By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON

Robin and Clyde Mack, from the Yakima suburb of Union Gap, became Ocean Shores property owners four years ago. Two years ago, they became Ocean Shores residents. At the end of June, they became part of the Ocean Shores/North Beach business community with the opening of Treasures by the Beach at 877 Pt. Brown Ave. NE.

That’s actually an unusually slow pace for these veterans of more than 20 years in the business of antiques and collectibles, restorations and repairs, buying and reselling. In this case, they started looking for a retail location in Ocean Shores at the end of May and signed a lease on June 9. Opening Day was less than three weeks later, on June 27.

After 18 years, they sold their former business, Gap Treasures, “and figured, ‘Why not? Let’s move to the beach! We love it there,” Clyde recalled. “Our five-year plan was to dabble in antique malls, and we were in two, then one closed.” For the past two years, they’ve been set up in Past & Present Mercantile in Aberdeen.

They’ve also had booths at the Renewed Antique Show in the Ocean Shores Convention Center, enjoying notable success at the latter. “It’s crazy, but people from the Antique Shows remember us as the one who had the big green tags,” Robin said, pointing to a big green tag on a vintage lamp.

She has a very good eye and is a skilled buyer. “Her being artistic as she is, that’s great,” Clyde said. However, “in the last two years, I’ve been buying at a higher rate than I sell at,” she grinned. “I have a problem…”

Then again, the couple seems to have it worked out. “I do a lot of repairs, painting, crafty stuff,” she explained. She “kind of dabbled all the time” when they first met at Clyde’s second-hand shop. After all the years, “It’s

what we love to do,” she said with a smile. Clyde said most of the stock in their new store has been bought in the last few months, and they have quite a bit waiting for open space.

He understands, “this is not a ‘need’ shop; this is a ‘want’ shop,” and enjoys working with people and even some friendly banter. A big part of the business is buying the good stuff for resale. “We’re always buying antiques, collectibles, good quality gold and silver,” he said. “Call us anytime and we’ll arrange to go see what you’ve got.” They also buy estates and run estate sales.

The store is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. “That allows us to have days off to go buy stuff and play,” he said. The couple can be reached at 509-961-5420, and via the Clyde Mack Facebook page.

Hood-to-Coast 2019

Seabrook’s success hosting the finish of the Hood to Coast Washington relay for the second year in a row this past month has now led to the North Beach coastal vacation town being named as both the start and the finish to next year’s race. Hood to Coast Washington is a one-day relay race that spans 77 miles. The Hood to Coast brand originated in Oregon and has participants from all 50 states and 43 countries.

With the conclusion of this year’s Hood to Coast, the Relay Series decided to make Seabrook the start and finish line due to the location being easier for runners to get up and go on race day.

“It is a fantastic honor,” says Seabrook founder Casey Roloff. “Hood to Coast is an amazing series that we have been proud to be a part of and our community loves it. We are glad to play an even bigger role next year.”

Registration for Hood to Coast 2019 can be made in Fall 2018 at http://htcraceseries.com/event/htcwa/

McDonald’s update

The remodeling project launched at the Ocean Shores McDonald’s restaurant the day after Memorial Day is now essentially complete.

Jon Martin, a member of the Ocean Shores City Council, whose day job is director of operations for Hanner Enterprises, the franchisee that owns six area McDonald’s locations, said some interior decoration, including a large artistic map of Ocean Shores, is all that remains.

The property is near the center of town at the corner of Pt. Brown Avenue and Chance a La Mer. The project combined a facelift for the building, opened in 1994, and an upgrade to 21st-Century customer ordering capabilities with four large, interactive touch-panel kiosks, in addition to regular counter and drive-through service.

Martin said ordering can be a time-consuming bottleneck at fast food restaurants, with the inevitable occurrence of a customer with a simple order stuck in line behind a family of six with questions.

“Using the kiosk, you can skip the line,” order and pay with a credit or debit card, “have a seat and we will bring the order out to you,” he said.

He noted, since the store interior reopened at the end of June, some customers have commented that self-ordering at kiosks must mean fewer jobs. “Just the opposite,” he said, explaining that bringing your order to your table, some physical layout changes from the remodel, and the ability to handle more orders, mean the store is actually adding employees, currently five more full-time slots.

A “Grand Re-Opening” event will take place in mid-September. Martin said “we would like to do something for the locals who support us year-round,” and added that some are on vacation and some tend to avoid the downtown area during the tourist season.

Home sales hot

Ocean Shores residential home sales “are at an all-time high,” reports Jeff Daniel, managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate. Daniel notes that 125 homes sold last quarter, up from 82 during the first quarter, for an average price of $218,218. Home sales prices are up more than 8 percent from the same quarter last year. At the end of the second quarter, there were 82 homes pending for an average list price of $268,518. The average home that sold last quarter in Ocean Shores was 1,406 square feet and took 74 days to sell.