Smuggler's Inn Bed and Breakfast

In The News

From Business Pulse Magazine - August, 2004
Blaine bludgeons the blues
- By Christopher Key, Bellingham Business Pulse Magazine

Sometimes there is a price to be paid for getting clean and sober. Ever since Blaine shed its Sin City image years ago, locals have been talking about how to revive the town’s economy. Cheap gas brought Canadians across the border for a while, but vacant service stations testify to the transitory nature of that attraction. Tighter border controls following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 further staggered the local economy.

Things got so desperate for a while that there was even a short-lived movement to change the town’s name to Blaine Harbor, although what that was supposed to do for the economy wasn’t clear. As in so many cases, the town just had to wait until its time came.

There is a new energy and optimism afoot in Blaine and it’s a combination of many factors coming together at the right time. Perhaps foremost among the factors favoring Blaine right now is something beyond the control of anyone local. Housing prices in booming Bellingham have climbed to the point where they are unaffordable to an increasing number of people.

Young families, in particular, may be playing the Blaine card. Over the past year, school enrollment in the Blaine district was up 4.75 percent while dropping 2.1 percent in Bellingham. But there’s a lot more going on than just more affordable housing.

Two chefs with impressive résumés have reopened La Bonne Maison on Peace Portal Drive, determined to put Blaine on the map with fine food and wine. A new boardwalk along the waterfront is expected to help revitalize the downtown core. A retired entrepreneur has made a major investment along the city’s main thoroughfare.

Just over a year ago, we reported on a new bed and breakfast in Blaine that was still in the process of renovation. Smuggler’s Inn takes advantage, in an innocent way, of the town’s shady past and has proved to be a howling success. So much so that owner Bob Boulé is building a 2,200 square foot addition that will house an office, the inn’s classic limousine and a small collection of antique cars.

“ We’ve had success with groups coming for murder mystery weekends,” he said. “The Beatles tribute group Revolution stayed here along with Tony Sandler of the vocal duo Sandler and Young.”

Boulé’s entrepreneurial instincts have led him into a partnership with the new management at La Bonne Maison, offering a romantic getaway package that includes limo service and dinner at the restaurant.

Smuggler’s Inn has also turned into an art gallery. One of the first things Boulé did to draw attention to his business was sponsor a contest in which many area artists depicted the historic inn. Their work now graces the rooms and hallways of the B & B. That effort was so successful that Boulé is conducting another contest in which artists will depict the Semiahmoo lighthouse, torn down in 1942.

“ So far, we’ve had people from 28 countries stay here,” Boulé said. “Each month this year from February to May has been bigger than last August. We already have 200 room nights booked June through August this year. People who stay here refer others and it just grows and grows.”

Smuggler’s Inn has been featured recently in the Western Living, Western Canada’s equivalent of Sunset magazine. Boulé would like to add eight more rooms eventually.

“ Blaine is happening,” he said.

Of course, the biggest business in town is the border and that, too, has been a factor in Blaine’s new vitality. Peg Fearon is area port director for the Department of Homeland Security. She’s responsible for all the land border crossings in Washington, along with water crossings in Friday Harbor, Bellingham and Anacortes. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) handles everything in between.

“ There used to be three agencies here, customs, immigration and agriculture,” she said. “Those three functions have been merged into one under the new department. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the new investigative wing. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was broken up. Part of it is with us, part with ICE and part with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). The Border Patrol used to be part if INS and is now Customs and Border Protection.”

What all those government abbreviations mean for Blaine is a big economic boost.

“ Our staff has more than doubled since Sept. 11,” Fearon said. “We have a lot of new technology that improves our performance and efficiency.”

She pointed out the window.

“ Those devices at the truck crossing are portal radiation monitors,” Fearon said. “They are so sensitive, they can even detect people who have had medical radiation treatment. We have more explosive sniffing dogs and their handlers. Our mission has changed from drug eradication to anti-terrorism.”

While border security has tightened, staffing has increased to the point where those post Sept. 11 backups are mostly a thing of the past.

“ We have to achieve a balance between facilitation and enforcement,” Fearon said. “Our primary checks are designed to funnel people to secondary inspections if they push our buttons.”

Most of the additional staff in Blaine are new hires rather than transfers.
“ We have something called the Quality Recruitment System,” Fearon said. “You can apply over the Internet, but it’s a six month process. Many of our new hires came from this area, maybe 50 percent. They’re building a lot of houses here. They buy a lot of things locally and so does the government. Everything from our phone system to having new patches put on our uniforms means more business for Blaine. Now, we’re starting to gear up for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.”
That event may help down the road, but there are a number of individuals not content to wait for that potential economic boost. Jerry Gay is a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist and shoots covers for Business Pulse. His grandparents were among the pioneers of Blaine and environs. He remembers working on their farm during the summers.

“ Blaine was a magical place to me, of holidays and summers,” Gay said. “I had lived in Seattle and Lynnwood and had come to La Conner to work on a book when a cousin died. I came back to Blaine for the funeral and ended up meeting my significant other. It seemed like it was my destiny to move back here. To come to Blaine and not become attached was impossible.”

His career developing media projects gave him such flexibility.

“ I started looking at the potential here,” Gay said. “Now, I’m trying to weave a story through the media and stir people’s imaginations. The problem is that people who come through the border don’t have much reason to hang around Blaine. My vision is to help create a sort of permanent world’s fair in the shadow of the Peace Arch. It would be based on educating people about other cultures.”

Gay doesn’t see the future lying in a standard retail or tourism economy.
“ I want to show people how to dream and to think outside the box,” Gay said. “We need to look at the international character of our community. We need to start talking about how each individual can contribute. Everybody has a place in this movie. No more freeloaders. Everybody has to take responsibility. We have to reawaken the town in a positive light.”

He began the process by putting pictures of his neighbors in the local newspaper.
“ As an artist, I’m looking at this like a project,” Gay said. “You look for the highest values and make it as pure as you can. Blaine is my art form.”

He has had some practice portraying a town with a book of photos he published featuring the children of Roslyn. That Washington town was perhaps better known as the fictional Cicely, Alaska, on the TV series Northern Exposure.

“ I want to get into people’s lives and hold up a mirror for them to see themselves,” Gay said. “It starts with self expression and making links with your neighbors. Life is a visual journey. What kind of picture do we want to make? This is going to be my home and I want to promote it my way.”

He admits that he didn’t seek any official sanction for his efforts. His sometimes cryptic images have already served their purpose by stirring a lot of comment.

“ The ads I’ve placed in Business Pulse were designed to get people curious and thinking, wondering what and why,” Gay said. “The presence of the Peace Arch has given Blaine a lot of responsibility. The town is worthy of a good story. People are moving here. We need to promote peace and see the best in each other. I’ve gotten good feedback from people who read the paper and I’m grateful to my neighbors for sharing their vision.”

Gay described his approach as more philosophical than practical.

“ You can’t tell a town what to do,” he said. “You have to let people create their own dance. We have to build our own future. We can’t expect others to do it for us. We’re reinventing ourselves right now. The decline of the resource-based economy is bringing new businesses to the forefront. Where do we want to fit in?”
Alan Finston knows the answer to that question, at least as it pertains to his business, Whatcom Physical Therapy. He’s gotten so busy, he’s moving from a leased space into a new facility he’s building that will more than double his square footage.

Finston first became acquainted with Washington State as a student at Whitman College in Walla Walla. He moved to Seattle and completed his master’s in physical therapy at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Finston spent some time as part of a bigger practice in Bellingham before striking out on his own in 1996.

“ There was no one in Blaine offering these services, so we decided to see what would happen,” he said. “It was just me and my wife at first. She has a background in retail management and has been an invaluable resource for me. I’m very fortunate to have her skills. I had no management experience and it was a steep learning curve. Now, I have an office manager so I can focus on being a health care provider.”

Whatcom Physical Therapy now has a three quarter time physical therapist in addition to Finston. There are two half time physical therapy assistants, one full time PTA and three office staff. The facility includes a fitness center to help transition people who have undergone physical therapy into regular exercise.
“ Membership in the fitness center is open to the public and it will be expanded greatly in the new location,” Finston said. “We’ll add showers and aerobics facilities. The gym is really just a break even proposition. It’s more of a community service, but the new facility will rival anyone’s operation. There are about 70 members now and I expect that to double with the new space. We already have a lot of the equipment and don’t have to make a lot of money off the gym. It’s valuable as a marketing tool that provides us with references.”

It’s easy to find good staff in Whatcom County, according to Finston.

“ The problem is getting them to Blaine,” he said. “One of our PTAs commutes from Bellingham, one from Langley and one from Lynden. What keeps them here is a positive working environment. They’re part of a team. We offer good wages and benefits. Full time people have a retirement package. Medical and dental coverage require no employee contributions. That’s an important investment to retain good people. It’s a fun environment with a lot of social interaction.”

The clinic’s patients are generally from Blaine, Birch Bay and Custer.

“ We’re really busy Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, lighter on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Finston said. “The area as a whole is growing at about ten to fifteen percent a year. That means more customers for us. We’ll really be a force with the new building.”

Pending legislation regarding the allocation of Medicare Part B funds could give the business a big boost.

“ Right now we’re limited to $1,500 per year per person,” Finston said.

“ Legislation to remove that cap will be beneficial both for us and for patients with chronic conditions. It will enable us to provide more consistent care, treat people as needed rather than having to watch the dollars.”

Like many providers in areas other than primary care, physical therapists have had to demonstrate their validity in the broader medical community.

“ We are now getting referrals across the board,” Finston said. “Other providers see the value in our services. I’ve been in on my own for eight years now and in Whatcom County for eleven. Most of the physicians are familiar with me. It’s legal for people to see us without getting a referral, but not usual. Our malpractice insurance is much lower that those who do invasive procedures or deal with medications.”

Marketing for Whatcom Physical Therapy is done mostly by location.
“ Word of mouth is huge in this business,” Finston said. “It’s especially true in a small town. We’re on almost all the preferred provider lists and can treat anyone who comes in. Health care is moving away from the 1990s model of managed care and moving back to funding medically appropriate care. There’s a lot of value in that.”

Finston has felt the new energy in Blaine.

“ The cycle is swinging in other directions after being too dependent on gas stations and bars,” he said. “We’ve learned the hard way that in order to survive, you have to diversify. We’re starting to see things that weren’t here before. A lot of retirees are coming here. Birch Bay is the fastest growing area in the state. Blaine is attracting more people with affordable housing and businesses will have to supply their needs. This town has a lot of unrealized potential both for businesses and for residents.”

One entrepreneur who has seen that potential is Dillon Schickli, a retired beverage industry executive who lives at Semiahmoo. He has decided that Blaine is a good investment. Schickli bid on some buildings at the corner of Peace Portal and G Streets and won. Then he needed a tenant for the buildings.

Schickli also owns a vacation home in Kona, Hawaii, where he discovered a store that featured a lot of bamboo and teak furniture. That gave birth to Worldly Treasures, a store full of exotic furniture at astoundingly low prices.

Brian Hrutfiord was a friend of Shickli’s fiancée and was hired to manage the new business. He also happens to be Jerry Gay’s cousin.

“ I was working for United Parcel Service in the brokerage department, so I have a background in customs clearance,” Hrutfiord said. “Dillon checked me out and offered me the job.”

Colin Gelker was working as Schickli’s personal assistant and became business manager for the new enterprise.

“ Dillon invests,” he said. “That’s his idea of retirement. I have a background in securities, so I’m handling the books. I responded to an ad in the paper and saw it as an opportunity to revitalize Blaine.”

Hrutfiord has been in Blaine since 1987.

“ My parents and grandparents were from here,” he said. “I bought my grandparents’ house and part of their farm.”

The new business started slowly by design.

“ We’re new to the furniture business and wanted to work out the bugs before bringing in the crowds,” Hrutfiord said. “This has the potential to be a destination store, bringing lots of commerce to downtown Blaine. Dillon invested a lot in the buildings and we have a stunning collection of furniture imported from Indonesia, Thailand and China. We’re already drawing people from Vancouver and Seattle. Word of mouth has been really big for us.”

During the interview, a Canadian couple from White Rock came into Worldly Treasures and made a major purchase with the promise of more. They noted that the prices were about one third of what they had found north of the border.

“ Dillon is taking a sizeable risk here, but he has decades of business experience and wants to invest in the community,” Gelker said. “He’s not expecting big returns quickly and is in it for the long haul.”

Locals who have wandered in have expressed amazement.

“ Part of Blaine’s heritage is serving as a gateway to Canada,” Gelker said. “We want to be part of the reinvention of the town. Now, other businesses need to invest and build confidence in the economy.”

In addition to Hrutfiord and Gelker, the store also has a full time sales manager.
“ We’re going to wait and see what happens before hiring more staff,” Gelker said. “There are a lot of factors to take into account, like the health of the Canadian dollar. We need that business, so we’re always willing to work with Canadian customers to pay duty on large purchases. We’re not in the delivery business, but we can work it out. There is a large ethnic population in Lower Mainland BC to whom this furniture will have great appeal. That’s where we will direct a lot of our advertising.”

Hrutfiord has been pleased with cooperation from city hall.
“ The city was very helpful in this process,” he said. “It was only three months from closing the sale on the buildings to the opening of the store. I appreciate the way they worked with us.”

After years of discussion about how to put the Blaine train back on the track to economic prosperity, something finally appears to be happening. All it takes is a dream, a lot of hard work, some civic-minded investment and that all important team player, Big Mo. Momentum has arrived and you’d better believe Blaine is ready.

Check-In Time: 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM Check-Out: 11:30 AM

Smuggler's Inn Bed & Breakfast On The Border Between Vancouver, Canada & Blaine, WA USA
	2480 Canada View Drive (9910 Canada View Drive), Blaine, WA 98230 (In 2008, we where given new Street Numbers, so this is why we have two addresses listed above. Sorry for any confusion).
	For Driving Directions to our Inn, please use Smuggler's Inn PDF Map with exact directions, rather than using MapQuest, Google or Yahoo Maps.

Reservations: (360) 332-1749
Innkeeper: Bob Boulé