With all the talk about the economy recently, the plunging stock market and soaring gas and food prices, it is hard NOT to be a little bit nervous about the future these days. We’ve even heard the words “next Great Depression” more than once in the past several weeks. My parents were children of that era and it was an awfully scary time according to them — food and gasoline were often hard to come by. My uncle in his later years refused to eat jelly from that “darn Mrs. Smuckers” (I cleaned it up a bit), because he ate so much of it during the Depression. Being the eternal optimist, I am a believer that it won’t get to that anytime soon. But, unfortunately, there are a lot of Renton citizens among us whose cupboards ARE bare right now and you can help them.
It has been 26 years, but Annie Boyington still remembers her first truffle. It was 1982, and she was at Sal Anthony’s Restaurant just north of New York City’s Greenwich Village. The truffle came with an espresso after the Italian meal.
I’ve been doing a lot of shopping and dining out recently, and the good news is almost all of my dollars have been spent in Renton. This is a good thing because I always shop Renton first. The choices at The Landing are expanding almost every time I drive there. I bought a wedding gift at Target, a household item at Lowe’s, pet food at PetSmart and computer supplies at Staples – without even having to move my car! If there are parties in your future — or entertaining over the holidays – check out the new Everything Party! It has an array of items, including tropical, Halloween costumes, and any theme idea you can possibly imagine. A huge addition to Renton!
Renton Farmers Market ended its season Sept. 16. But several vendors continued hawking their wares at an After Market Market the following Tuesday — not at The Piazza, but at Greenfresh Market.
Sabrina Mirante, who began working at the Renton Chamber of Commerce five years ago as a part-time administrative assistant, has been promoted to administrative vice president.
The Renton Chamber of Commerce will host the fourth annual Business Expo Oct. 11 in conjunction with the Fall Harvest Festival at the Spirit of Washington Event Center and Piazza Park downtown.
It’s hard to believe that Renton schools are already back in session. I was one of those very weird kids…
Question: what does cheesecake, passion fruit cake and lemon-dill chicken have in common? Answer: It’s all prepared in the same spot: Creative Kitchen Works LLC.
Joe’s Sports & Outdoor has opened its doors at the The Landing in north Renton.
There’s something that dentists like to say.
Two weeks ago, I told you about my tour of Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre. I told you that I had met some delightful folks — each one with a story, each with a life well-lived. I promised to tell you about Maury. Maurice Marler to be exact.
Gourmet food, concierge services, espresso café, e-mail accounts and rooftop terraces. Not exactly the retirement homes my grandparents feared being “sent” to in their older years. Last week, I had a three-hour tour of Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre. My guide was Linda Asaif, their community relations director. Within minutes, I knew that this was some special place.
Real-estate staging was once a foreign term to Sue Lunsford.
“You need to do what?” That was Lunsford’s reply to the Realtor friend who asked her to stage a home.
When Mary Clymer returned to Renton from Los Angeles, one of her first stops was City Hall to search for an I (heart/love) Renton button, similar to the one that her grandfather, Earl Clymer, used to wear daily – even beyond when he was Renton’s mayor. City staff told her that they hadn’t made the buttons for almost 20 years. Mary sought to rectify that situation and now stocks her own smaller buttons in her store – happy delusions – on Third and Main.
Westfield Southcenter, a major retail complex in Tukwila, will mark the completion of its $240 million expansion project Friday.
When I returned home from the Return to Renton car show on Sunday, I saw a story on the news about citizens in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rallying around the town in the wake of a natural disaster. The truth is, almost every day seems like that in Renton. I am not someone who “does” car shows. In fact, I probably could take them or leave them. But, I can’t imagine when I have had a better day in Renton than last Sunday’s car show (and with a cracked rib that is really saying something)! Close to 4,500 people were walking the downtown streets of Renton! It doesn’t get any better than that! The spirit of Renton was alive and well everywhere I looked.
Huyen Martin’s teas are so fresh, they make noses recoil.
“People always go, ‘Ooh, that’s strong!” says Martin. Her family’s company is called Pacific Mist Tea. “They’re not used to it. That’s always the reaction. People don’t know when they put their nose in.”
Noses descend often into the small sample tins of teas on Martin’s table at the Renton Farmers Market.
Before you even taste anything on the menu at Renton’s newest restaurant, Blossom Asian Bistro, you are struck by how fresh and “pretty” everything sounds on the menu. There’s the Blossom roll, with papaya, sun-dried tomato and Japanese pesto wrapped in soy paper. Or, the bamboo princess roll — a combination of shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado and daikon, also wrapped in soy paper. The selection of salads and sushimi is also equally fresh and tempting—noodle salads, fresh oysters, seaweed salad and marinated salmon served Japanese style.
Yoga in an air-conditioned gym is hard enough for someone whose life goal is touching her toes. But yoga in a 105-to-110-degree room? I was expecting the worst.
For 85 years, First Savings Bank of Renton has stayed close to its roots – the people of Renton who need a loan to buy a home.
That is the traditional role of the “thrifts,” the savings and loans where people pool their money in their savings accounts and then it’s loaned out to others.
