Rick Sinnett
EVERETT — After 29 years of being across the road from Everett Community College, Julie’s Licensing Services reopened at its new home in the former Blue Moon Tavern building at 1331 Broadway.
As you step through the windowed door and onto the laminate wood flooring, you couldn’t picture it as a corner neighborhood bar unless you had been there before. The open wooden beam ceiling gives it a warmth you wouldn’t get in most commercial buildings. A fitting tone for the distinguished reputation of helpful service Julie’s has gained since it opened in May of 1992.
Julie Vannoy, who owns Julie’s, learned she needed to relocate her business in March 2021 due to EvCC’s expanding. She wanted to stay in North Everett on Broadway, an area she referred to as home during an interview. Vannoy found the perfect location in a defunct bar at Broadway and 14th Street.
Vannoy didn’t think she would get the new location. After the Blue Moon Tavern shut down during the pandemic, the building wasn’t listed for sale or lease.
“This place was a challenge,” Vannoy said, “I had a couple of realtors send the owner letters and she would never respond.”
Persistence would pay off; Vannoy was able to find the owner through public records and contact them. She explained that the owner of the building housing the Blue Moon Tavern was interested in a change of tenant. After business discussions, a deal was made for Vannoy to lease the property with an option to buy, she said.
Although the bar’s closing gave Julie’s the ability to stay on Broadway, the pandemic threw another wrench, as license plate manufacturing has been paused to protect prisoners from COVID-19 exposure. This halt in production created a license plate shortage in Washington State, resulting in outsourcing labor to other states and rationing current stock.
Dealerships have been given priority to balance the demand for the dwindling plate supply with 60-day permits at the ready in case they run out. “If we run out of plates, we’ll have to print temporary licenses,” Vannoy said.
Julie’s Licensing Service may have a new address, but they are still on Broadway in North Everett serving the community.
Other businesses displaced by the college expansion were TheLab@everett, which moved to 2200 Hewitt Ave., and Expert Nails,, which moved to 3417 Broadway, Unit B.
