Comedy Show Tonight!

Comedy show tonight, my treat!

I rented out a large section for tonights 8:00 & 10:00 shows at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. I went last night and the headliner made me laugh so hard, I had tears! Thank you to Dave & Angela for allowing me to reserve seats...

When you walk in, say that you are under CHOICE Insurance! Enjoy!!

Table 35 - West Seattle

*Table 35 has since closed

I wanted to take a moment and congratulate the gentlemen at the soon-to-open Table 35 in West Seattle. They have taken over where Ama-Ama Oyster Bar used to be, on the corner of California Ave SW & SW Edmunds St.

There are 3 brothers that will own and operate this establishment - all with amazing backgrounds in the industry. When you have a conversation with them, you can sense the passion they have to provide the best possible food for your palate. Sammy use to own Salute's (pronounced Suh-loo-tays) in Bellevue for many years before selling it just a few months ago. His plan was to possibly relax for a little while and enjoy not working every day...until a location and opportunity arose that he could not resist!

Seattle Real Estate tycoon, Leon Cappelouto, had a space open where Ama-Ama used to be located until July when they were forced to close the doors. Sammy and his brothers took full advantage of the space and have decided to give West Seattle another amazing restaurant with food that will blow your mind! I am trying to make sure that they keep their incredible homemade bread on the menu, and trust me, after you've tried it, you would want the same thing!

Cheers to the Faour brothers! Let's all enjoy the newest restaurant in West Seattle and support our local owners! Slated to open the first week of January 2010.

Papa John's To The Rescue

Just heard from the franchisee that Papa John's is donating ALL profits from today & tomorrow (12/8 - 12/9) to the police officers that were gunned down in Parkland, WA. I am so thankful for the businesses like this one!

In a time of need, these locally run establishments keep the community together and hopeful. I was shocked when I heard that Papa John's Pizza was putting together something like this. I first heard that it was for one day, then was later corrected by the franchisee that it was indeed a 2 day event.

My heart goes out to the individual(s) that made this happen! Nice job, Papa!!

4 Officers Shot/Executed in Parkland, WA

I can't get over the fact that an individual would sit and plan to murder police officers in cold blood, all of which were upstanding citizens and family boulders. Early Sunday morning, a suspect walked into a local coffee shop and opened fire on 4 police officers who who working on their laptops catching up on paperwork. 3 were killed instantly and the 4th put up a struggle, managing to get a shot off into the suspects upper torso.

What do you tell the 9 children that have been left without a mother or father? Seriously, NINE children are without one of their parents because of the conscious actions of a thoughtless individual. This is a sad time in Washington State where just last month, Officer Timothy Brenton was gunned down while sitting in his patrol car with a trainee. That suspect has been since apprehended.

Who are these 'vigilante' criminals that stalk police officers?? The most recent gunman, Maurice Clemmons, had been spotted by a Seattle Police Officer early Tuesday morning. The suspect failed to listen to commands by the officer and attempted to reach for a gun that had been taken from one of the previously slain officers. The officer then opened fire with 4 shots, killing the 37 year old man. To be perfectly honest, I am glad that things ended the way they did. With this days judicial system it would have taken forever to convict him of the murders, not to mention the thousands of tax payers dollars. In my mind, I would rather pay for the 4 bullets used to end the cop killers life.

For those of you who are not familiar with the slain officers, they are:

Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, a 13-year law enforcement veteran who leaves a wife and three children.Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, a 13-year law enforcement veteran who leaves a wife and three children.
Ronald Owens, 37, a 12-year veteran who leaves a wife and daughter.
Tina Griswold, 40, a a 14-year veteran who leaves a husband and two children.
Greg Richards, 42, an 8-year veteran who leaves a wife and three children.

My prayers and condolences go out to their families and friends. Let's hope that this is the last of these horrifying acts. I sure hope these incidents don't give any ideas to others around the country.

Local Support Grows While Restaurant Arsonist Still At Large

It’s amazing to think that someone would intentionally set businesses ablaze, especially now. With restauranteurs feeling the pain of this economic position, the last thing they want to worry about is somebody out there during the night that is intentionally destroying their livelihood. There have been 14 intentionally set fires in the Seattle area since June, and this has a lot of business owners losing sleep at night…some of whom are even contemplating sleeping in their restaurants to avoid a catastrophe.

Seattle has always been a very focused and close knit community, especially when it comes to the neighborhoods that intertwine through the city. There has been a reward posted at $20,000 – but I don’t know if I would take the money if I had information…perhaps just some free meals would be payment enough, haha. That reward money should go towards getting the destroyed businesses back on their feet.

The most recent act was on Nov. 9 outside Olive You, which was said to have caused roughly $20,000 in damage. Local entrepreneurs and community residents got together on Nov. 10 to discuss options on how to prevent future arsons and catch whoever is doing this. Too bad real life isn’t like CSI where they can catch the guy in less than a day! Also, local businesses are assisting any way they can to help the restaurants that have been targeted. Wing Dome has offered to contribute some of their revenue to the Greenwood Fire Relief Funds. On top of that, the owners of Sip & Ship (a shipping service with an espresso bar) have agreed to let the nonprofit Green Bean Coffee House use their coffee-bar equipment and operate out of the Sip & Ship space while the burned-down business plans their future course of action.

To me, this is such an amazing act of kindness it blows me away. To see that Seattleites are still community oriented and so willing to assist in times of need, it makes me proud to live in such a great city! Thank you, Greenwood, for restoring faith back into our communities.

How the Coffee Shop Scene Is Altering Patron Behavior:

I was reading a recent article in Nightclub & Bar Magazine and it definitely made me think a little bit about how the "coffee shop" era has evolved our way of going out. Have you noticed the crowds through the night staying the same lately? More often than not, consumers are starting to “bar hop” less and less, and are beginning to treat their venue of choice much like a coffee shop.

The Starbucks and Tully’s of the world have “trained” the new generation of party goers by changing the way bar customers view going out. People want a place to sit and talk, and it’s becoming more evident with the lush establishments with big sofas and circle style furniture; they are setting the scene for people to get comfortable and stay with their friends all night. This is a great time to think about your décor and see what you can do to make it more inviting for patrons to stay longer.

The numbers prove that venues based solely around dance floors are taking a hit with the economy. The establishments that have one or two smaller, low-key dance floors are achieving higher sales-per-square-foot.

Current customer research shows that “lack of seating” is a large factor today; it was a nearly nonexistent comment 5 years ago. This all goes back to the preconditioning from the coffee shops. Teens start to hang out at these venues at an early age, getting them use to this type of interaction. In turn, this affects their adult behavior and preference in bars…they have been groomed to enjoy the calmer, more conversation driven environment.

The research and tracking conducted by Nightclub & Bar Magazine shows that guests are now staying longer at venues compared to 5 years ago. It’s not that patrons are more concerned about more stringent DUI/DWI laws, but more that this trend is based on a new social behavior. They believe it fits into the new “let’s sit, talk and have coffee” mentality of the new younger bar customer.

More Client Testimonials

“Brian is a pleasure to work with. He is very professional, motivated, and takes the initiative to get things done and get his clients what they need. Brian made sure that we had the best coverage possible throughout the different phases of our commercial project in Juanita Bay (property, renovation, and JBay). He always looks after his clients' best interests and continually looks for new ways to minimize the risks to their business. He is definitely someone you want on your team!”
Juanita Bay Holdings - Kekoa Kuhia:

“Brian's approach to selling insurance to my business began by reaching out to me via hard work, in a creative way that impressed me from the early outset. Once we had a chance to meet and talk about products his company offered, he's knowledge, willingness to over deliver, and non-pressure approach won me over. It is with sincere pleasure that I highly recommend Brian for any business insurance needs.”
Teddy's Bigger Burgers - Wes Case:

A Great Way To Increase Sales

I recently read an article in the National Restaurant News that discussed how restaurant owners are coming to realize that by hosting business meetings within their establishment is good business when it comes to boosting sales. Companies such as Panera Bread have introduced a new marketing tool that they are calling Let's Meet at Panera, which you can access by clicking here (currently only available in the Indianapolis area). This is not only a great way to boost sales, but it also let's your name get out into the business community, and the likelihood of them ordering food from you at a later date (whether for a meeting or not) increases significantly.

With the recession continuing, companies are hard-pressed to minimize travel expenses and reduce conferences. With this in mind, higher-end restaurants are providing tools to host meetings at reduced costs to the sponsors while increasing their own private-party sales. This is truly a win-win situation for everyone involved. To give you an example of a local restaurant that has taken full advantage of this - look at the Redmond location of Canyons Restaurant and read about their Business Technology Center. This is a truly genius and well thought out idea from restauranteur, Scott Perry... who also offers Gluten Free and Braille menus.

I recently attended an insurance function at Maggiano's Little Italy in downtown Bellevue. The room was closed off, equipped with a pull down screen for the projector, was fully catered and a great hosting environment (kudos to Zurich for location selection too). This is a much better idea than ordering lunch to be delivered to your office, around the meeting table with nobody to pick up the empty plates - let alone the small office garbage cans quickly filling to the brim.

These are all excellent points to touch on while putting together your marketing tools to enhance your business meeting demographic. Get in touch with me for further ideas on how to market to these institutions, I'm quite sure I could give you some key words to touch on if you wanted to send information to all of the local insurance agencies :)

Flood Warnings in South King County

The Washington State Insurance Commissioner, Mike Kreidler, has requested that all insurance carriers with homeowners policies in effect notify every one of their policy holders that the standard homeowners/business policy does NOT cover flood damage.

With the Green River Valley in serious flood jeopardy this fall, it is absolutely vital that business and homeowners take the necessary precautions to protect their assets...this is a very serious issue and should not be taken likely. We have seen people lose everything they have worked for to mother nature and it saddens me. This is one area where I know I can make a difference and salvage someones livelihood.

If you follow this link and read the article, you will find great insight and information on this matter. Just remember, Flood Insurance does not take effect until 30 days after the policy is written...so think about this now, not later.

Increasing Theft in Restaurants...In Broad Daylight!

I recently read an article that interviewed a bunch of restaurant owners on theft issues. Surprisingly enough, each one of them had mentioned how they have started to notice an increase in petty theft. The decor that hangs on your wall, that photo that you have in the restroom that you absolutely love, or the small painting you picked up in Paris. Most of the time, as you already know, restaurant owners probably spend more time in their establishments than they do at home...so it only makes sense to decorate your place with some of the things that you love and make you happy - it's sort of an extension of your home.

So what do you do about increasing theft on those valuable items? Do you take them down and replace them with something of less personal value? Do you bolt them to the wall more securely? It's sad that we even have to weigh those options to be honest...and to file a claim for such a petty theft is almost never even worth it.

A small suggestion might be to, yes, secure them to the wall a little better...perhaps schedule those items on your insurance policy that mean the most to you and that would more than likely be the most difficult to replace or find again. But for those items that have sentimental value, I would recommend placing them a little higher on the wall, perhaps even a fun spot on the ceiling to ensure their safety from the hands of thieves or showoffs.

Just remember, take a look around your establishment and decide which items you would like to schedule on your policy so that you can be assured they are covered not only from theft, but fire as well. Good luck!!

Recent Testimonials

Here are just a couple of recent testimonials from clients...

"Brian Hanson has done a great job for us. His knowledge of the restaurant industry has been very valuable and his attention to detail has been excellent. He has been very responsive to all our inquiries and questions".
Brix Wine Café – Dave Zimmerman:

"Brian Hanson shopped around for insurance for me and gave my restaurant a much better rate than I had ever been quoted before. He made insurance very affordable for us. I have since recommended him to two other restaurants and he did the same for both. Brian and Choice Insurance are excellent insurance brokers, I enthusiastically recommend him, and any business looking for quotes should certainly give him a try!"
Calamity Jane’s – Sara Aruguete:

The Importance of Business Income Insurance

Wise restaurant and bar operators protect themselves and other stakeholders in the establishment by insuring buildings, contents and other property with limits sufficient to rebuild or replace damaged property. But what happens while that property is being replaced? Property damage can often be extensive, even total. Such loss can certainly shut down or greatly reduce business operations for a time. Would it be just a few weeks or would it be several months or more? How are lost profits and other ongoing expenses replaced during a shutdown?
Such questions highlight the importance of Business Income and Extra Expense for restaurants.

Computers can be damaged or a complete loss. Paper and other records can be totally destroyed. Building rehabilitation and, in a worst-case scenario, full reconstruction take time - sometimes half a year or more, even if the original premises did not take that long to build. Don't forget to factor in the time to even get all the plans and permits ready.

How long would it take you to get your operation back up and running even under the best of circumstances and with plenty of funds set aside to cover all unforeseen expenses? Such unexpected interruption can cut deep into cash flow and savings.

Natural disasters (all too common) and terrorist events have proven to severely interrupt business income and personal earnings of millions of people. Sad as it is to even recall, there were thousands of restaurants and bars at and near ground zero in New York on that fateful day.

And in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, just think about all the various eating and drinking establishments that literally went under. Think of the people who owned the enterprises. Think of those who had to make the tough economic decisions to shutdown to never reopen again, anywhere. Did they all have flood insurance? Well, did they all have all-important Business Income Insurance?

Many additional eateries, pubs, bars, nightclubs ... faced surprise income interruptions during the California wildfires. These things (flood, fires, attacks, etc.) happen, and highly intelligent businesses make sure of their coverage adequacy and limits by consulting qualified insurance brokers and risk managers.

You can be sure that the largest and best run chains carry Business Income. Of course they can help spread their losses across other locations not directly hit by a disaster, large or small -- all the more reason for the smaller chains and single-location establishments to have full coverage.

And as we've seen, it doesn't matter which state you're in, disasters strike and accidents happen. Those smart enough to prepare by obtaining solid insurance coverage are able to budget their expenses and to position their business or businesses to ride out a period of little or no income to cover salaries and all other continuing expenses. They are able to continue paying bills and supporting their valuable and highly skilled and trained employees.

Because Business Income and Extra Expense can take on a number of formats, bar and restaurant owners should take great care when selecting limits, choosing coinsurance percentages, including/excluding payroll of non-management employees, and maximum periods during which coverage applies.

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