Puget Sound Business Journal articles from June 1998

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from June 1998

Cinnabon chain on block. (cinnamon roll retailer Cinnabon Inc)
June 26, 1998... After only two years on its own, Cinnabon Inc. is up for sale. Venture backers of the Seattle company have hired NationsBanc Montgomery Securities Inc. in San Francisco to "explore their strategic options," said Kern Gillette, Cinnabon's...

New $50M venture fund draws Schultz's backing. (Maveron LLC; Starbucks Coffee Chmn Howard Schultz)
June 26, 1998... With $50 million in capital and the personal backing of Starbucks Coffee Co. chairman Howard Schultz, a new Seattle investment fund hopes to help some other consumer brands become as ubiquitous as the java pioneer. Maveron L.L.C., run by...

Still the Mastro of the deal. (real estate developer Mike Mastro)
June 26, 1998... Veteran developer keeps buying, selling, building Seattle developer Mike Mastro has cleared out of Oklahoma by selling 2,405 apartment units for $35 million. That might be a career-maker for some. At least a champagne-opener. But it merely...

Gai's not loafing in the rustic bread line. (Gai Northwest Bakeries)
June 26, 1998... Seattle's largest bread factory, Gai's Northwest Bakeries, is going rustic in response to the rapid rise of smaller competitors. Small bakeries such as The Essential Baking Co. and Grand Central Baking Co. specialize in so-called "rustic"...

Group-home operator moves in. (Res-Care Inc's acquisition of Creative Living Services Inc)
June 26, 1998... Res-Care Inc., one of the country's biggest operators of group homes for troubled youth and people with disabilities, is acquiring Creative Living Services Inc. of Seattle. Res-Care's entry into Washington could lead to other acquisitions...

IRS seeking $516,000 from hotel builder. (Goodale and Barberi Cos)
June 26, 1998... WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Seattle hotel-restaurant development could cost Goodale and Barbieri Cos. $516,000 more than anticipated. That's how much the Internal Revenue Service has demanded the Spokane hotel company pay in additional taxes for...

Hog haven. (Eastside Harley-Davidson Inc)
June 26, 1998... Despite an eager clientele and a popular product, Eastside Harley-Davidson's growth is based on diversifying. It's a Harley dealership. What could be simpler? At its most basic it's a car dealership with two-wheeled vehicles rather than...

Trendwest Resorts Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... 12301 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue WA 98005, 425-990-2300 Trendwest Resorts Inc. markets, sells and franchises time-share vacation ownership interests and acquires, develops and manages time-share resorts. The time-share resorts are owned and...

Charting a new course. (Simpson Investment Co)
June 26, 1998... Simpson Investment is undergoing a monumental remake due to the declining pulp-and-paper industry Like the wiry pioneer who is the company's namesake, the Simpson Investment Co. of Seattle is responding to a tough business climate by...

Deal near for Seafirst tower. (Columbia Seafirst Center in Seattle, Washington)
June 19, 1998... Zell likely buyer at $400M-plus Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell is the likely buyer for Seattle's signature skyscraper, 76-story Columbia Seafirst Center. But this time the self-described "grave dancer" will pay a lively price for prime...

Supply side allies. (DeCrane Airecraft Holdings Inc's purchase of Avtech Corp)
June 19, 1998... It's merge or die for many aerospace suppliers as the industry consolidates The recent purchase of Avtech Corp. by a California-based aerospace conglomerate may presage a new wave of consolidation among Boeing suppliers. Like...

Pacific Systems is high on fancy private jets.
June 19, 1998... When cost is no object for an airborne entertainment center, buyers turn to Pacific Systems Inc. The Kirkland-based company has emerged as a leading supplier of entertainment and communication systems for top-rung corporate jets, the planes...

EDC plan sets goals for region. (Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County's economic development plans)
June 19, 1998... The Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County this week will release a first-ever plan that it hopes will be a blueprint for economic development countywide. The council's "Action Plan for Continued Prosperity" summarizes the...

REI closing two lackluster locations. (Recreational Equipment Inc)
June 19, 1998... REI will close two struggling stores, marking the outdoor gear retailer's first closures in nearly three decades. The Kent-based chain plans to shutter locations in Mission Viejo, Calif., and Orem, Utah, at the end of the year. After a...

Flow turns up pressure in promising markets. (Flow International Corp)
June 19, 1998... Its waterjets pasteurize without heat After a long and sometimes-tortured journey, Kent-based Flow International Corp. is realizing the promise of its unique high-pressure waterjet technology. The company is reporting $7.1 million in net...

Interactive Objects is active on many fronts.
June 19, 1998... Interactive Objects Inc. has raised $6 million in a private placement of stock, a transaction the small publicly traded software company hopes to use to pump up its assets and get listed on the Nasdaq's SmallCap market. The Redmond company...

Small biz loses ground in federal contracts.
June 19, 1998... Procurement policy changes blamed WASHINGTON - The federal government's initiative to reform the government contracting process is alive and well. But it may be making some of the nation's smallest contractors sick. Small businesses are...

The Fishin' Place hopes to reel in customers.
June 19, 1998... The Fishin' Place reopened its pilot store this week in Redmond, giving Eastsiders a new dining option: fresh, restaurant-quality seafood meals they can take home and cook in minutes. With this retail venture, the family that owns seafood...

Auburn's A&M Warehouses tackles Portland.
June 19, 1998... A deal that could strengthen the region's position as a hub for international trade is coming together at the Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District. T.M. Lee Development Co. of Seattle wants to build one of the largest...

New firm leaps at mill business. (Quality Veneer & Lumber Inc.)
June 12, 1998... A new Seattle company that is buying independent mills is the wood-products industry's biggest manufacturing start-up in the Northwest in more than a decade. Quality Veneer & Lumber Inc. on June 1 bought a mill in Hoquiam and has agreements...

Asia's woes hurt local exports; imports surge through Puget ports.
June 12, 1998... Imports are up and exports are down at Puget Sound ports, graphic evidence that Asia's economic problems are having a profound impact here. Deflated Asian currencies have made imports more attractive, while the strong dollar has depressed...

Patients, patients: UW bets $40 million on new clinic system. (University of Washington)
June 12, 1998... The University of Washington's medical school and its physicians are almost done placing a $40 million bet. The wager consists of a network of nine new primary-care clinics built around the Seattle area. The expected payoff is a supply of new...

Mariners give IPO an intentional pass for now. (Seattle Mariners delays its initial public offering of stocks)
June 12, 1998... Four years ago, Seattle Mariners CEO John Ellis said the ballclub's owners might pursue an initial public offering to help pay for its share of the team's new ballpark. Team executives are now keeping close tabs on the Cleveland indians...

Financing key issue for Martin Smith projects.
June 12, 1998... Martin Smith Inc. is determined to be a skyscraper developer. That determination will be crucial as the Seattle-based firm seeks financing for two proposed downtown skyscrapers, because equity partners may also want to take the lead developer...

Debt deal's demise doesn't discourage ART. (Advanced Radio Telecom Corp.)
June 12, 1998... The recent collapse of the high-yield debt market leaves Advanced Radio Telecom Corp. looking for another way to quickly raise $125 million. But chairman and CEO Henry Hirsch said he isn't too worried about the money, which Bellevue-based...

U S West rebuffed over long-distance program.
June 12, 1998... U S West Communications claimed that marketing the service of just one long-distance phone company was a boon for consumers, but last week a federal judge put a halt to that practice. U S West had insisted that its recently introduced Buyer's...

Boot champ. (Montrail's expansion plans to Europe)
June 12, 1998... Montrail plans to stride into Europe with its line of sturdy trail shoes and hiking boots Menno van Wyk is breaking trail for his boot manufacturing company, Montrail. The niche brand, formerly known as One Sport, is preparing to peddle...

Puget Sound Energy Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 12, 1998... 411 108th Ave. N.E, Bellevue WA 98004, 425-454-6363 Puget Sound Energy Inc. is an investor-owned public utility furnishing electric and gas service in a 6,000-square-mile territory. The company is a result of a merger between Washington...

Ideals, reality clash in welfare-to-work. (welfare reform program in Puget Sound, WA)
June 5, 1998... Puget Sound-area companies are on a steep learning curve as they hire thousands of people who are leaving public assistance and entering the work force because of welfare reform. More and more, bosses are encountering workers who don't own...

Big money is backing new Equator chip. (Equator Technologies Inc.'s microchip)
June 5, 1998... A secretive start-up with operations in Seattle and Silicon Valley is about to take the wraps off a revolutionary multimedia chip that could bring television and computer technologies together more quickly and cheaply. Equator Technologies...

Airbus readies challenge to 747's long dominance. (Airbus Industrie's A3XX superjumbo plane)
June 5, 1998... While The Boeing Co. strains to fall aircraft orders, its European nemesis is readying a huge new competitor. That's the Airbus A3XX superjumbo, a mammoth plane that will, if built, instantly end Boeing's reign as maker of the largest...

Lakefront units face wrecking ball. (Lake Washington)
June 5, 1998... High-end condos will replace middle-aged complex on Kirkland shore It may be the most expensive residential tear-down ever. After paying a princely $6.18 million for a middle-aged Kirkland apartment complex, the new owner plans to knock it...

VC funds back Asterion's health-care info system. (venture capital firm Menlo Ventures)
June 5, 1998... Asterion Inc., a young Kent-based health-care information company, has attracted $5.4 million in venture capital to ramp up its marketing and sales efforts. Founded four years ago, the company now is targeting groups of physicians called...

Entercom plans KING-FM marketing push.
June 5, 1998... Seattle's dominant radio station owner, Entercom, has a new plan to aggressively increase the revenues generated by KING-FM. Entercom's financial goals for the classical station aren't based on selling radio spots, but on creating new...

Todd upbeat as it waits for ships to come in. (Todd Shipyards Corp.)
June 5, 1998... Despite losses, CEO says company is 'more capable' after state ferry contract Todd Shipyards Corp. executives insist there is life after ferries. That's a pressing question as the new Washington state ferry Puyallup, the last in a series...

One brick at a time. (downtown business revival in Tacoma, WA)
June 5, 1998... Tacoma business and civic leaders are optimistic about the slow but steady growth in the city's downtown core TACOMA - On a recent weekday, a lunchtime crowd filled the sidewalk tables outside of the Harmon Brewing Co., located in an old...

Cascadia dream finally nears reality. (planned community in Pierce County, WA; Cascadia Development Corp.)
June 5, 1998... The development would become the state's largest planned community A sprawling undeveloped plateau in eastern Pierce County may soon be transformed into a city unto itself, with housing for 10,000 people, an industrial/commercial complex,...

Spacelabs Medical Inc. (Proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 5, 1998... 15220 N.E. 40th St., Redmond WA 98052, 425-882-3700 Spacelabs Medical Inc. develops, manufactures, markets and services patient monitoring, diagnostic cardiology and clinical information systems for use in the health-care industry. Spacelabs...