For more than 44 years, Ostroms Drug & Gift store has been at the center of daily life in Kenmore, a place where customers and store staff members are on a first-name basis, and shopping ranges from personal emergencies to family and friend celebrations.

But the city of Kenmore and local developers envisioned the 9.6-acre property just north of Kenmore's main intersection -- Northeast Bothell Way and 68th Avenue Northeast -- for a mixed-use housing and retail development.

Last month, the city of Kenmore and Kenmore Partners LLC announced an agreement to build Kenmore Village by the Lake on the city-owned property, which currently holds Ostroms, its mini-mall neighbors and an enormous parking lot.

The city, which in February bought adjacent land for a new City Hall, hopes to revitalize its downtown center, provide market- rate and affordable housing, and create open space for community gatherings. The King County Library is building a branch across the street, and a new fire station -- pending approval of a bond measure Aug. 21 -- is planned for nearby.

Concerns about displacing Ostroms spurred an outpouring of public support, persuading Ostroms manager Todd Ramsey to keep the store alive -- somewhere. Unable to nail down the right deal to become part of Kenmore Village, Ramsey signed a 15-year lease last week for a new home four blocks away.

"Ostroms is a big deal in this community. It's important to a lot of people," Ramsey said. "I did feel some pressure. I didn't want our 25 employees to lose their jobs -- I feel indebted to them. Customers would come in 'you have to stay' and ask, 'What's going to happen?' Until last Tuesday, I didn't know."

Ostroms will remain at its current location until spring 2009, when it will move to the site of the former Denny's restaurant at 6414 N.E. Bothell Way.

The Denny's building will be remodeled by property owner Kenmore Lakeview LLC to accommodate Ostroms, including a drive-through pharmacy window long sought by Ramsey.

The new Ostroms will be smaller -- 6,600 square feet compared with its current 7,800 square feet, Ramsey said. But it will have a more visible location off Kenmore's "main drag" (Bothell Way), and ample parking.

"I'm happy we've found a solution that will work for the business and for the community," said Ramsey, 47, who took over managing the store from his pharmacist father, Dick Ramsey, after he "retired." The elder Ramsey, 74, who bought the store from Harry Ostrom in 1963, still comes in to work.

Customers, employees and city officials expressed relief.

"I'm disappointed they have to move, but I'm glad they've found a new place. I can live with the new location," said Bill Hall of Kirkland. Hall said he and his wife prefer going to Ostroms, rather than other places such as Totem Lake Shopping Center, for business supplies, greeting cards, household and decorative items and other knickknacks.

Laurie Sperry, a Kenmore City Council member and Ostroms customer, said that while Kenmore "is in the beginning of an amazing transformation" with the new development, locals did not want to lose Ostroms.

"Ostroms is a beloved family business that is highly valued by the community," Sperry said. "It is a regional draw for its unique gift collection. When they have their sidewalk sale in August, the entire parking lot is packed." This year it is Aug. 9 to 11.

Part of the store's appeal, many customers said, is that it's "fun to browse" and "has something for everyone." You can find everything from heating pads and backscratchers to Husky and Coug golf balls. Online, the store has received rave reviews.

Earlier this week, some people made a beeline for the pharmacy in the back of the store, while others meandered up and down the aisles. Some stopped at shelves with candles, vases and serving platters, while others picked out picture frames or scrapbooks. One woman tried on necklaces, glancing in a mirror, while kids played with toys and jangled the wind chimes.

There are gifts for pets, gardeners, cooks and people looking for religious inspiration. One corner features colorful Jim Shore Christmas ornaments, while another section wafts with scented soaps and herbal skin-care products. Among the hot items, Ramsey said, are the "Beanie Baby"-type stuffed animals called Webkinz.

But merchandise is only part of the appeal, said B-Z Davis, giftware manager and a 33-year Ostroms employee. What started as a "convenient high school job" evolved, giving her work satisfaction and flexible hours for volunteering in the community. Davis served on the Northshore School Board for 16 years.

"Ostroms is my home away from home; it's like family, a small-town pharmacy that's really the last of the Mohicans in a way," Davis said. "We know people, and they know us. This store is very community-minded. I thought about leaving, but where are you going to find a place that cares so much?"

Phil and Lesley Jones, customers for more than 40 years, can vouch for that. Lesley Jones, a diabetic, recalls being snowed-in one winter and unable to drive to the pharmacy. An employee delivered her medication.

"We never forgot that," Lesley Jones said. "There is a community feel that is getting lost in stores as time goes by. So many stores, they're just sterile, not personal."

Davis looks forward to the new building, but says store policy won't change: "It's nice to be able to help people out."

 

IF YOU GO

OSTROMS DRUG & GIFT

6414 NE Bothell Way., Kenmore

Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information: ostroms.com or 425-486-7711