Update Oct 30th 2011

The Coeur d Alene Tribe is wrapping up one project and in mid-project on another on their Reservation near Plummer and Worley.The one that is basicly done is The Gathering Place Apartments ,which is affordable apartments for Tribal members.The other is a new bus barn for the partial tribe owned Citylink bus service which is the city bus service in Kootenai County and part of Benewah.

In the hiring dept.,West Corp which is call centers for several large corp's providing them with some sales but mostly customer service agents at their 2 Spokane area call centers which are in the Holley Mason Building at 157 S. Howard and on Sinto in the Valley.They will be hiring 250 more people for the Downtown(Holley Mason) location. Applications  are on westemployment.com .

Carousel Boutique is now open in Sandpoint inside the Cedar St. Bridge Shopping Center on 1st in Downtown Sandpoint

Also new in Sandpoint is a new location for White Cross Pharmacy now on Hwy 2 in Sandpoint.

Big and good news on the non-profit front as Coeur d Alene's Dirne Clinic is consolidating  their 2 locations into the former Group Health Clinic on Park Pl.(off of Lakewood) The medical clinic on Ironwood and the counciling office on Lincoln Way will move into the new building while the dental services will stay over in the Lincoln Way building.

A sales center for Old Hickory Shed's is now open in Coeur d Alene on Lee Ct off of Appleway and directly next to the Home and Art Center.

Lake City Shoe Repair is moving from their existing shop in 6000blk of N Government Way to the strip mall the also house GoodDog and some other stores in the 3000blk near Costco.

Fast Way Freight System which is based in Spokane has taken over competing trucking company, Spokane Transfer .

Washington Water Sports, Which is the Mastercraft boat dealer along I-90 by "The Hub" in the Spokane Valley has gone out of business.

While it has been open since July it is worth noting the Freya Outdoor Food Court at the corner of Freya and Olive in Spokane Valley.The site is place for food trucks and similar to sell their food and the food court provides a small dining area.

Last update I noted that Casa De Oro on Hwy 95 by Cherry Ln. in Coeur d Alene had closed but now it's already changing over to a new restaurant called Susie's Home Kitchen which will have Meatloaf Burgers among other items.And I did also notice that the Casa De Oro on Argonne in the Valley is still open.

More very soon,as I still have over a page yet to add and am always looking for more news and info,feel free to contact me on Facebook or mjbehri@gmail.com

Trader Joe's Opens,etc...

The long anticipated Trader Joe's store in Spokane finally opened today at 8am in Spokane's Lincoln Heights Shopping Center at 29th and Grand Ave.(South Hill) The store is 10,000 Sq. Ft and is a very nice addition to the community.I visited the new store tonight but will have to go back when the store is a little less crowded.


Like this blog?
I'm finally updating the Facebook page for the site,"like" us on ...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641

I hope to get a update on the site again very soon,The economy may be poor but I still have a page and a half of items waiting to be posted,if this is a bad economy just think of what times can be like after times get better.The media shows the bad all day but I think the list shows good things are happening in Spokane/Coeur d' Alene business wise.

Update Oct 23rd 2011

A couple of companies locally have closed unfortunately,ABCO Wood Recycling has closed their Post Falls yard on Seltice Way citing a poor wood market.
Also,The Mexican restaurant  Casa de Oro on Hwy 95 at Cherry Ln. in Coeur d' Alene has also closed.With this one however I have noticed workers at the former restaurant painting and doing remodeling which may mean  another restaurant in the near future.

Celebrating their grand opening is the sister property of the Coeur d Alene Pet Resort called Paradise Pet Resort which is 11420 E. Jackson in Spokane Valley.

The Estate Store is a new store that looks similar to a thrift store in the former Miracle on Thrifty 4th Thrift store site next to The Bookworm on 4th in midtown Coeur d Alene.

The Hallmark store in Coeur d Alene's Ironwood Square shopping center has moved just down the way but into a larger space,The space is a former dollar store that was already split up a few months back to put in a new GameStop.

Thomasville Furniture just a block of Sprague on Howe Ave in Spokane Valley is closing and is having a going out of bussiness sale,They are mergeing the store in with their sister site at Ennis Fine Furniture on N. Division.

The tenants for the new office building by the pond in Riverstone have come up and will be Pacinian which makes products for the touch screen industry and has an office nearby in the Riverstone III office building which I would assume they would move out of.The other space will be a company with 5 employees called Riverstone Holdings which is promoting and selling off the remaining land and office space in all of Riverstone with the exception of retail mall.

The bridge over the Spokane River at State Line is set to be open by Nov. 1st which is big because it brings traffic back thru State Line and supports the business and bars in the small town famous for being the site of the Post Falls Cabela's.

Working on it...

Ok so it's been a while since i've updated this site,for which I apologize for.I hope to format the site to become more of a website and not just my personal blog.My plan is to post the updates on local business on weekends with other posts throughout other times of the week and adding a couple new features which will be added as time allows.And also build up the blog's Facebook page which for reference is here....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641?sk=wall

Thanks for coming...

 

Update on KYRS

As I reported earlyer,Spokane's Thin Air Community Radio(KYRS-LP FM) will be launching soon on their new full power station on 88.1.The station is hosting a 88.1 launch party on Nov. 5th at the Masonic Center on Riverside.Glad to see local radio growing and succeeding here at home.

Probably the biggest projects in the Inland Northwest,And a little rant of the day.

Every post I do on this blog highlights big and new projects in the Inland Northwest but perhaps the largest projects aren't new at all hince why they haven't been mentioned. but I figured I just post some info and maps on the US 95 project thru North Idaho,which I hear will include an a new interchange and entry to the Silverwood Amusement  Park north of Coeur d Alene and near Athol. But bigger is Spokane's US 395 North South freeway project which will create a new way to commute from Spokane Valley to the North side,like Northtown Mall and the Wandermere area in like half the time and from a travel and truck travel stand point will create a new much faster route to Canada.The new US 395 project would also open up new industrial land on the north side which means one very important thing,jobs. The only problem is the amount of time it will take to build since one part hasn't even secured the funding needed as of yet and to date the only open part of what will one day be a several mile long freeway is a stretch of 2 lane inbetween Freya and near route 2. So it is for now just a dream but one day will be a huge part of life in Spokane and will change many ways of doing business in Spokane.
Here is a map of the new US 395 North Spokane corridor project...


And for more info visit Wash DOT's project home page...
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us395/northspokanecorridor/

The US 395 project will also include a multi-use trail that will run the length of the project called the Children of the Sun Trail and a intermodal center.Hopfully I will get some pictures of the 395 project to post here soon.

The other project I mentioned the US 95 project which is upgradeing 95 to a freeway north of Coeur d Alene and a south of Coeur d Alene near Worley which appears to be largely complete except for maybe spots south of Worley which is an area  I don't have a lot of info on yet.
Here is a map of that project....


The map is a lot more vague but I hope to find a better one soon,all the info on the project is ITD's North Idaho district webpage at....
http://itd.idaho.gov/projects/d1/

New Canola plant in Warden will be big for the regions economy

Because it's not in the big city of Spokane,in fact it's in the small eastern Washington town of Warden which isn't far from Moses Lake,it hasn't gotten much notice but Groundbreaking occurred recently on Pacific Coast Canola's plant which is $109 million dollar project which will employ 35 right at the plant but many more directly involved with the operations,and will be one of this part of the country's only such operations. The plant will be complete in 2013 and will be defiantly be a welcome addition to the Eastern Washington community.

http://www.khq.com/story/15519409/new-canola-processing-plant-in-warden-expected-to-boost-local-economy

Or more info directly from Pacific Coast Canola on their site...
http://pacificcoastcanola.com/warden_crusher.php

Inland Producers could get new exports,which means $$$ for many.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/10/local-producers-anticipate-rise-in-exports-to/

Interesting article about the much needed support a new trade agreement with South Korea would bring here in the Inland Northwest for ranchers and other producers.

Update Oct 9th 2011

Rocking B Ranch Dinner Shows in between Liberty Lake and the small town of State Line,Id. has closed due to the owners retirement.The cowboy dinner show club has been a landmark for sometime so while it was a relatively small business it's sad to see it go.

Haupin's ,The electronics retailer with stores in Downtown Spokane and North Spokane on Divison will open a kiosk in River Park Square on the main floor to sell small electronic items.

North Idaho Dermatology has branched out to Eastern Washington with their new location at 2207 N. Molter Rd Suite#101B in Liberty Lake.

Essential Home Furnishings which was a tenant in The Village at Riverstone in Coeur d Alene has closed and merged in inventory with their sister store Quinn Essentials on 5th Ave in Post Falls which an ad said that that store has an expanded showroom now.

Bunker Buildings in Spokane has moved to 5605 N Market St.

Valley Power Sports in having a grand opening at 302 N Division in the Silver Valley Town of Pinehurst,ID.

The south corridor of the Spokane Arena is now home to an Irish themed pub called The Limerick Pub which is named after Spokane's sister city of Limerick,Ireland .The pub will feature many famous Irish beers,and will be open during all events at Spokane Arena.

Orlando's Mexican Drive-Up reopened in Coeur d Alene in a small but new and nondescript drive up building in the parking lot of The Skate Plaza at Hwy 95 and Dalton Ave.

Schweitzer Vision Center has moved into their new home at 20 N Evergreen Rd. Suite 102 in Spokane Valley.

Sunsational Tanning,Juice bar and Espresso is celebrating their grand opening in Spokane Valley at 1401 N Argonne Rd.

Cartridge World,an printer ink supply store is opening soon in a strip mall in front of the Coeur d Alene Costco.The address is 3524 Government Way.

Highroad Human Services in Coeur d Alene is moving from their current location on N Government Way to 7905 Meadowlark Way which is in the Prairie Commerce Park.

Northern Lights Tile and Stone,Which also sells carpet and most flooring has opened in the Tready Rock Plaza at 414 W Seltice Way Suite A.This building has been plagued with tenants coming and going so we can only hope this one will stay.The unit was formerly a used car dealer.

Miles Coffee has opened at 167 W Miles Ave. in Hayden.

And on the coffee note,Traffic Stop Coffee is a new coffee stand on Ramsey Rd near the Kroc Center and out front of the Ramsey Transfer Station. And new owners have bought a coffee stand in Spokane Valley at 5305 1/2 E Trent Ave. and plan to call their stand,Spocoffee.

The Plant Wizard at 3103 S. Grand Ave on the South Hill is closing,Their last day is Oct. 29th

Hattie's Quilt Shop is re-opening at the corner of Sprague and Evergreen in Spokane Valley.

Mercury Grill is a new diner which will have some deep fried desserts that are common at the fair and Pig Out in The Park such as deep fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.They are located at 14819 N Newport Hwy in Spokane.

I don't know what it is for sure yet but a liquor licence was applied for by a company called The Ref at 14208 E. Sprague in Spokane Valley which on Google shows up as the former Owen Auction Gallery building.My guess is a new Sports Bar but I will check.

Speaking of bars,Razzle's Bar and Grill is now open in Hayden at 10325 N Government Way.The bar is the former and smaller Beer Hunter bar at Hwy 95 and Hayden Ave.

Cospace CDA is new group in Coeur d Alene promoting Co-working and co-working events in the Coeur d Alene area.Their website and ad I found indicate they hope to have a permanent home to co-work in somewhere in the Midtown Coeur d Alene area soon,I will keep in eye out to see where and when.

Thrivent Financial For Lutherans has moved in Coeur d Alene from their old home on 3rd St to a new home at 133 E. Poplar.

Parkside Grocery opened a couple of weeks ago in the 1900 block of West Maxwell in West Spokane.The grocery is a small grocery/c-store but is different in that they have fresh local produce and healthy alliterative's

Right next door to Parkside Grocery is Monkey Business Cafe,which is a deli that opened around the same time as Parkside.The deli is a regular deli but does not serve any fried foods.

With a 1920's and 30's Theme,The Vault Social Club and Eatery is opening in downtown Spokane in the building at 120 N Wall St. on both the 1st floor and the basement,The resturant will be a speakeasy theme.

The popular Season Ticket bar on Howard St directly across from the Spokane Arena has been re-named The Tailgater Sports Bar and they also now feature the Spokane Comedy Club.

If you have more you'd like to ad,Maybe something going on with you business e-mail me at mjbehri@gmail.com

Elsewere in the Inland Northwest

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/07/harringtons-high-hopes/

This is interesting story re: life and business in the small Inland Northwest town of Harrington(Near Davenport) while Spokane and Coeur d Alene are the business hot spots for the Inland Northwest but the area has many of these small towns with such potential,I hope to cover them more in the future.

Update Oct 7th 2011

Max's Custom Pet Clothing is a new business in Spokane at Francis and Regal.

Amazing Siding and Windows is a having their grand opening at 2901 n Argonne Rd. in Spokane Valley.They sell VPI and Coeur d Alene Window Co. Windows.

Wallace,ID will next year be home to Silver Streak Zip Line Tours with a zip line thru the hills near town which is under development now.

Memories For You is a new small gift vendor at 2515 W Geiger Rd. in Spokane.

Andy's Pho appears to be a new Vietnamese resturant in Spokane at 3004 N Monroe Ave.

The former Isabella's Gin Joint on Main in Downtown Spokane is now the Saranac Public House.

The long awaited Sapphire Lounge has opened in Downtown Spokane at 901 W. 1st Ave. which is located in the building of The Hotel Ruby.

I've noticed a lot construction work inbetween the Mill River Senior Apartments and the brand new Frontier Ice Arena along Seltice Way in Coeur d Alene.I know that at one point a development company in Liberty Lake had proposed a 200+ unit apartment complex but since that was proposed some time ago now i'm not 100% sure that is what it is for so I will do some more looking into this and report on it soon.

Vin Rouge on E. 29th on Spokane's South Hill has closed due the owner not being able to secure a new lease on the building.The building is leased from Carl's Jr. and with the Trader Joe's store going in and improvements to The Lincoln Heights Shopping Center going on so close by Carl's Jr. would like to explore a new store on the site with all the extra traffic and shoppers coming.

On that note the Jack In The Box directly across the street from Vin Rouge at 3020 E 29th has also shut down,Jack In The Box has not said the reason for the closure.

The new Ross store at the corner of 29th and Grand in Spokane is now open for business.

Work crews are demolishing the former China South restaurant on Spokane's South Hill.They are making way for a new strip mall.

Flashback Second Hand Store is reopening with new owners in Pinehurst,Id. They are at 109 S. Division next to Barney's supermarket.

A much needed connection

Spokane International Airport has been awarded a $950,000 federal grant to secure non stop flight service between Spokane and Los Angeles. The flight was once an option from Spokane was a few years back but that has been long cancelled and now with 250,000 travelers each year flying out of Spokane for a destination in the LA area this connection will be huge but on a leisure travel appeal but opens up an easier way for the business traveler to get to that all important meeting .

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/28/grant-awarded-to-help-attract-nonstop-la-flight/

When on door closes,another one opens....

Changes are a brewing for the Post Falls area restaurant scene,The biggest news isn't good news though.Rob Elder's Hot Rod Cafe has officially closed their doors after being open for 14 years with a drop in sales of 40 percent in the last 3 and half years ( http://www.kxly.com/news/29412289/detail.html ) This means a lay off of Hot Rod's 40 employees but then there is the good news ,Burger King in Post Falls along Mullan Ave(out front of Wal-Mart,which is the former Mirastar gas station) will officially on Monday at 6:00 am and the good news is in that they will employ 60 employees ( http://www.cdapress.com/news/business/article_0dc18ddc-a137-5276-9499-4113be88e93e.html ) The only bad part is this opening is right at the same time as Hot Rod's closure so chances are many of their employees won't have the opportunity to apply should they want to.

And one more tidbit is that the from Greensferry Crossing / Casey's / A whole bunch of resturants over the years at the corner of Greensferry and Seltice in Post Falls is being converted and remodeled to become Sky Prarie Church which up until now has been meeting at the Post Falls Theater on Seltice near Kimball Office and River City Lanes.

Oh and I almost forgot the Breakfest Nook Resturant just a block from Hot Rod on Schmidmiller Ave. has changed to The Side St. Place but the signs says same great food just new name.

Exciting...

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/05/new-ground-breaking-on-riverpoint-project/

Ground breaking on one of the Inland Northwest's biggest projects both in price and size but also in overall economic impact to the region will be today at about 1:30 at Washington State Unversity's Academic Center which is also at the Riverpoint Campus. Construction has already started on the Riverpoint Campuses medical building in Spokane's University District which will cost $70 million, But will inject $441 million into the economy by 2017 and 1.6 Billion(with a B) by 2030. The groundbreak will be attended by Gov. Chris Gregoire, Sen. Lisa Brown, Sen. Michael Baumgartner, Mayor Mary Verner, WSU President Elson Floyd and others.

Update Oct 3rd 2011

It has been a bit since I did one of these updates so here you go.And don't forget if you have anything that you don't think I know about e-mail me anytime at mjbehri@gmail.com .Thanks!

Grand Openings have been going on for the new branch of Community 1st Bank inside the former Coldwell Banker at the intersection of Hanley Ave. and US 95 in Coeur d Alene.The bank takes up most of the building and some space is still available it appears.

KYRO Ice Arena is almost complete off of Seltice Way near Atlas in Coeur d Alene.However it is now called Frontier Ice Arena since the phone company,Frontier made a large donation to the project to help finish it.

Yutzen Sushi has opened in the former Thai Bamboo on N. Division in Spokane(Thai Bamboo moved to a newer building also on N Division) .Yutzen is a sushi restaurant from Seattle and although I don't know how much is offered I've heard they have a $1 sushi menu.

RTUI a company that sells those ad's and coupons on the back of your store receipt's is hiring 65 more people to it's call center on the North side of Spokane on Wellesley Ave. near the VA hospital.

The Hardwood Store in Coeur d Alene is moving north a bit to 250 W Miles Ave which puts it now in Hayden.

I'm not 100% sure if it's new or not but I've notice a couple of ad's for the Harrison Mountain Hostel and RV Park near Turner Bay along Lake Coeur d Alene and near the small town of Harrison.

Oct 1st was the grand opening for No Limits Mixed Marshal Arts on Biztown Lp. in Hayden.

The former Left Overs Thrift store in Post Falls has been sold and is now Thrift Addiction at 11518 E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley and their sister store,Thrift Addiction Too on N. Government Way(in the same strip mall as Government Way Antiques and near Home Depot)

in Coeur d' Alene

Forest Steel in Coeur d Alene is undergoing a major expansion by building a new building which some in the neighborhood surrounding their plant have complained about the sheer size of the building which will store steel.

Flaming Joe's Restaurant which has 2 other locations in Spokane has opened their new South Hill location at 2620 E. 29th Ave in the Rosauers Plaza.

While I guess it's been open for a couple of months now Downtown Groceries and Grocery store with a selection of Beers and Wine is open in what once was Northwest Map and Travel Book Center at 525 E. Sprague Ave right in downtown Spokane.

The Parisian Cupcake is another cupcake store open at 24th and Grand on the South Hill in Spokane.

Montrose on the Park townhomes are taking shape on the South Hill also.They are at 20th and Grand and will have the perk of being just a hop skip and jump(or a short walk,which ever suits you best...) to Mantio Park.

Rumor is Jimmy John's will replace Curves at the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center on the South Hill.

Sweet and Stout Cupcakes is setting up shop in Millwood where they will use commercial kitchen space to create their cupcake cooked in....wait for it...beer.They will be sold at Brews on Washington in downtown Spokane and soon other stores.Their site in Millwood will not be a storefront but only a place to run the company and bake.

Mackenzie River Pizza will open soon at 57th and Regal on the South Hill.

Ross will also be opening soon on the South Hill at 29th and Grand and they are now hiring for positions.

A brand new Ace Hardware opened at 9th and Monroe in Spokane a couple of week ago.

Subway will open a new location in the former Quizno's at 10th and Grand in Spokane.

The Kroc Community Center on the corner of Ramsey Rd. and Golf Course Rd. in Coeur d Alene appears to moving along nicely with the building of their new 2 story parking garage which will be a welcome addition to the center which has boasted larger then anticipated attendance ever since day 1.

Kootenai Prosthetics and Orthotics is building a new clinic on Polston Ln. in Post Falls near Super 1 Foods.

I still have several more items on the list to post so check back as I hope to post more tomorrow..

Gov. Otter in town Tuesday to attend 2 major groundbreakings.

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will be in Coeur d' Alene and Rathdrum Tues. .The first is a huge project for our area and that is the Vocational school,KTEC being built near Rathdrum. The groundbreaking has been moved up to 3pm so that Gov. Otter may attend the funeral of a soldier from Southern Idaho.I'll try to gather some more info on this project which has been in the works for sometime but is just now starting and will be a great to have to further the education of the younger generations.

The other groundbreaking is something I reported on last week,Underground Force, however I got my facts mixed up a bit and have since found out they will employ 150 not the 50 I had said.This groundbreaking is at 4:30 and is at the former Knife River site along Seltice Way in between Post Falls and Coeur d Alene.