The Observatory now open in Downtown Spokane

The Observatory is now open for business in Downtown Spokane. But, despite the name, The Observatory is actually a cool new bar & restaurant located just blocks south of the STA Plaza at 15 S. Howard. The business is the same storefront as the Blue Spark and another short lived bar, and will be convenient to the Ridpath once people start living in the newly created apartments there.

The Observatory even has a cool new look, seen here in a look at the establishment's bar-

The Observatory opened earlier this month and has a full bar with vast whiskey selection.  Beer & Wine are also available and even many food items with a selection of appetizers and sandwiches. Among the food menu is unique items like the " fancy pants grilled cheese " and a few others. House made floats are also available .

The business employs 14 +/- and is open daily 11 am - 2 am . For more information on The Observatory find them on Facebook ( website coming soon ) at -

www.facebook.com/observatoryspokane

Prime Real Estate Group expands to Coeur d' Alene

A rapidly growing locally owned and operated real estate firm, Prime Real Estate Group, is undergoing an expansion. Prime Real Estate Group, was started in 2012 in Spokane by local broker Mellissa Murphy . And, in just that short amount of time, Prime Real Estate Group has made a name of itself getting homes sold and employing 25 agents. The company also started a sister company, One Property Management, that specializes in managing rental homes.

And, now the company is turning over a new leaf by opening a new real estate office in Coeur d' Alene. The Coeur d' Alene Prime Real Estate Group office will act as a satellite office of the Spokane office, which will remain in business in Downtown Spokane at 417 W. 1st . The Coeur d Alene office will be in the Riverstone development, leasing an office in the same office building as Kiemle & Hagood, an unaffiliated Spokane based commercial real estate firm.

The Coeur d' Alene office of Prime Real Estate Group will occupy 1,000 square feet of space with a small group of Prime's existing agents already licensed to sell homes in Idaho. Prime is also actively seeking to hire new agents, even with a " carrier night " event coming tonight in the new office for people wanting to learn more about a carrier in real estate sales.

Prime Real Estate has numerous listings all over our area with more always being added. For more information on Prime's listings, other ventures and how to sell with Prime, visit their website at-

www.propertybyprime.com

Or, visit them on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/primerealestategroup

Lots of business changes at Northtown Mall

Northtown Mall appears to be on the up and up. Their newly renovated north end seems to drawing in customers and the Buffalo Wild Wings in the new area is packed pretty regularly. There is even two more chain restaurants coming soon to that same area of the North Spokane mall. But, the restaurants aren't the only new business news coming from the mall, here's a look at what all we found new at Northtown during a recent visit-

New Rue21 location now open in Northtown Mall

Rue21 is not new to Northtown Mall, but this location is very new. The space is significantly larger then their original location and is open and modern. The new store also includes some new merchandise categories as well. The new Rue21 now includes a plus size department and a "Rue guy"

section for trendy mens clothing.

Rue21 can now be found on the first floor of the mall directly next door to Buffalo Wild Wings near the Northeast mall entrance and Kohl's.

New, larger Candy Works store at Northtown Mall

Moving just a couple of doors west of their original store location is one of my personal favorite stores at Northtown, Candy Works. Candy Works' new store is larger then their old store and offers more candy, candy bars, chocolates from Pixie Dust Chocolate, and related merchandise. Hard to find sweets are easy to find at this locally owned and operated business. The store is located on the second floor, next to Sprint and across from the food court entrance.

Go Games and other seasonal stores starting to fill Northtown

It's already November, which in the shopping center world means seasonal storefronts. The chain, Go Calendars & Games has set up shop on the first floor of the mall nearby Macy's and will likely stay in business there till early next year.

Also, Hickory Farms has already opened a kiosk on the first floor near Fuego and the Mustard Seed Restaurant entrance . We expect this is only the beginning, so keep checking up on Northtown as the Holiday season progresses.

Urban Blends Coffee opens new coffee kiosk in Northtown

Urban Blends is a coffee shop that's already in Northtown, their full service coffee shop still remains in business by Sears on the first floor of the mall. Their space there offers inside seating and even some beer & wine.

But, now for added convenience Urban Blends has opened a second location in the mall. The new Urban Blends is now open ( although it was still in the process of opening in the photo above ) and is on the first floor of the mall across from Buffalo Wild Wings and Kohl's.

Lucia's Boutique now open at Northtown Mall

Lucia's Boutique is a new locally owned and operated women's clothing boutique that has set up shop on the second floor of the mall. Lucia's sells a good variety of clothes and accessories and can be found next to Vanity on the northeast side of the second floor.

The new chain restaurants opening at Northtown Mall

Perhaps the biggest new business news is the upcoming openings of those two new restaurants at the mall. Both are under construction now and will be on the northeast side of the mall. They are a unique new setup as they will share a kitchen and back of house operations but will maintain separate dining rooms.

The new restaurants will be Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill , they are both owned by the same national restaurant group. Outback is relocating their location from the Franklin Park Commons shopping center here and this will be first Bonefish Grill location to open in Spokane.

So, when will Outback and Bonefish open for business?  Here are their opening dates-

Bonefish Grill - 11/18/2015

Outback Steakhouse- 11/31/2015


Many more new businesses could open at Northtown Mall-

These are the main highlights I noticed during my recent visit. But, the mall, with almost 915,000 square feet of leasable space still has several empty storefronts just waiting for new national and local businesses.

For more information on Northtown Mall or leasing a store space in the mall, visit their website at-

www.northtownmall.com

Or, find them on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/northtownmall

Coeur d' Alene Growler Guys grand opening this month!

The Oregon based, locally owned,Growler Guys chain is building upon it's successes in the Inland Northwest with two locations in Spokane already open. And, now The Growler Guys is only a couple of weeks away from opening a new franchise location in Coeur d' Alene.

The Coeur d' Alene Growler Guys will host a grand opening celebration the weekend of November 20th & 21st . The new business is located at 225 W. Appleway , behind the Walgreen's at the corner of US 95 & Appleway .

The new Coeur d' Alene Growler Guys will be a bit different then their locations in Spokane however. First of all, this location will have a drive though that is wrapping up construction of as we speak. And, while this new Growler Guys continues the chain's standard of filling growlers out of many taps, this store will also allow customers to sit in and enjoy a beer on site. This in addition to a limited food menu of wings, artisan pizzas and more.

Growler Guys in Coeur d' Alene will feature 48 taps for filling all sorts of growlers. Many different craft beers , many local , are available but also ciders, kombucha and cold brew coffees will also be on tap. And, during the grand opening , Growler Guys will be giving away 1500 free growlers with paid fill.

For more information on Growler Guys, visit -

www.thegrowlerguys.com

Or, like the local store on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/thegrowlerguyscoeurdalene

* The Growler Guys also remains open for business at the following locations in Spokane :
-9329 N. Newport Hwy
-1314 S. Grand Ave Suite 4

Inlandnwbusiness.com t-shirt's now available - show your support

www.booster.com/help-support-inlandnwbusinesscom-to-continue-providing-free-local-business-news-promotion

In case you must our posts on social media recently, Inland Northwest Business Watch, has created a t-shirt to be sold via the fundraising site Booster.com . They are available through the end of the month ( unless otherwise noted ) and will ship at that time.

Cost is $20.00 and, from my understanding, 12 t-shirts must sell before they are printed by Booster / Custom Ink . Here is a look at the shirt, basic, but still showing your support....

So, why are we asking for money? This is something we hope to rarely do, but is necessary to grow this site into vehicle to drive our local business community.  Profits are to further development of this site.

Although, not an official announcement Inlandnwbusiness.com is currently considering hosting a small business show and sale, next year at a venue in Downtown Spokane. Some of the profits will go to creating an excellent show.

Please take the time to purchase one of these via our Booster page at-

www.booster.com/help-support-inlandnwbusinesscom-to-continue-providing-free-local-business-news-promotion

New Dutch Bros. Coffee opening Wednesday in Spokane Valley

Get your punch cards ready, Wednesday morning, Nov. 11th is grand opening of Dutch Bros in Spokane Valley. This is the seventh Dutch Bros location in the Spokane area, and the first in Spokane Valley. All day on the 11th, this location will have medium drinks for $1.00, with proceeds going towards Operation Spokane Heroes ( www.operationspokaneheroes.com )

The new Spokane Valley Dutch Bros. is located at 20 N. Pines Rd , near the corner of Sprague & Pines , behind Denny's and in front of an abandoned former Albertson's store. The new store has the same look as all other Dutch Bros. locations seen above with two lanes of drive through and two walk up windows. This location employs about a dozen and is open from 5am - 10pm (11pm on Fri & Sat. ) .

In the Spokane area, all Dutch Bros. locations are franchise locations owned by Rep. Kevin Parker. The local Dutch Bros. locations also recently moved into a new headquarters office inside the former Pizza Pipeline HQ building north of Downtown Spokane.

For more information on Dutch Bros. Coffee , including a look at their menu, visit their website at-

www.dutchbros.com

And, find the Spokane locations on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/dutchbrosspokanewa

40 Below, a Snow Fluff business opening in Five Mile

Snow Fluff is a delicious frozen dessert with Taiwanese origins that is trending right now and popping up all over the nation. And, soon it will be Spokane's chance to try out the Snow Fluff trend with a new business specializing in it opening soon by North Spokane's Five Mile Plaza.

That business is called 40 Below, and currently they are in the final phases of remodeling their space, with an opening date happening possibly as early as the end of November. 40 Below will occupy about 750 square feet of leased space there with 4-6 employees, the business is locally owned and operated.

Snow Fluff is a frozen dessert that's similar to ice cream but ends up having the consistency of cotton candy. The Fluff is then topped with various toppings, like fresh fruits or popping boba balls, and 40 Below plans to have many topping options. Snow Fluff is frozen way below zero and then shaven into fluffy fresh powdered snow. In addition to the fluff options, 40 Below also plans to offer gourmet hot chocolates that come in several different flavors.

For more information 40 Below, find them on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/40below0

Doggyland moves to new building in Spokane Valley

With 3 straight years of winning the Best of Spokane award from KREM 2 News for best dog boarding, it's obvious that Doggyland is doing something right. And, now the locally owned and operated dog day care and dog boarding business is moving up to a new bigger building.

While Doggyland is in a new location, it is still in the same general vicinity of their original location and still in Spokane Valley. Doggyland has been a tenant in the Freeway Center building on Montgomery, that space is now empty as Doggyland has completed their relocation. Today, Doggyland can be found at 10021 E. Knox Ave. where all of the same services continue in a approximately 13,000 square feet building.

Doggyland welcomes all dogs and provides the following services-

-Dog day care

-Dog & Cat Boarding

-Grooming

-After surgery care

The business offers completive pricing on all their services and even offers a trial day to give dogs a chance to " socialize " with the other dogs at Doggyland to see if daycare there is a good fit for their furry family member.

They are open seven days a week with hours starting as early as 6:00 AM during the week. Photos of their furry customers are also regularly posted on their Facebook page, allowing human customers to check up on the pets.

For more information on Doggyland, including full hours of operation and rates, visit their website at-

www.doggylanddaycare.com

Or, find them on Facebook at-

www.facebook.com/doggylanddaycarespokane

New business, Urban Creek Delivery, offers IKEA delivery to Spokane

Spokane loves IKEA, many local homes, including my own, have IKEA furniture in them. But, there is one thing missing, a IKEA store in our area. In fact the closest IKEA stores are both over 300 miles away in Seattle and Portland. But, one new company, based out of Seattle is hoping to help the Lilac City out of our IKEA withdraws by providing delivery from the Seattle store to Spokane. And, this new company takes it one step further, by even offering furniture assembly!

The business is named Urban Creek Delivery, and is very convenient concept. Customers select what they want, submit a shopping list to Urban Creek Delivery and they do all the work. From shopping to assembly and then loading up their truck and delivering your items directly to you!

All IKEA items are available and delivery is still cheaper then the delivery providers IKEA uses, which cost a minimum of $350 in delivery charges. Urban Creek delivers merchandise to Spokane usually every two weeks, but that is dependent on the order volume. Urban Creek Delivery delivers to homes and also businesses, college dorms even storage units all around Spokane.

To celebrate the launch of Urban Creek Delivery, they are holding an exciting contest! Urban Creek Delivery is giving away $500 in IKEA furniture, with four pieces going out to four people! To enter to win, visit their Facebook page, listed below and click on contest!

For more information Urban Creek Delivery, visit their web site at-

www.urbancreekdelivery.com

Or, find them on Facebook at -

https://www.facebook.com/Urban-Creek-Delivery-1646671822280219/?fref=ts

"Spokane Tunnel Car Wash" project starting soon in West Central, evicting many.

In case you haven't heard the news via our area media outlets, a new car wash is being planned to be built in Spokane's West Central neighborhood. The project, which is currently called the Spokane Tunnel Car Wash , would normally not be a big news item. But, it's what is happening to the site before the car wash opens that is causing a stir, and possibly even re-starting the ongoing conversation about our city's dire need for low income housing options.

The car wash site sits along N. Ash , between Boone Ave & Gardner Ave. The site is currently occupied by several rental homes, most, if not all of those homes are occupied by low income families. The car wash developer , Sarff Investments , a Spokane Valley based company ( 13505 E. Broadway ) led by owner Harold Sarff, is only giving those residents 27 days to pack up and leave their homes. This, before the Sarff Investments team comes in to remove the homes, something many view as " immoral " .

The company proposes removing most of the homes on this city block leaving only a couple homes still standing on the Maple St side of the block. Here is a look at the block in question from above-

But, this purpose of this blog is to not get too involved in controversial topics, and just provide a source to find out about new business coming to our area. So, even though I, like many, agree this is wrong, here is what the car wash plan includes:

The plan was originally rumored to include a coffee shop of some kind, however that rumor is not true and the block will only house the new car wash. On permits the car wash is being called Spokane Tunnel Car Wash. However the developer , Sarff Investments , already owns one car wash in Spokane with a similar style, leading us to think this car wash may a second location of that business. That car wash is the Mega Wash Express Car Wash & Detail Center at 17316 E. Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley.

Sarff Investments issued a statement regarding this project , saying the new car wash will employ 12 with " well paying jobs " .

Here is a look at the site plan for the new car wash-

Although not confirmed by INBW, it has been reported that Sarff Investments has offered to help some people move out of their homes. There also has been some help offered on a couple of Facebook pages, one of the residents being evicted , Amber Salisbury , has even turned to a gofundme.com fundraising campaign to help her family move out of the block. Here is a link to her site-

https://www.gofundme.com/hp8mxdak

Although the evictions are for right now, there is no news on when construction might start. Keep watching this site for more on the project...