State TV ad filmed in La Conner

The old Palmer’s restaurant building was bustling with activity on Friday, with about 60 people filming a television commercial for the Washington State Health Plan Finder.

Locals hadn’t been expecting to see the restaurant full. The building fell out of escrow recently when the buyer backed out, citing uncertainty over state shoreline lease rates.

But on Friday, two actors dressed like blinged-out gangsters — one sporting gold chains and the other a tattoo in the shape of the state of Washington — were talking with two people who had recently signed up for health coverage through the Washington State Health Plan Finder, http://www.wahealthplanfinder.org.

The basic premise of the script was to show how easy it is to use the site.

La Conner’s waterfront properties, including the bank-owned former restaurant and Vaughn Jolly’s deck at the south end of First Street, became film locations due to the efforts of Doug duMas, a location scout who has filmed in La Conner before. Most recently he was here filming commercials for American Family Life and Chevrolet.

“I love it here,” he grinned during a brief break from filming on location. “It’s a beautiful little town, picturesque.”

DuMas also praised the town government, as well as local businesses for making the process of setting up in La Conner quick and easy.

Dick Nord of Windermere Real Estate is the listing agent for the old Palmer’s building, which went back to the bank in 2010. Nord said he got a call from duMas just days after the building’s sale fell through.

“It was a fluky phone call,” Nord said. “They called earlier the same week that they did the shoot.” Nord sprang into action, figuring the potential exposure would be good for the town.

Nord called Columbia Bank, which owns the old restaurant, and obtained permission for the film crew.

“It’s unheard of for a bank to move this quickly on a location approval,” duMas said.

DuMas also obtained speedy permission from Triton America, which owns Vaughn Jolly’s deck, and said he was amazed at how easy it was working through La Conner Town Hall for municipal permits.

DuMas made the most of his stay. He brought his wife, Cherry, and pup Tucker, and stayed the night at the Channel Lodge.

First thing he did, though, was stop into the Chamber of Commerce to pick up a coupon book. “Those things are great,” he said, “there are lots of things to do, and it’s only a buck.”

Mayor Ramon Hayes said he was happy to have the advertisement filmed in town.

“I think it’s great that they filmed here,” Hayes said. “We want advertising agencies to feel comfortable and welcomed here; we hope to see more companies coming in the future.”