BEST OF FERNDALE 2014
B1 • Wednesday, December 24, 2014 • ferndalerecord.com
Best NEw Business
Best Green Business
The Checkered Apron was a Green business is Ferndale favorite from the start ‘the right thing to do’ Labor-heavy material recovery is worth the effort for Recycling & Disposal Services By Mark Reimers news@ferndalerecord.com
The Checkered Apron features local products including Barb’s Pies and Pastries, Woods Coffee and Edaleen Dairy ice cream. (Rebecca Montgomery/Ferndale Record)
Founders Barb O’Brine, Linda York hit all the right notes By Mark Reimers news@ferndalerecord.com
FERNDALE — It was a few years ago when two friends began talking about a business idea. In 2014, that idea became a reality in downtown Ferndale and a favorite spot to stop for a sweat treat. The Checkered Apron, home to Edaleen Dairy ice cream and Barb’s Pies and Pastries, opened this summer on Third Avenue after an extensive repair and remodel process. Barb O’Brine, of Barb’s Pies and Pastries, now owns the shop exclusively and benefits from the extra retail exposure that it offers for her baked goods, which are all made out of the Oxford Carnation building a few blocks away. But before she became sole owner, her friend Linda York played a key role in the remodel and business launch, and O’Brine is eager to offer the credit to her for that. “I couldn’t have done half the job she did,” O’Brine said. “We couldn’t have had a better start. This was
handed to me on a silver platter.” York benefited from a family with expertise in remodeling. Her husband, Ron is a developer and her son John owns JVD Construction. The result was a store space that got thoroughly overhauled and dressed up for its new tenants. York spent the rest of the summer helping with the store along with her’s and O’Brine’s family members. Then she handed the reins over to O’Brine completely. “I’m very grateful to her and Ron,” O’Brine said, noting that it is so rare for a business to start out with so much community support. For O’Brine, bringing her baked goods to a downtown venue has always been a dream. It just so happened that downtown, underneath Cedars, is where she originally started her bakery before moving to the Carnation building. Lest she be misunderstood, O’Brine is quick to add that the Carnation building has been a perfect place to build her business and it will remain so for a long time. “But its nice to be downtown and be able to interact with our customers,” O’Brine said. It’s also a great thing in general to have a bakery in downtown Ferndale. Although the year has been a
whirlwind for the Checkered Apron, each season has already defined itself by the products that are popular. “All summer long it was the ice cream bringing people in.” O’Brine said. “Then fall hit and it switched to the baked goods. And that is okay because that’s the comfort food — cinnamon rolls and goodies.” But it’s not just the sweets that are drawing in a crowd. O’Brine has also been testing out some homemade soups and savory scones and other pastries. Those are especially popular when packaged together in O’Brine’s $6 lunch specials. “It’s economical and people can grab dessert for their dinner while they are at it,” she said. The 3rd avenue location, between Subway and Lux Thai is right in the middle of one of the biggest food centers in Ferndale. But that is just fine, according to O’Brine. “Everyone is supportive of each other,” she said. “It’s an old fashioned neighborhood feel where we all talk to each other and support each other.” And the customers notice. Parking may be a small drawback, but people figure that out, O’Brine said. Besides, she said, having more food choices close together tends to enhances each business. She noticed, for example, right away when the Lux
FERNDALE — Astronauts, athletes and entrepreneurs are usually known for their big dreams. But it would be a shame to forget the folks at Recycling & Disposal Services in Ferndale. Make no mistake: Recycling everything that comes through the door is a dream for the team at RDS, located at 4916 Labounty Dr. That’s the mission of General Manager Pete Edwards, who runs a special team of workers with the single task of picking through material dropped off to find recyclable products. “If we can pull it out, we will pull it out,” Edwards said. “That’s what will bring people here.” Eight of the company’s workers at a time work in the picking line, dubbed the Material Recovery Facility. It’s a labor commitment without a lucrative payoff to justify it. But that’s okay for Edwards and owner Larry McCarter. Edwards, who has been with the company for eight years, said he looks at the company recycling efforts not as the right business decision. But it is the right thing to do. Material recovery can take the shape the typical wood, brush, metal or plastic. However, there are some more unique materials that RDS has learned to sort out as well. Porcelain toilets, of which RDS recovers about 30 per week, have become a hot commodity since Thai owners temporarily closed their doors to go on vacation in August. “We saw our ice cream sales go down,” O’Brine said, speculating that the spicy food my create more cravings for a cool dessert. O’Brine couldn’t be happier about her prospects. Not only has her overall baking sales doubled, she is also maxing out her catering capacity.
some municipalities, Bellingham included, have begun grinding them up and mixing them into concrete for paving. Other examples of material being sent to a place for reuse includes metal to Z Recyclers, plastics to Northwest Recycling, brush to Green Earth Technology and pallets to Alaska Packaging. But doing the right thing isn’t only about recycling, Edwards said. It also involves making sure that they are providing a high level of customer service, making it as easy as possible for their customers to recycle. To that end, the company is always refining its self-serve free recycling facilities. Naturally, that also helps take the burden off of the material recovery team. But Edwards admits it is a tricky balance to encourage people to recycle their garbage but then also be understanding when they dump it instead. “More people are starting to see how they can separate out their own material,” Edwards said. “We have it all set up to make it as easy as possible to separate junk but we understand that not everyone has time so we have the ability to go through it as well.” So Edwards’s team is perfectly willing and able to do it themselves, as they have already demonstrated. Edwards gives a lot of credit to Whatcom County for its general commitment to the environment and recycling. It’s a commitment that he hopes is reflected well in the work done at RDS. “People come in from community and see all of the work we are doing,” Edwards said. “It’s what brings people here. We have the self-serve, no cost option. That’s a big deal for them.” For more information, call 384-8011 or visit rdsdisposal.com.
“You can always make more money,” she said, “but I’m feeling supported by the community. There are still new people coming in discovering us. That tells me there’s an ever larger customer base to draw from.” Call The Checkered Apron at 3933780 or visit Facebook.com/CheckeredApron.
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