When Julie Ulrich moved to Bainbridge Island more than 50 years ago with her husband, she was young and energetic. She had no idea she’d become a serial entrepreneur and the driving force behind three of the island’s well-known businesses.

Through her love of people and a knack for creating cozy places, she unintentionally created businesses that still attract tourists and locals to these community gathering spaces.

Ulrich is originally from Ketchikan, Alaska, and moved to Seattle, where she graduated from high school with a sense of adventure.

When she was 19, she and her husband, Paul Storey, were looking for something to do after he finished his time in the Air Force, and he dreamed of owning a bookstore.

While visiting his sister’s family in Bainbridge, they discovered a small bookshop for sale and decided to buy it. At the same time, Storey was finishing his last nine months stationed in the Philippines.

With her father-in-law and a couple of friends, Ulrich transformed the small bookstore that sold a few paperbacks and tea into a cozy place now known as The Eagle Harbor Book Co.

“We built all of the shelves and jam-packed everything into that small space,” Ulrich said.

Ulrich had a lot to learn. She was very young and had no business experience, but “people were understanding, especially that first year. It was really fun, and there was a freedom and exploration of life.”

The bookstore was where she got to know the summer families who had been coming to the island for decades and grew to love them. “I was kind of a learner at the time, seeing things in a million ways through other people’s eyes.”

Eventually, she moved the bookstore to a new location across the street from the Streamliner Diner and hired her lifelong friend, Leigh Ann Giles. “We’re like sisters; we just melded. It’s just one of those wonderful things.”

Ulrich and her husband ran the bookstore for seven years and sold it in 1980. They bought a VW bus and set out to see the world. But, it didn’t last long; the VW had mechanical problems, and Ulrich found herself labeling car parts in the driveway of their Kingston home as her husband attempted to fix the vehicle. “I hardly got a tan.”

In 1981, Ulrich went back to her business roots and partnered with Giles to purchase the Streamliner Diner. With their husbands, they transformed the space and installed the main dining counter with the big stainless steel curve the restaurant is known for.

Storey made all the fresh desserts and special wooden boxes to transport them. “The lemon meringue cheesecake was my favorite,” said Giles.

Giles’ husband, Mark Richards, was integral in building the space and would often fill in as the weekend host.

“It was homey,” said Ulrich. “Every day, we offered bagels and muffins, and we had a 99-cent breakfast, which was coffee, a muffin, and one egg.”

As Giles and Ulrich reminisced, they had clearly enjoyed the experience. “The great thing is Julie and I had a great relationship throughout the whole thing, and we worked well together. We balanced each other out. We’re still friends,” said Giles.

The two ran the diner for four-and-a-half years and sold it. Giles moved to Bellingham with her husband, and Ulrich took some time off until she spotted a little corner spot in Lynwood Center that she thought would make a great place to set up a framing shop.

“The one thing I liked about it was the window that looks onto the street when people were walking into the movies. People could look in, and it was wonderful to see new faces,” said Ulrich.

Today, Julie’s Frame Gallery is located on Fletcher Bay Road, celebrating 30 years of serving the community by framing and preserving memories and mementos for island families.

She is transitioning the business to its new owner and long-time employee, Crista Dougherty, who has worked with Ulrich for eight-and-a-half years.

Dougherty said she had learned a lot from Ulrich about the art and precision of framing and caring for customers. “It’s a combination of helping someone understand the process without overwhelming it and finding something that works with their style.”

“My motivation for staying here so long is I like the atmosphere that Julie made here. She really cares about people. It wasn’t about saving costs or doing things quickly. It was about doing a good job and making people feel loved when they were here. Small business is about community,” said Dougherty.

At the heart of Ulrich’s business ventures on the island is a focus on community and creating places where people could find a good book, enjoy a piece of pie at the diner counter with a friend, or preserve a precious memory at the frame shop.

When she reflects on her past businesses, Ulrich said she didn’t have a grand plan. “It isn’t like you see the whole picture at first; all of these things have just come along. It’s truly been an adventure.”