BUSINESS
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015
Restaurant closes, leaving wage claims
By MIKE WILLIAMS
EO Media Group
Young’s Bay Restaurant
closed Jan. 5 after opening
in early November, leaving
some former employees un-
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roll was handled.
“Everybody’s been paid,”
said Nick Clark, who helped
run the restaurant with owner
Nichole Keller. “Everybody’s
been taken care of, and I’ve
got documentation.”
Clark, who also owns
Nature’s Choice Alternative
Medicine, a medical mar-
ijuana dispensary, said he
and Keller closed the restau-
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The couple was interested in
developing the property, in-
cluding a private dock and ad-
jacent buildings, into a recre-
ational destination with canoe
rentals and other retail. Clark
said they didn’t want to run a
restaurant but saw it as a way
to start earning revenue.
The Oregon Bureau of La-
bor and Industries (BOLI) has
three open wage claim inves-
tigations totaling $3,132.67
against the restaurant, said
Charlie Burr, communications
director.
Clark said Feb. 2 that the
business received letters dated
Jan. 28 from BOLI. The wage
claims would be disputed
because all employees have
been paid, he said.
One of the three claimants
includes former manager Ma-
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paycheck bounced several
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Young’s Bay Restaurant closed Jan. 5 after opening in late November.
times. She was unwilling to
accept another check. Clark
paid most of what Bahr said
she was owed in cash during
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It’s not everything Bahr
said she’s due, and it doesn’t
make up for the late fees and
penalties she was charged be-
cause she was unable to make
payments while she was try-
ing to collect the money.
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claim with the state earlier in
January. The other claimants
include former employees
Terri Parsons and Ruperto
David Rubio, Bahr said.
Other employees also com-
plained of checks bouncing
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Former cook Shawn
Rethwill has not filed a
wage claim, saying the
amount he’s owed is small.
“There wasn’t one pay-
check from there that didn’t
bounce or was on time,”
said Rethwill, who was
fired Jan. 1 but disputes the
justification for his termina-
tion.
Clark denies the restau-
rant owes him money.
“Well, when you fire em-
ployees, they get upset, but
everybody’s been paid,” he
said.
Katelyn Holmes, who
waited tables at the restau-
rant, said her final paycheck
bounced twice after she quit
Jan. 2. She worked with
Clark and eventually got all
the money she was owed,
adding that she’s not upset
about the experience.
“I don’t think they had
run a restaurant before,” she
said. “I’m really not bitter.
I was angry at the time, but
I’m not bitter.”
Things worked out even
better for former hostess Ar-
ianna Buckner, who worked
at Young’s Bay two months
and had heard of the diffi-
culties of other employees
in cashing checks.
“I always got paid on
time,” she said. “My checks
never bounced; I never had
an issue with them.”
Time to nominate for CEDR awards
To promote business creation, reten-
tion and expansion in Clatsop Coun-
ty, Clatsop Economic Development
Resources (CEDR) will recognize
outstanding businesses at the annual
awards reception and from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. March 18 at the Seaside Conven-
tion Center.
CEDR, the county’s primary econom-
ic development organization, is still seek-
ing nominations by Feb. 27 of businesses
in Clatsop County for awards in:
• Job Creation
• Technological or Manufacturing Ad-
vancement, or Process Innovation
• Economic Impact
• Entrepreneurship
• Service on the part of the business to
the Community
Award selections will be based on
merit, as demonstrated by the nomination
form and letter(s) of support.
Businesses of all sizes will be given
equal consideration. Businesses must
maintain operations, primary or other-
wise, in Clatsop County to be eligible,
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ganization.
To nominate a business:
• Visit www.clatsoped.com and click
on the nomination form link in the top
right corner of each page. The form’s
also available at the Astoria-Warrenton,
Seaside or Cannon Beach chambers of
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sop Community College’s South County
Campus at 1455 N. Roosevelt Drive in
Seaside.
• Fill out the form and include at
least one letter of support that describes
how the nominated business demon-
strates achievement in any of the cat-
egories
• Email or mail the form to sbdc@
clatsopcc.edu, or mail it to the CEDR
RI¿FHDW15RRVHYHOW6HDVLGH25
97138.
Be thorough, and assume the selection
committee has no prior knowledge of the
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nesses can be nominated for recognition,
but a separate form and letter of support
must be submitted for each award. Busi-
nesses may also self-nominate.
Last year, more than 120 business
OHDGHUVHOHFWHGRI¿FLDOVDQGVXSSRUWHUV
of CEDR were in attendance from all
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took home the Economic Development
Award; Lum’s Auto the Business Ser-
vice to Community Award for large
businesses; Karen Emmerling from
Beach Books the Business Service to the
Community award for small business-
es; Masudur Khan and the River Inn in
Seaside the Entrepreneurship Award for
large businesses; Luke Colvin and Arbor
Care Tree Specialists the Entrepreneur-
ship for small businesses; Eric Paulson
and Lektro the Technological and Man-
ufacturing Advancement Award; and
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side Brewing an award for their preser-
vation of Seaside’s former city hall, jail
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Pizza Hut fancies its ingredients
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Seeking
to boost its domestic perfor-
mance, Yum! Brands, parent
company of Pizza Hut, unveiled
a revamp of the menu at the
world’s largest pizza chain late
last year. With locations in War-
renton and Seaside, the restau-
rants employ 40 to 50 people.
“We’re trying to upgrade
into more modern and more
health-conscious menu items,”
said Randall McCutcheon, a dis-
trict manager for Pizza Hut loca-
tions in Tillamook, Seaside and
Warrenton, along with Washing-
ton locations in Aberdeen, Shel-
ton and Longview.
The changeover, he added,
involved new machines, changes
to the buildings and changes to
the menu, which now includes:
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cluding honey sriracha, toasted
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Pizza Hut has turned out several new eclectic varieties,
dubbed its “Explore Flavor” line, including the Old Fash-
ioned Meatbrawl (left), Giddy-Up BBQ Chicken (back-
ground) and Pretzel Piggy.
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pepper and a garlic buttery blend;
• Premium ingredients, such
as banana peppers, Peruvian
cherry peppers, fresh spinach,
salami and meatballs;
• New drizzles and sauces,
including balsamic, marinara,
honey sriracha, crushed tomato,
barbecue, garlic Parmesan and
buffalo;
• Five varieties of “Skin-
ny Flavor” pizzas with a
thinner crust coming in at
250 calories per slice or less;
• 11 new pizzas on the “Ex-
plore Flavor” menu.
The changes at Pizza Hut
also include online ordering in
English and Spanish through
www.pizzahut.com, a modern-
ized logo and new uniforms.
“Our response has been very
good,” McCutcheon said.
The changes came last year
as Yum! Brands sought to turn
around sagging domestic per-
formance, including a 2-percent
decline in same-store sales last
year, excluding China and India.
The results seem to be posi-
tive. For its fourth-quarter earn-
ings report, released Feb. 4, Yum!
Brands reported that its Pizza
Hut Division’s sales increased 1
percent, driven by 2 percent unit
growth and offset by a 1 percent
same-store sales decline.
Yum! Brands is also the par-
ent company of Taco Bell and
KFC.
Bowpicker returns to homeport soon
By the end of the month,
Bowpicker Fish & Chips could
once again be serving up its bits
of deep-fried tuna goodness at
the corner of Duane and 17th
streets.
Owners Linda and Ron
Ford took their historic gillnet-
ter to their shop in Svensen to
refurbish the exterior while the
city completed a paving project
at their location next to the As-
toria Armory.
“We were kind of looking
Clatsop County
Property Transactions
Seller: William K. Buffum and Leslie
A. Kidd
Buyers: Fileno A. Alleva and Holly N.
Alleva
Address: 1680 Forest Lawn Road,
Cannon Beach
Price: $1.1 million
Sellers: James Henry Seeley Jr., and
like the ugly stepchild there,”
Linda said, adding that they’re
building a new canopy, re-
painting and otherwise spruc-
ing up the boat. They paid for
a new concrete pad at their lo-
cation, where they lease land
Deborah Ann Seeley
Buyers: Michael Shea and Kelly
Tweeden
Address: 256 N. Marion Ave., Gearhart
Price: $907,500
Seller: James Sculace
Buyer: Warrenton Fiber Co.
Address: 89729 Youngs River Road,
Astoria
Price: $495,000
Seller: Leslie A. Johnston
Buyer: Dan. W. Negley
from the city. The rest of the
vacant block is used for park-
ing for service members on
the nearby U.S. Coast Guard
cutters.
Updates on the Bowpicker’s
status are on its Twitter page.
Address: 2910 Expedition Lane, Astoria
Price: $452,000
Seller: Clatsop County Sheriff’s Of-
¿FH
Buyer: OR Real Estate LLC
Addresses: vacant land at 600 N.
Roosevelt Drive, Seaside
Price: $424,910
Seller: Michele H. Foley
Buyer: Linda Gail Woolf
Address: 3940 Sunset Blvd., Seaside
Price: $379,000
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Michael Olsen counsels individuals, couples and
families out of his office in the Spexarth Building.
Making
the
Dollar
INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES
BY EDWARD STRATTON
Michael Olsen
Olsen Counseling
818 Commercial St., No. 307
Astoria
503-479-5531
A counselor for three years, Michael Olsen specializes in
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an intern in name because of post-graduation experience re-
quirements, he is supervised locally by Marilyn Shultz, but is
licensed to run his own practice. Sessions with Olsen average
$60 to $80, and he’s available by appointment 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday through Saturday.
What do you do?
“I’m a marriage and family therapist, and I also do work
with drug and alcohol addiction. So that involves seeing cou-
ples. I do work with children. That’s usually the biggest family
component, is parents and children. And then addiction is one
person looking for help, or sometimes family members looking
for help for their loved one.”
How did you get into this business?
“I kind of found out I enjoy helping people. It’s kind of cli-
chéd, but I found out people usually found me easy to talk to.
I went to graduate school. I have a master’s degree from Texas
Tech in marriage and family therapy. This is fairly new. This has
only been … about three months now. I’m new to Astoria, orig-
inally from … long story short, Montana and Texas. We (Olsen
and family) were in Newberg for a couple of years. I worked for
Hazelden, a large drug and alcohol treatment center. They do a
lot of national work. I worked with them for a number of years
as a family counselor and then had an opportunity to move out
here to Astoria. Personally, we wanted to be out here on the
coast for a long time.”
Who is your usual clientele?
“I think most common is a lot of couples looking for help
in their relationship or marriage. And a common one, as well,
is sometime individuals looking for a place to talk. The gift of
therapy is not so much who I am or what my training is. It’s
just having a private space … where you can tell someone else
what’s going on inside you. And there’s no judgment; there’s no
weird looks. And that’s kind of the magic of this experience.”
What are some of the quirks or challenges of your busi-
ness?
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nies. I don’t know if you call it a quirk, but one of the things I’m
constantly amazed at is the courage that people have to carry
some of the burdens in their lives. It’s the sort of thing when
you meet someone on the street, you might not think anything
special about them. But I get to sit in a place where I get to hear
people’s really kind of secret souls. And it’s amazing, the kinds
of burdens and challenges that people carry silently. It’s kind of
an honor, I guess.”
No more factory center
in the Seaside Outlets
SEASIDE — The Seaside
Factory Outlet Center is un-
dergoing a major renovation
and slimming down its new
name: Seaside Outlets.
“We’re just overall giving
it a fresh, updated aesthet-
ic look,” said Stacie Miethe,
manager of the outlet center.
The revamp, she said,
includes painting; a new
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existing bricks; staining the
concrete for a more stone
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ing on the buildings and in
the parking lot; widening the
entrance to the outlet center
near Nike; and changing the
main sign.
The project will take two
to three months to complete,
she said, and Seaside Outlets
will hold a grand reopening
in mid- to late June. By that
time, she added, Seaside Out-
lets hopes to have two new
tenants in place.
For more information on
the center, visit the soon-to-
be-revamped www.seaside-
outlets.com