Tourism

Ken Johnson and Fred Lerma have a knackfor making lived-in spaces feel brand new. Quickly expanding from Ken’s one-manoperation, he and his business partner Fred have been cleaning homes andbusinesses in Pacific County since 2019. Named for their street in Raymond, WA, Barnhart Home Cleaning was born when Ken was chatting with friends who needed...

When Jeff Karnatz moved to Raymond, WA in2016, he decided to grow lavender. Lots of lavender. Alongside his partner PaulKarnatz, Jeff tends to the plants from seedling to processing, whereupon theycraft soaps, balms, bath salts, &c. Over the years, Willapa Valley LavenderFarm has become a Pacific County staple. But when the pandemic hit, the Karnatz’...

Deb Howard began her farming career at age six, when she harvested wild cacti and replanted them behind the AC unit. The experiment was a success, and since then plants have flourished everywhere she’s gone.  Deb has farming in her blood, but getting a farm off–or IN–the ground is never easy. To partially fund the...

Buying insurance can be a headache. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would just read all the fine print and explain it in a way that made sense?  Enter RateSonic.com. Brothers Sean and Brandon Canonica and their uncle Larry Canonica had that same thought, put their heads together, and designed RateSonic, a website explaining the...

Marci Bennett started working in kitchens at age 14 and never looked back. During her 30 years in restaurants, she’s been a line cook, a sous chef, and a kitchen manager. It wasn’t until she and her husband Don moved to Long Beach that Marci decided to employ her baking skills as well. Recovering from...

North Beach Tavern is an adult pizza pub, as owner Carla Curtis likes to call it. A place to kick back and hang out. A sunny day in the Tavern’s backyard, listening to local musicians and enjoying a slice of pizza and beer, is a peak experience on the peninsula.  And every night is a...

Redeveloping and running a restaurant wasn’t something Weston Roberts aimed to do until he moved to the coast. After graduating from Oregon State, Weston worked in Portland as a real estate appraiser in the public sector. He went on to a commercial development firm to work in pre-construction management, as well as investing in real...

Kaarina Stotts is no stranger to the ins and outs of running a business. The daughter of entrepreneurs, she started learning and working at a young age. After taking over her parents’ business and owning an antique shop, Kaarina was well prepared when she decided to buy the Neptune Theater in 2018. Kaarina renovated the...

Strand Insurance was established in 1925, when Art Strand went door-to-door delivering Currier & Ives calendars to his clients and selling life insurance. Nearly one hundred years later, the agency has grown from a one-man operation to five locations throughout Oregon and Washington. They no longer sell life insurance, but now provide a wide range...

Since 1953, the “Ugliest Mermaid on the West Coast” has welcomed visitors to the Mermaid Inn. On the outskirts of downtown Long Beach and a stone’s throw from the shore, the hotel is an ideal escape. And for those who find it too hard to leave, The Mermaid Inn offers long-term lodging to boot. The...

Robert Vasquez is a jack of all trades. He’s worked in graphics design, Hollywood stage design, videography, and even the yarn industry. In fact, it was a yarn shop where he met his wife Diana. The two have since run a variety of businesses together, and in 2021 they opened BEACH BUBBLE TEA, an artisan...

Casey Barella spent years developing the perfect chowder recipe. Chowder so delicious, it’s turned skeptics into aficionados. “It’s one of my favorite things,” Casey says. “When someone says they don’t like chowder, I tell them to sample mine and they end up asking for more. I enjoy getting people started on their chowder journey.” Casey’s...

Sister-in-laws Kari and Melissa Huddleston didn’t grow up in Long Beach; they married into it. But in the same way they’d adopted Pacific County as their home, they took ownership of a local “quick-bite” restaurant and made it their own. Melissa bought Captain Bob’s Chowder from the captain himself. By then the business was built...

Walking into Hobo Junction, you never know what you’ll find. Besides the skeletons that serve as greeters, you’ll find antiques, refurbished fishing gear, local art, and miscellaneous materials available for your own creations. There’s always something in stock that’ll spark the imagination. Prior to buying Hobo Junction, owners Danny and Yvonne Lee worked in construction...

The first thing Natasha Beals ever painted was a doghouse. Since then she has expanded her portfolio, traveled the world with her trade, and started a business painting homes around Pacific County–for people, not just dogs.   Natasha started AKAW Painting in 2020 as an alternative to the hospitality industry, where she’d worked before the...

Stephanie and Jared Vincench were living in Seattle with their two children when they decided they needed a change. The slower pace of the peninsula was appealing–plus the easy access to nature and the comfort of community. So when they saw the local market was up for sale, they decided not to pass on the...

The scent of sugar greets you before the cases of tempting pastries meet your eye. It’s impossible to choose from such a variety. But, also, how could you go wrong?  The Cottage Bakery had been a staple of the Long Beach community for years. So when the owners decided to sell, Lindy Swain and her...

Jesse Downs is no stranger to the world of business or Pacific County. A member of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Jesse grew up in SW Washington. But she’s since crossed the globe, spending sixteen years in the Middle East. Based in Dubai, Jessi ran a business applying smart economics to large-scale planning around the region–while...

Mike Litawa of the Breakers Reflects on Over 30 Years In-Business  The Breakers is a home away from home: Cozy vacation rentals within reach of sand dunes and miles of scenic beaches. It’snot hard to imagine how this business found success. But success isn’t such a simple story.   Mike Litawa had traveled much of...

Shannon Slayton recognized a need in the community and created a resource for the pets, and pet parents, of Pacific County. When she moved to Pacific County in 2020, Shannon Slayton noticed a lack in the community: A pet supply store. With years of experience managing a pet store then working as a vet tech,...

In the mid-90s, Glenn Trusty was working off the coast as a commercial fisherman. But he was looking to make a change. Specifically, he wanted to spend more time on land with his growing family. So when he and a couple of fellow fishermen were contracted for a roofing job, Glenn had an idea: He...

How a family business stood the test of time with a handful of oddities and a good amount of gumption.  Marsh’s Free Museum is a Long Beach legacy. Any trip to the peninsula would be incomplete without visiting Jake the Alligator Man, playing vintage arcade games, and being serenaded by boxed musicians. Then buying pristine...

Growing up in Pacific County, Jeff Harrell was more interested in basketball than becoming a pharmacist. Let alone a business owner. But he wound up at WSU, where he studied pharmacy and met his wife, Casey. They settled in Seattle–until they heard of an opportunity back home they couldn’t pass up.  In 2006, the Harrells...

While other women wanted bigger diamonds, Sue Svendsen wanted more equipment. Operating a horse farm in Clark County, she worked with her hands and a cache of tools. But before long, it was time to upgrade. So she got herself a tractor.  For 25 years, Sue rode her Kubota tractor on the farm. And when...

Bold Beginnings: Setting Up Shop When the World Shut Down  While the world was isolating in the early days of COVID, Daneka Ewert and Greg Holmes werebusy designing a space for the community to find connection.The pair bought their building in March 2020–days before the world shut down.   With no accessto building permits or subcontractors,...

Washington Craft Distillery – Visit Website Established in 201 as a Certified B Corporation, Adrift Distilling values the importance of transparency in distilling, and remains forthcoming regarding their use of ingredients, their distilling location and process, bottling location and process, and aging process. Adrift Distillers is a Washington State Craft Distillery on the Pacific Coast...

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