For more than three decades, there’s been a print shop at 17627 Vashon Highway — a fixture of uptown Vashon life under several names, from Copy and Carriage to Vashon Copy Center. Today, it’s known as Vashon Print & Design, run by longtime owner David Henschman and his golden retriever, Bodhi, who greets customers at the door.

The storefront, known for its protest posters and community fliers, has long been part of uptown’s heartbeat.

Now, for the first time in its history, the shop is on the move.

“I have to close my store for the first time ever,” Henschman said. Since 1998, he’s only ever shut down for the holidays.

The first week of September, Henschman learned his month-to-month lease — managed by the owners of the neighboring restaurant Gravy — would end, giving him until Halloween to relocate. “It was a shock to my system,” he said.

The short timeline was daunting, especially given how few commercial spaces exist on the island and the complexity of moving high-end printing machinery, he said. Henschman requested more time, eventually securing a move-out extension to Nov. 15.

But even with the extension, Henschman said, he could have used more time. “It’s just a tall task to take what’s here so long and what I have and move it.”

Gravy, the restaurant next door owned by husband-and-wife team Chef Dre Neeley and Pepa Brower, has been an uptown staple for nearly a decade. The couple purchased the building over three years ago — including both Gravy and Vashon Print & Design — with the intention of expanding when the time was right.

“When we bought the building it was with the intention to secure our future, and hopefully expand one day,” Brower said.

The building totals about 3,000 square feet, split evenly between the two businesses. The expansion will give Gravy another 1,500 square feet — but the plan isn’t just to add tables.

“It’s going to be its own thing,” Brower said. “We don’t need to make Gravy bigger. We want to do something else to see about maximizing our earning potential and our brand potential.”

The new space, temporarily dubbed “Gravy 2,” will stay within the food, beverage and hospitality realm but will have its own identity. “It will definitely feel like us,” Brower said. “Dre loves to do different stuff and everybody in the town that knows him knows that.”

Renovations on the former print shop are expected to begin around Nov. 15, with plans to open the new venture by March 1.

Meanwhile, Henschman is preparing for his move — one he didn’t want but is learning to embrace. After an exhaustive search, he found the perfect new home for Vashon Print & Design: the soon-to-close Northwest Sports store, just down the street from his current location.

The new shop, located near Thriftway and Ace Hardware, may offer easier parking and accessibility — and while slightly smaller, it fits his needs perfectly, he said. He’ll begin transitioning equipment Nov. 1, close his old shop after the business day of Nov. 7, and reopen at the new address on Nov. 17.

The move coincides with a changing of the guard for another longtime island business.

After three decades running Northwest Sports, owners David Page and Rose Cecchini are retiring. The family-owned outdoor and lifestyle store has been a uptown mainstay since 1994.

“It’s time to retire,” Page said. “It’s been a fantastic experience and it’s one of the best things we’ve done.”

The couple attempted to sell the business over the summer but couldn’t find “the right person” to take it on. Since then, they’ve been liquidating inventory with deep discounts and plan to close for good within the week.

Page said he’s pleased that Henschman will take over the space. “They’re a perfect fit,” he said.

For Henschman, the coming weeks will be filled with packing — a process that’s as sentimental as it is logistical, he said. He’s spending Saturdays sorting through decades of paperwork, posters and memories. And he wants to reassure his customers: this isn’t goodbye.

He and Bodhi will still be there, ready to print posters, banners and keepsakes for the island. The protest signs will still fill the windows. Only the address will change.

“It really wasn’t my choice,” Henschman said. “But now that it’s all arranged — it’s a better thing.”

David Page and Rose Cecchini, the team behind Northwest Sports in the heart of Vashon town in June. (Alex Bruell Photo)

David Henschman and his golden retriever, Bodey, with their well-known sculpture outside Vashon Print Design. The piece will move with them to the shop’s new location. (Aspen Anderson Photo)

Vashon Print Design has operated in the same downtown location for decades but will soon relocate to the former Northwest Sports building. (Aspen Anderson Photo)