You are in seattle same as me, so the answer is easy.
http://www.greggscycles.com
Go to Greg's on Green Lake. They are the PREIMERE skate shop in the Seattle area. Lots of professionals and world record holding speed skaters buy their gear there. They know their stuff.
http://www.laterskater.com/
Also, consider the drive out to bellevue to learn from some really amazing skating instructors. The advantage to this is your friend can take a super cheap beginner lesson with rental skates in a very safe rink environment. Might be nice before shelling out the $$ for a pair of skates.