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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2018)
WEEKEND BREAK • 1C 146TH YEAR, NO. 105 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018 SEASIDE New grocer could hinge on left-hand turning lane Left-turn backups impede approval By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Miles Nielsen, left, and Annie Van Dyke discuss plans for their new location in downtown Astoria. Family plans tiki dream in Astoria Building out home for nationally known mug business By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A Tiki haven is forming inside a for- mer auto dealership on Duane Street in Astoria. Paul Nielsen and his wife, Debra Dun- agan, recently purchased the 94-year-old Sovey Motor Co. building, the former office of Charter Communications, at 1241 Duane St. The family, including son Miles Niel- sen and daughter-in-law Annie Van Dyke, is fixing up the dilapidated building into an art gallery, loft and headquarters for Munktiki, the family’s nationally known tiki mug business. Miles Nielsen and Van Dyke relocated from Portland to Astoria several years ago to raise their family, their parents follow- ing last year to be closer to their kids. Ini- tially intent on the Odd Fellows Building, the family jumped on the former Char- ter Communications office after the price went down, beginning a restoration they hope to finish by next summer. The Nielsens, both potters since their teens, started Munktiki in the 2000s. The name is a nod to their love of monkeys, changed a bit to avoid any religious con- Items from the Munktiki line of ceramics sit on a shelf in the basement. notation. They create custom slip-cast, stoneware and ceramic tiki mugs that have shown up in bars around the U.S. and Canada. The company started several years ago having bulk orders made in China to cut the cost for bars needing large, replace- able stocks of their mugs. An online cat- alog ranges from pufferfish and seahorses to decorated skulls and bunnies. The base- ment of the Sovey Motor Co., a former ser- vice garage, is filled with boxes of mugs and steins ready to be shipped to customers. The mass-produced mugs made in China allow the Nielsens to focus on more creative, specialty mugs, like a Mayan death whistle complete with an actual whistle, flaming volcanoes and Asto- ria-themed containers like a Goonies skull and a red buoy in a nod to Buoy Beer Co., where Van Dyke also works. The Nielsens don’t see them as tradi- tional tiki mugs, but rather fitting into an exuberant theme. A Texas-based group hopes to build a two-store retail development in Seaside near Avenue O and U.S. Highway 101 to house Grocery Outlet, a national retailer based in Emeryville, California. But before the deal for the 18,000-square- foot building at 325 Avenue N moves for- ward, developers could be required to install a left-hand turn lane southbound on the highway to avoid backups and traffic delays — a cost that could render the proj- ect unaffordable. ODOT is planning to making some improvements, and potential owners were assured they have a “funded project” that would extend across the site frontage with a center turn lane. “It was the magical solution to all of our problems,” project engineer Michael Ard said. The cost of the street project is about $10 million, he said. But a letter from the state Department of Transportation delivered last week provided a revised estimate of money available. “Now they say they have $3 million and are scrambling to get $6 (million) to $7 mil- lion by the time of construction,” Ard said. While a center two-lane turn has been pro- posed near Avenue N by 2020, the Depart- ment of Transportation wrote, “the entirety of this project is underfunded.” Earlier this year, Dan Dover of Main & Main Capital Group LLC went before the City Council seeking the “city’s pulse” for the granting of a street vacation for prop- erty along U.S. Highway 101 in Seaside. A street vacation is a type of easement in which a government transfers the right-of-way of a public road to a private property owner. The city denied the request and Dover was redirected to the Planning Commission. Main & Main returned this fall with plans for the proposed retail outlet. The develop- ment would take access via Avenue N, which provides access to existing retail uses on the north side of the roadway including Coast Hardware and Seaside Laundry. The prop- erty would be leased to Grocery Outlet. Developers were encouraged by a memo from the Department of Transportation, which concluded “the need for a southbound left-turn lane” at Avenue N, part of a high- way upgrade scheduled for 2020. When the funding delay was announced, the developer hit a roadblock. With an estimated 1,300 daily trips, com- missioners were wary of adding to already long year-round backups without addition of a southbound left-turn lane. “There are definitely challenges associ- ated with this project,” Ard said. “My job as an engineer is to try to come up with the best possible solutions — you guys have made See TIKI MUGS, Page 6A See GROCER, Page 6A Visitors celebrate at Turkey Trot in Seaside Families find lots to be thankful for at race By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Walkers and runners con- verged Thursday on Seaside’s Quatat Park for an annual tradition, the Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk. Last year’s race attracted about 100 run- ners, Angi Wildt of the Sunset Recreation Park and Recreation District said. With walk-ins and preregistrations, this year the number swelled to almost 300. Some of that may have been because of the weather — rain was only moderately steady compared to the windblown torrents of years past. For members of the Fischer and Wright families — on the coast from Portland, Seattle, Santa Cruz and San Francisco — the event provided an opportunity to gather on a day to show gratitude. ”We came up to Gearhart for the Thanks- giving holiday,” Ruth Wright said before the race. “We like to spend it together, and we like to run.” And run they did. Chris Wright crossed the line at 16:26 to lead the pack. “I feel good!” he said, catching his breath after crossing the line. “Beautiful morning! A little bit of traffic, but it wasn’t too bad!” Tyler Wilson of Bend finished second, followed by Chris Duffy, nutrition coordi- nator for the rec district. See TURKEY TROT, Page 6A R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Chris Wright, center, holding his canine friend, joined family mem- bers in Seaside for the running of the Turkey Trot. Wright finished first in the 5K run/walk.
