local business :: SoundBiteBlog.com

In my last post I shared my excitement at the prospects of Keller Williams West Sound opening a new office location here in Silverdale, next door to Forza Coffee Company, in the Towne Centre Plaza at the corner of Ridgetop and Silverdale Way.

Well, unfortunately, those plans ended rather abruptly yesterday afternoon when a fire broke out at The Desert Sun Tanning Salon located in the west end of the commercial complex that is shared with Forza and several other area businesses.

You can read all the details in the recent Kitsap Sun article:

Malfunction in tanning salon bed apparent cause of Silverdale fire

Other businesses lost to the flames besides Forza and The Desert Sun included Hearing Solutions, Cigar Land, Ed Wyse Beauty Supply, and Cruise Holidays.

Keller Williams West Sound, based in Gig Harbor, had recently signed a 5-year lease agreement with the building’s owner, and improvements were scheduled to begin this week.

Fortunately, no one was hurt or injured in the blaze, but the entire complex was completely razed by the fire.

I’ve also posted a gallery of photos of the fire’s aftermath on my Facebook profile

So, what’s the step? Rest assured that Keller Williams West Sound is committed to establishing a local office/presence here in Kitsap County. No doubt a new location will be identified or we will negotiate a similar space next to Forza if a new commercial building is constructed on the current site.

Stay tuned!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Tags: fire, forza, keller williams west sound, local business, silverdale wa

Okay, so as I mentioned in an earlier article that I was recently invited to a private ‘invitation-only’  pre-Grand Opening dinner at the new Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar, located in the Town Centre Plaza in Silverdale WA.

The official Grand Opening is Wednesday, Dec. 16th.

As most of my regular readers know, a good number of my articles here on SBB highlight local businesses that I personally patronize and recommend. And many of them are restaurants.

And so I was truly honored and impressed when the owner of Fujiyama, Mr. Peter Chen, sent me two certificates for free dinners at their private event.

My wife and I arrived shortly after 7pm and were immediately seated around one of six teppan hotplates.

The first of several ‘pre-opening’ jitters occurred when I attempted to order a tall Sapporo beer. When you go to a Japanese restaurant, you assume they’ll have a selection of Japanese brews. The usual suspects were, in fact, listed on the menu – Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the waitress informed me that they didn’t have any Japanese beers available, and asked if I would like a Bud Light or a Corona? I passed and got water with a lemon wedge instead.

Patterned after the tradition of the restaurant chain,  Misono,  the originators of  teppanyaki-style cooking (similar to Benihana’s here in the US), Fujiyama’s chefs cook meals on gas-heated hotplates that are integrated into tables around which many people (often multiple parties) can sit and eat at once. The chefs perform the cooking in front of the customers, typically with a bit of theatrical flair—such as lighting a volcano-shaped stack of raw onion hoops on fire.

Our teppanyaki chef, Jeremy, was friendly, attentive, and skilled with various utensils/cutlery. He performed the infamous onion volcano, flipped shrimp tails into the air, catching them in his hat, and played ping-pong with a raw egg. Jeremy relocated to Silverdale from Olympia WA, where he was a chef at another Japanese Steak House owned by Mr. Chen.

Unlike some restaurants that charge you for every single course, Fujiyami serves up a wide array of elements as standard with their dinner entrees. You get a bowl of onion soup, a tangy tossed salad, choice of white sticky rice or fried rice, teppan-grilled vegetables with shrimp, and your selected entree. Prices for the dinner faire were fairly moderate, especially given the entertaining aspect of meal preparation.

Which brings me to our 2nd ‘pre-opening jitter. Throughout the evening, as our trusty chef Jeremy was cooking, the exhaust fans in the hood above the hotplate kept blowing smoke in our faces, especially my wife, Janice. Later, after the meal, while we were shopping at Target, we ran into some friends of ours who complimented Janice by saying, “Don’t you smell delicious!”

I ordered the steak and scallops while Janice ordered the Hibachi Chicken. For appetizers, we got the gyoza and fried oysters. Everything was very tasty, especially the teppan-grilled veggies and shrimp. My wife commented that her chicken was a little dry. We sat next to a nice family that had come all the way from Olympia to help support the event. The father was a contractor who had worked on a number of restaurant projects for Mr. Chen and spoke very highly of him.

As we were finishing our meal, ‘pre-opening’ jitter #3 happened – the fire alarm went off! Fortunately, we were at the tail end of our dining adventure and were able to exit before any permanent hearing damage could occur.

Overall, barring the numerous ‘pre-opening’ snafus that every new restaurant encounters, we had a delicious, enjoyable meal. Lord knows Central Kitsap is on the short end of the stick when it comes to fine dining experiences. Fujiyama is not just another place to grab a meal, it’s a fun, entertaining experience centered around good food meant to be shared with friends, or with strangers who will become your friends!

Given Mr. Chen’s proven track record of successful restaurants in Olympia, Las Vegas, Ohio, and Florida, he will no doubt repeat his formula here at Fujiyama Japanese Steak House.

Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar
9989 Silverdale Way NW, #109
Silverdale, WA 98383  (360) 692-5888
Corner of Kitsap Mall Blvd. & Silverdale Way. Same plaza as Big 5 Sports.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Tags: fujiyama japanese steak house, kitsap couty wa restaurants, local business, Silverdale WA Real Estate, where to eat in kitsap county wa, where to eat in silverdale wa

Okay, so a letter is hand-delivered to my office this past week, personally addressed to Rich Jacobson of SoundBiteBlog, care of Windermere Silverdale, from a Mr. Peter Chen, Owner of Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar.

Inside were two ‘Certificates of Invitation’ granting the bearers a FREE dinner at the VIP Open House of the new Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar. This is an exclusive private open house that is taking place prior to their official Grand Opening on December 16th.

I’ve been watching the progress of Fujiyama as they’ve been moving into their space in the Town Centre complex (Big 5 Sporting Goods, Emerald City Smoothie, Teriyaki Delight). But I’ve never met Mr. Chen.

I’m honored that he would select me as one of their VIP guests. The fact that he knows of SoundBiteBlog and my habit of publishing reviews on local area businesses, shows that he understands the importance of social media, viral marketing, and word of mouth in promoting his new restaurant. I like him already!

I’ll be back next week with a write-up, offering you my usual honest, unadulterated critique on Fujiyama Japanese Steak House & Bar.  Stay Tuned!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Tags: blogging, fujiyama japanese steak house, Kitsap County WA, local business, silverdale wa restaurants, social media