By Doug Petrowski

Although his store had flooded Friday night, the owner of Dangerous Designs Company says he will be ready to open the brand-new tattoo shop “in about 10 days.”

Dan McGrew is opening the new business in space previously occupied by a couple of now-defunct pizza restaurants at 44th Avenue West and 212th Street Southwest. But Friday night’s events put a little scare into those plans.

“We had just put down a coat of paint on portions of the floor and were going to lay carpet in a couple of days,” McGrew said. “I came back to the shop around 10 and found the whole place flooded from rainwater coming in the two back doors.”

McGrew and his crew worked until 3:00 a.m. cleaning up; he was found Saturday re-painting what he had just painted the day before,” he said. “It set us back a couple days.”

McGrew has been a tattoo artist for 14 years. He is opening the 2,000 square foot space with savings and some financial help from his grandparents.

“My grandparents have lived in Mountlake Terrace since there were dirt roads out here and there was a stop sign, not a stoplight, at this intersection,” McGrew said.

McGrew himself has roots in this community; he graduated from Mountlake Terrace High in 1996.

Dangerous Designs Company will open with two employees, but McGrew has plans to add more in the future. He calls the new business “a high-end shop” that will also feature piercings. He’s already getting interest from potential customers who drive by and stop to peek into the shop.

“People see the TV shows about the art and become interested. I have people looking in here in their 30s, 40s and 50s who are interested in getting a tattoo,” McGrew said.