joshi. “My idea is to retail to the community, Indian or non-Indian is not a problem.”
After speaking with several customers who wanted more recipes Joshi has ordered cookbooks for the Sammamish store. He expects they will be on the shelves within the week.
Sammamish rewriting home-business guidelines
December 5, 2011
New: Dec. 5, 2:23 p.m.
The Sammamish Chamber of Commerce estimates that 3,500 city residents – almost 8 percent of the population – work out of their homes in some fashion, whether that’s as a consultant, artist or dog-walker.
Though most of those existing businesses wouldn’t be affected, some business owners fear that a scheduled update of the city’s regulations on home businesses could make it more difficult for future residents to run a business from home. Read more
Sammamish’ s Ace Hardware to close
December 1, 2011
New: Dec. 1, 12:13 p.m.
One of Sammamish’s longest-running businesses may soon be out of a home after a dispute over the lease with the company’s landlord.
Ace Hardware, which has inhabited the corner of Sammamish Highlands shopping center for nearly 20 years, will be moving out of the space by next September after owner Tim Koch could not agree to a new lease with Regency Centers, the nation-wide commercial real estate company that owns and runs both shopping centers in town.
Owner Tim Koch stands in front of the Sammamish Ace Hardware, which he has owned and operated since 2000. The store, which predates the city’s incorporation, may be out of a home due to a rent dispute with its landlord. Photo by Caleb Heeringa
Farmer’s market to start May 18
May 8, 2011
New: May 8, 11:18 a.m.
It’s back and bigger than ever,
The Sammamish Farmer’s Market will kick off its fourth year May 18, featuring even more organic produce and food, handmade artwork and family-friendly events.
Organizers, including new market manager Juliana Pash, say they have 28 food producers signed up for this year’s market, which happens from 4 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday through the end of September. That’s a far cry from the market’s modest beginning, which started with about seven farmers and a handful of artists in 2008.
“It has surpassed my expectations,” said Deb Sogge, executive director of the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce. “It was tough those first couple years getting everything set up and finding farmers … Now we have farmers spreading the word for us.” Read more
Sammamish students seek work in slightly shrinking pool of opportunity
February 21, 2011
New: Feb. 21, 2:05 p.m.
It took Eastside Catholic senior Matt Wenzinger about a month to land his part-time job at Ristorante Simone in Sammamish. Many of his friends had also been applying for work, to take financial pressure off their parents, some of whom had been negatively affected by the down economy. He looked around, applying to other restaurants, but finally found the right fit at the new Italian restaurant in August.
“It didn’t come that easy for me, but when found that spot I got the job,” Wenzinger said. Read more
Has Sammamish real estate hit bottom?
February 2, 2011
NEW: Feb. 1, 9:45 a.m.
Sammamish saw a slight improvement in real estate sales in 2010, thanks in part to a federal tax credit for first-time home-buyers in the early part of the year.
But buyers rushing to complete deals by the April deadline may have contributed to a bit of a sluggish second half of the year, which saw a 15 percent drop in home sales compared to the same period in 2009.
And the numbers still aren’t what they were a few years ago, before one of the worst recessions in decades hit the country – Sammamish included.
Busy bees abound around Sammamish
April 20, 2010
Lisa Novich, Sammamish resident and owner of Knox Cellars Native Bees, shows the set up for raising mason bees. Photo by Christopher Huber
