More family business leaves area

"Will the last small business in Ballard please turn out the light?" reads a sign painted across the front window of the now closed Nick's Boats and Motors at the corner of 7th Avenue and Northwest 65th Street.

As well as signifying the end of another long-time family owned Ballard business, it says what many have been thinking.

"It's no longer profitable to run a small business in Ballard," said Dennis Nick, co-owner of the third-generation, family owned and operated boat repair shop.

In the past year, at least five family businesses retired, went out of business or have announced they will leave the area due to the rising cost of land, making it more lucrative to sell. Nick's closed at the end of this past May, ending more than 50 years here.

It was a combination of things that led to the end of Nick's, including rising gas prices, property tax increases and pressure from its corporate supplier. But ultimately, it was the metamorphosis of the community into "condo kingdom," Dennis said.

"I've never seen so much condos," he said. "Small things go down and big things go up."

The Nick family has a long history of doing business in Ballard.

In the 1930's they owned a grocery store, Nick's Pick It and Pay It on the corner of 6th and 65th, just a block from where the boat repair shop was. But when Safeway moved in down the street to where the Goodwill is now, the small market couldn't compete and it closed.

Nick's Boats and Motors join a list of several beloved Ballard businesses to leave the community.

After 45 years of personal customer service, the Market Street Pharmacy owned by the Stimac family closed a few months ago. The small pharmacy couldn't compete with nearby corporate stores.

Owner John Stimac said insurance regulations have reduced profits for smaller pharmacies, part of a national trend. He said he started his business in Ballard because he liked the strong community identity.

A long-time fixture in Ballard, Jacobsen's Marine, is also gearing up to leave the community for a new location at the Port of Edmonds as early as next year. The Edmonds site will house the whole operation, ending the company's 56-year run in Ballard.

Terry McCartney, co-owner of the company on Northwest Market Street that sells and services salt-water sport-fishing boats, said the Ballard property has become too valuable for its current use. The company also needs more room to maneuver its boats.

Bob Jacobsen Jr., a son of the company's founder, said the land would probably be up for sale soon and that it would likely be sold to build more condominiums.

The Scandinavian Gift Shop on Market Street retired for good last spring after 26 years in business.

In April, Olsen Furniture retired from its 73-year stint here.

Imagination Toys left when rent on its Market Street location nearly doubled. After 10 years in Ballard, the store had to close last summer.

Local realtors have said rates for commercial and retail properties have been increasing in Ballard during the last few years. A lot of that has to do with the community's growing popularity.

Some worry the loss of small businesses will eventually be the demise of the neighborhood's character. Housing developers are buying up land long used for commercial business, and rising property prices are driving industry and other business out, some in the industrial community have said.

Ballard resident Kara Foster said she moved to here three years ago because it seemed like a community that cherished its culture and heritage. But with a declining pool of affordable rentals and unique businesses leaving the area, Foster said the people who've made Ballard so great are being pushed out because they can't afford to live where they work.

"I want to see the next generation thrive," she said. "Seattle needs to do something otherwise it's going to be Bellevue-all shiny and new-and that's disgusting."

The Nick family plans to sell its land. Dennis said it would be nice to build affordable rental units there but admitted it would probably go to another condominium developer.

"Ballard is a goldmine as far as real estate goes..." he said. "Affordable housing-it's just a word. But I don't think it can be conceived. Ballard will never be the same I don't think, unfortunately."

Dennis is working as a carpenter now in Brier Wash., where he lives with his family. Though he was "devastated" to leave Ballard and his family business, he enjoys having full weekends off and said his life is less stressful now.

"Just to watch everything change," Dennis said. "I guess it's just what you call the change of times and I don't think there's anything you can do about it."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at rebekahs@robinsonnews.com or783-1244. Dean Wong contributed to this report.