Once Upon a Child's grand opening today in North Spokane

After months of construction work to renovate the storefront, and sometime of buying products from the public. Once Upon a Child, will now host it's grand opening for their new retail store in North Spokane. This will be the second location for the chain in the Spokane market, with another store also open for business in Spokane Valley at 14401 E. Sprague.

This new Once Upon a Child is located in the same shopping plaza as Louisville Laser at 6005 N. Division. The store is just like all other Once Upon a Child's in that they buy and sell gently used " kid stuff " Of course they do have a large selection of children's clothing, but also toys & games, books, movies, baby equipment and some furniture. The merchandise is marked usually 70% lower then the retail prices, saving their customers money. Also, the store will continue to buy merchandise from the public even after the grand opening.

Although Once Upon a Child's merchandise is purchased from the public and not the wholesale route, the stuff one will find is still of top quality and up to date. The chain has a high merchandise standard, inspecting all toys and equipment and checking for any product recalls.

The new North Spokane store will open for business, today Jan. 28th, 2016 at 10:00 am. If you happen to be in the area they will also be giving away 5 $25 gift cards to guests on their first day.
The new location is a franchise location and has roughly 4,500 square feet of space and will create around a dozen + new jobs.

For more information on the new North Spokane Once Upon a Child, visit their local website at-

http://www.onceuponachildinlandempire.com

24 Taps Sports Bar expanding in Downtown Spokane

Open for business in the former home of Heroes & Legends Sports Bar at 829 W. Riverside, has been a relatively new bar & restaurant, called 24 Taps. 24 Taps is a sports bar with a growing customer base. And, they must be doing very well as the restaurant announced a major expansion just yesterday.

They plan to expand the restaurant into the vacant storefront next door to their current location. 24 Taps will renovate the storefront, turning it into more dining areas. Also, the front of the building will be converted to a patio dining area called Patio 24. And, in a coincidence the new restaurant space will move the entry onto Lincoln, meaning the address will be 24 N. Lincoln.

The space at 24 N. Lincoln was for a short time a board game café, but has sat vacant for the last couple of months. Here is a look at what the new 24 Taps space will look like once complete-

Construction will start very soon as building permits have now been issued, if it goes as planned the newly expanded space will open in April. 24 Taps is a locally owned and operated sports bar with 24 different cold beers on tap, many of them craft and / or local beers.

The food is a definite highlight of 24 Taps however, with many appetizers , sandwiches , salads and of course burgers. Customers will find many gourmet burger choices at 24 Taps, from the common to the rare like a poutine burger and a grilled cheese burger and more.

24 Taps provides a great place to catch most any sports game, with several TV's attached to the walls, airing most any game. It is also a great spot for a quick lunch as it's nearby River Park Square and some of Downtown Spokane's employers.

For more information on 24 Taps, visit their website at-

http://www.24taps.com

Or, find them on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/24tapburgersbrews

The Coffee Market opens in Hayden

Coffee stand owners, and coffee junkies will want to take make note of a new business now open in Hayden. The Coffee Market is located inside the same building as The Dome Indoor Soccer facility after branching off of the Midway Restaurant Equipment store in Coeur d' Alene, which is now under new ownership. Their address is 167 W. Miles Ave. , just east of US 95.

The Coffee Market is a locally owned and operated small business that sells all kinds of supplies for coffee stands and coffee shops. But, unlike some similar businesses, they are a retail shop that is also open to the public.

Customers of The Coffee Market will find sauces, mixes, some snack items, juices and more. And, by far the highlight of the merchandise is the large selection of flavor syrups, most any flavor and multiple brands. Here is a look at the inside of their store, from their Facebook page -

For more information on The Coffee Market, find them on Facebook at-

http://www.facebook.com/thecoffeemarkethayden

New Fairfield Inn & Suites planned in Coeur d' Alene

Although still in the planning phase, a new Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel is in the works for a site on Northwest Blvd. , near the junction with US 95 in Coeur d' Alene. The hotel would be built new on a lot that today,still has a small motel sitting on it. The site is seen here, with the still open Garden Motel on it-

The plan, which has not yet been officially approved calls for the new hotel to be built on a portion of the property. The hotel would be 4 stories with 56,000 square feet in all and an undetermined amount of new jobs created. The hotel will have 108 guest rooms and an on site surface parking lot.

Some surplus land would also likely be developed but as of now no plans are in motion for that space, perhaps a restaurant or similar. A drive though location of the Lean Bean Coffee also sits on the lot, directly off of the main road, the land owners hope to keep them in place at the site.

No news as of yet about a construction date or opening date so we will continue to watch this project...

More new bars coming to Spokane

Several exciting new bar's / clubs are opening up around the Lilac City. Here are the highlights of some of what's new-

Hillyard Library

Opening as soon late February, Hillyard Library Sports Bar & Barbershop is coming to Hillyard. The business is planned to open in a historic building at 2935 E. Olympic and is coming from the same ownership as Stationhouse Pizza, also in Hillyard.

Hillyard Library will offer a full bar with a liquor license recently filed for. In the bar area they will have a virtual golf simulator and TV's for sports games. The building will also house a new barber shop and tattoo shop.

They can be found on Facebook at- http://www.facebook.com/hillyardlibrary

Bartlett Bar

The Bartlett, an all ages live music venue in Downtown Spokane is growing it's business with a new bar in the same building. The Bartlett's bar, which is simply called The Bar, will be opening sometime this month.

The Bar is not large but will offer a full bar with cocktails, beer, hard cider and wine. A small one page menu of food will also be served, making this a perfect place to stop before a show at the Bartlett. The Bar's address is 228 W. Sprague, directly across Sprague from the Spokane Intermodal Center.

The Bar can be found on Facebook at- http://www.facebook.com/thebartlettbar

Or, via their website at- http://thebartlettspokane.com/the-bar/

The Reserve

Now open for business in Downtown Spokane's former Vault Social Club's space is a new bar and live music venue called The Reserve. Their address is 120 N. Wall St.

The Reserve has a nightclub style look with many lights and modern / hip look. The business has a full bar and a small food menu, that includes sandwiches, burgers and more. Catering is also available from their kitchen.

The Reserve can be found on Facebook at- http://www.facebook.com/thereservespokane

Or, via their website at- http://thereservespokane.com

Tedder purchases North Idaho Outlets in Post Falls, has big plans

Tedder Properties, a branch company of Tedder Industries has purchased both buildings of the North Idaho Outlets on Riversbend Ave. in Post Falls.

Tedder Industries , will lease the south building back from Tedder Properties for a manufacturing operation and corporate headquarters location. This after significant renovations, since the building has been empty for sometime. A goal is to have Tedder's operations moved into the building by " spring or summer". Tedder Industries is a locally owned and operated company making the Aliengear gun holster line. And, although Aliengear  Holsters are primarly sold online, they will likely have some sort of retail store at the site.

The company will move to the former outlet mall from two locations in the Coeur d' Alene / Hayden area. The move will relocate all of the companies 300 employees, but will likely not create any new jobs. However some more jobs may be created as the company grows, which happens a lot since the company started in the owners kitchen.

The north building of the outlet mall will also be renovated, but that building will be leased out to businesses. It will no longer be an outlet mall, but instead be marketed to local businesses, with no new tenants there as of yet.

The north building also still contains a small selection of retail businesses, none of which will leave as the owner says he's not kicking anybody out. Leasing for the newly renovated retail spaces will be done locally at a staffed on site office.

We're keeping an eye on this project for when construction will start and what new store / restaurant tenants may go into the buildings. A second outlet mall nearby, the Post Falls Outlet Mall is not involved in this project, only the North Idaho Outlets at 4199 & 4300 Riversbend.

Renovations of the Ridpath coming back on track... again.

Local developer Ron Wells has been working on the legal mess that is the Ridpath Hotel for a few years now. Wells' plan is to turn the majority of the abandoned Downtown hotel building into apartments, condo's and some restaurant space. Here is the details of his plan, including some example floor plans for the apartments as they stood sometime ago-

Ridpath Club Apartments plan moves foward ( photos and floor plans included ) - Posted in 2013, not all info is guaranteed, but assumed to still be the plan.

Despite some construction work already being underway, another development group, with a completely different plan recently blocked Wells from his plan to bring more housing to Downtown Spokane. That group, which included local businessman Steve Antonietti , had topped Wells' bid for a main block of the building, which is divided into " condo " space with many different sections and different owners.

But now, we're learning that Antonietti's group, has missed a series of deadlines to pay for their bid on the building's units. That group also had hoped to redevelop the Ridpath Hotel , but they hoped to turn it back into a hotel. The group, claims to be working with the Hilton hotel chain to re-open the building as a Hilton. This is however after the opening of the large Davenport Grand Hotel, just blocks away, and a Hampton Inn also coming soon to Downtown ( more on that soon... ).

Although this news means Ron Wells can move forward with planning, it doesn't mean it's official yet as there are still parts of the building that are not his. Wells will go to court next month to make the purchase official.

If he is successful with acquired the bulk of the building it will be huge news for Downtown Spokane, bringing more residents into the city center, allowing for more new business and even more new life Downtown. It's finally felling like we're nearing the end of the almost never ending legal battles that have surrounded this historic Downtown high rise.

1000+ unit apartment complex proposed in Spokane

Because of the large amount of new apartment complexes popping up in today's Spokane real estate market, I don't always get them posted on this site. But, there is one purposed apartment development that is so large it deserves a mention on this site.

In the Indian Trail neighborhood, on a " ghost subdivision " near the corner of Barnes & Pamela is where a developer is planning what would be one of, if not the largest apartment complexes in Spokane. Morningside Investments,LLC , with local developer Harley C. Douglass involved, are purposing building as many as 48 apartment buildings. The new, massive, apartment complex has yet to be named but may contain as many as 1,485 apartments.

 

The plan is only " conceptual " and is still in the planning process. Many neighbors in the neighboring subdivisions have already raised issue about the huge complex. Their issues include the potential for more traffic in a already growing area, and the potential for more crime. Because of this, we expect to see this project in the news on and off in the coming weeks.

 

If built as the plan stands today, some other lots will be set aside for 2 unit apartment duplexes and a community center directly in the center.

 

Currently the infrastructure is already at the site as it was to be built out as a single family home development. The land is sandwiched in-between another subdivision and a large ( but not near a big ) apartment complex called The Lusinano Apartments. Here is the site on Google Maps-



https://goo.gl/maps/P25RdjQ6WN32

We'll keep watching for more on this project as it advances....

Cooney Law Offices, P.S. moving to new larger offices

One of the most well known Spokane legal teams, with roots dating back several decades, Cooney Law Offices, P.S. is moving and expanding. The firm has been in business in Spokane since the 1940's practicing several different types of law. But during it's entire history, Cooney has been a part of the Garland District with offices at 910 W. Garland, that is until later this year.

The move out of Garland is because of their in-ability to expand at the Garland site, despite the law firm's continual growth. Cooney Law Offices, P.S. is moving a former church building at 330 W. Indiana after a full remodel of the building is complete, likely in a couple more months. The offices will take up about 5,100 square feet of space, on a site that does allow for future growth. Construction work on the building is being done by Mandere Construction with design work done by Uptic Studios

Cooney Law Offices, P.S. practices wills & estate planning , probate, personal injury , family law and criminal defense. There is no news as of yet about what business(s) may occupy the firm's former home in the Garland District.

For more information Cooney Law Offices, P.S. , visit their website at-

http://www.jcooney.com

Or, find them on Facebook at-

https://www.facebook.com/Cooney-Law-Offices-PS-169562409724571

Istanbul Tailoring opens in Northtown Mall

Northtown Mall has a new tenant called Istanbul Tailoring, and is not only unique to the Mall, but all of Spokane. That's because Istanbul Tailoring is both a full service alteration shop and Middle Eastern apparel retail store.

The store is small but friendly, located on the second floor of Northtown, in between Thomas Hammer Coffee and Digits Relaxation Spa. In addition to tailor and alteration work, the store's front has a good selection of women's clothing and Middle Eastern apparel including " modest and trendy " hijabs.

The store is open the same hours as the mall and joins a growing list of locally owned and operated businesses that have filled space in Northtown.

For more information on Istanbul Tailoring, find them on Facebook at-

http://www.facebook.com/istanbultailoring