While some local retailers have left town hoping to find better business opportunities elsewhere, other companies have packed their bags and left bigger suburbs like Bellevue behind to set up shop in Kirkland.
Ashley Clark, CEO and founder of Callahan Concierge – a premier drive-through errand service – chose Kirkland because of its personable, small town feel infused with an upscale vibe.
She consolidated her company’s Bellevue and Seattle offices and this week opened the doors to her new location in downtown Kirkland on Central Way.
“Nothing beats the Kirkland strip,” Clark said of her new location. “No one wants to go in to Bellevue Place and go up an elevator. Here, you can come in and sit down with us. We’re all about personal service and (Kirkland) has added a whole new level to that placement of service.”
The concierge service started out four years ago offering individuals in-home personal assistants, and then expanded to corporations like Microsoft, which uses the company’s services as an employee benefit. With the new Kirkland location, Callahan Concierge also offers drive-up concierge services, starting at $34 per week for grocery shopping.
Clients can e-mail in their to-do list: go to Costco, pick up dry cleaning and groceries. A concierge goes out and takes care of the errands so “rather than after working a 10-hour day and going to stand in line at Costco, clients can just drive up to our storefront and we’ll put the dry cleaning and groceries into their car,” Clark added.
The company’s goal is to reach a whole new client base in Kirkland, including the bachelors and bachelorettes living in condos in downtown Kirkland who are just starting to climb the corporate ladder, she said.
“The exposure on the Kirkland strip is really going to benefit our company,” Clark said. “It’s the upper, higher-end clients who are use to our service – that’s who we’re targeting. In Bellevue Place, we just don’t get that exposure.”
Kirkland’s unique waterfront location also offers the company the opportunity to offer a whole new level of service – grocery delivery to client’s boats.
An avid boater herself, Clark knows when she is done with work and ready to go out on the water, it is a hassle to stop and get ice, water and snacks.
Whether they need ice, beer, chips or sandwiches, Callahan Concierge clients can call in with a list of items and a concierge will meet them at the dock and load the supplies onto the boat. Rates start at $35 per hour.
“So you can get right out on the water,” Clark said. “I think that’s going to be popular.”
Other companies, like UIEvolution – a leader in mobile convergence technology – chose Kirkland because of its potential to support growing businesses.
UIEvolution recently moved its location from Bellevue to its new 7,000 square-foot office in Totem Lake, on Northeast 122nd St.
For nine years, the company has worked to streamline design, development and delivery of rich application to millions of users, including AT&T, ESPN and the Walt Disney Company.
UIEvolution chose the Kirkland location to best serve the needs of its 35 employees by taking into consideration their commutes. With the new move, employees have reduced their commute on average of 10 percent a day, with an overall company savings of 220 miles a week, said president and CEO Chris Ruff.
In addition, he said the company is poised for tremendous growth and the Kirkland location will help serve those needs. New research indicates that the U.S. mobile applications market will grow to $9 billion by 2011, Ruff added.
“By relocating our offices to a new facility, we are able to leverage a new space, augment our existing staff and prepare ourselves for future growth,” Ruff said. “Kirkland’s thriving business climate and high quality of life for employees living in the area made it a desirable place.”
For information
Callahan Concierge will celebrate its grand opening on June 15 at 138 Central Way. Visit www.CallahanConcierge.com
For more information on UIEvolution, visit www.uievolution.com
