PORT TOWNSEND — The Green Eyeshade will reopen Saturday under new management that will continue to provide goods for upscale customers who take cooking seriously.
“There are so many cooks and chefs on the [North Olympic] Peninsula,” said Kevin Burgler, who bought the business with his wife, Gail.
Marilyn Staples sold the building at 720 Water St. and the name to the Burglers.
The inventory was sold during a liquidation sale ending in February. Burgler bought the building in January and chose to start at ground zero stocking goods.
“It really needed new paint, and we wanted different fixtures,” Burgler said.
“We have a lot of the same sources, so we didn’t need to buy the inventory, and Marilyn was going to make more money liquidating than if she sold us the business,” he added.
Staples retired at the age of 79 after 30 years at the kitchen and home-decor shop that originally opened in May 1970.
When it closed, The Green Eyeshade was Port Townsend downtown’s oldest surviving retail establishment.
Customers who come into the newly revived store will see new additions along with old favorites.
“We want to offer many of the same things that the old store did, along with things that aren’t available in town,” Burgler said.
These include Japanese knives, specialized jewelry, candles and other high-end house goods.
One product that drew customers into The Green Eyeshade, Bopla Swiss porcelain, will not be offered there.
It is now available at Picnic, a new store at 810 Water St. that is owned and operated by Tim Nebel, who worked for The Green Eyeshade for two years prior to its closing.
At that time, Nebel was uncertain about his own future and came upon the idea to sell picnic-themed goods and food, such as custom picnic kits that can be used to create an outdoor event.
The store also will sell prepared food from Uptown Custom Catering as well as beer and wine.
No one would take Bopla dishes on a picnic, but they fit in with the light and airy outdoor theme of the store, Nebel said.
Several businesses
The Burglers already own several businesses in Port Townsend, including The Clothes Horse, Fancy Feathers, Northwest Man and What’s Cookin’ on Water Street.
Burgler said the two kitchen-supply stores will offer different prices and serve separate audiences.
He also expects to build a regular clientele, both locally and from out of town.
“We already draw customers from Poulsbo, Sequim and Port Angeles,” he said.
“There are people who come into the Northwest Man store like clockwork, four times a year.”
Burgler hopes a portion of the same audience will make regular trips to the new Green Eyeshade.
Staples had became an employee at The Green Eyeshade when its original owners and her friends Thorne and Dorine Edwards asked her to pour coffee and serve cake for the store’s 10th anniversary.
She and her husband, John, bought the business 30 years ago from the Edwardses.
The store originally opened in space that now houses El Sarape Mexican Restaurant, 628 Water St., and sells fine china, crystal and gifts.
The new store hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, with evening hours in the summer.
The store will have the same number as the old Green Eyeshade, 360-385-3838.
For more information about Picnic, visit www.picnicpt.com/blog or phone 310-385-5560.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
