Empire Cycle adds Aprilia, Moto Guzzi motorcycle lines
The Spokane area's lone dealer for British-made Triumph motorcycles, Empire Cycle & Powersports LLC, at 7807 E. Sprague, says it has added the Italian-built Aprilia and Moto Guzzi lines of motorcycles to its inventory.

Bob and Debbie Ellis, who own the two-year-old dealership, say they added the brands in February, shortly before the annual motorcycle show here, and that the lines complement and expand their European-focused offerings.

The new Aprilias and Moto Guzzis range in price mostly from around $8,000 to $24,000, the Ellises say. Aprilia specializes in sport and "motard," or off-road and road-racing crossover bikes, while Moto Guzzi focuses on touring and standard street models. Triumph, meanwhile, offers touring, standard, and sport models, priced mostly from around $8,000 to $17,000.

Along with motorcycles, Empire Cycle sells new Arctic Cat all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles, Sym scooters, and Aluma trailers, and used motorcycles of all types, as they become available. The dealership occupies a 17,000-square-foot building the Ellises own, has full parts and service departments, and employs four people in addition to the owners.

Asian World market opens in Sure Save's former spot on Division
Yong and Hye Kang have opened Asian World Food Market in about 5,000 square feet of leased space at 3314 N. Division, the former site of Sure Save Grocery, which lost its lease last year.

Hye Kang says she and her husband formerly ran a convenience store and gas station, and they have "some grocery experience."

The couple decided to open an Asian food store because they are aware that many potential customers in the Asian community here have to travel to Seattle to get the products they want.

"We wanted to reduce the difficulty for people," Kang says.

Other Asian food stores in Spokane include Bay Market, on East Sprague; Oriental Market, on East Trent; and Oriental Food & Gifts, in Airway Heights. Kang says she expects Asian World to be competitive because it offers a wide variety of ethnic food products, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Filippino, Korean, and Japanese items. Asian World has also obtained a liquor license, and sells Asian beer and sake.

Former administrative staffer offers virtual services by contract
Gina Cozza, of Spokane, has started Invisible Business Solutions, a home-based venture she describes as a virtual administrative assistant service.

"A virtual assistant is an independent contractor who works remotely from their home office to provide a wide variety of business support services," Cozza says.

Some of the services listed on her Web site are: data entry and transcription, bulk mailings, meeting and event planning, travel arranging, document scanning, supply ordering, technical writing, data analysis, accounting, Web site development, and environmental site assessment research and writing.

Cozza says she started the business because she was laid off last year after 12 years as an administrative professional with an engineering firm here.

She says she has retained six regular clients, and has done individual projects for other clients. Cozza says she is doing "basically the same type of work I did before," but her clients don't have the added expense of paying for her insurance, vacation time, sick leave, or taxes.

C&C Grocery opens north of Coeur d'Alene
Lonnie and Christina Chase have opened C&C Grocery, a new convenience store located north of Coeur d'Alene, at the southwest corner of Atlas Road and Prairie Avenue.

The store is housed in about 1,500 square feet of leased space in The Landings, a recently developed retail center at 3280 W. Prairie, just south of Hayden, Lonnie Chase says.

He and his wife are the owner-operators of the store, and they have no other employees for now, although they might hire someone if they extend the store's hours in the summer, he says.

The store has a drive-up window through which customers can order and pay for items without leaving their vehicles, Chase says.

The Chases owned the C&C Qwik Stop convenience store and gas station on Northwest Boulevard north of downtown Coeur d'Alene for several years before they sold it last year.

"We didn't want to sell gas anymore," he says, adding that fuel is a low-profit item for convenience stores.

Other tenants at The Landings include a Snap Fitness outlet and a liquor store.

Jim Koon, of Century 21 Commercial Beutler & Associates, of Coeur d'Alene, handled the Chases' lease of the space.

New restaurant opens in Quality Inn on 4th
Leo and Carmen Felice have opened Manna Restaurant & Catering Co. inside the Quality Inn Downtown 4th Avenue, in space that formerly was occupied by Tuscany's on Fourth.

The hotel's general manager, Travis Tramp, says the hotel closed down Tuscany's, which it had operated, in November.

The Felices have leased the 2,000-square-foot space and are operating a restaurant there that seats 60, and also caters to groups in the hotel's four banquet rooms.

Leo Felice says Manna Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and serves a variety of "comfort foods" made from scratch, as well as specialties such as grilled salmon with pineapple marsala wine sauce and marinated grilled pork, as well as dishes from the Felices' native Venezuela. He says the restaurant has applied for a liquor license.

The restaurant has three full-time and five part-time employees.

Valley White Elephant renovation under way
Pat Conley, who owns Spokane's White Elephant Stores together with his father, John, and brother, Rich, says

the Valley store, at 12614 E. Sprague, is currently undergoing a renovation that will cost about $40,000, and is expected to be completed in May. The Conleys are financing the project themselves, Pat Conley says.

Walls Construction Corp., which built the current White Elephant structure at the Valley site in 1976, is turning 2,000 square feet of storage space behind the sales counter into retail space by installing 12-foot-high shelving that will be accessed with library ladders.

Conley says this will allow sales people to remain at the sales counter while helping customers, rather than disappearing into the storage area to find requested items.

The White Elephant primarily sells sporting goods, camping equipment, and toys. John Conley opened the first White Elephant at the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Napa Street in 1946. Today, the Valley store and the other at 1730 N. Division each occupy about 10,000 square feet of space and 50 regular employees and a number of seasonal employees work at both stores, Conley says.

Mariupol owners plan outlet on South Hill


Tatyana Chubenko says that she and her husband, Nikolay, plan to open their second Mariupol Deli & Bakery outlet in a few months on the South Hill.

The new store will be located in 1,200 square feet of leased space at 2915 S. Regal, near the southwest corner of Regal Street and 29th Avenue.

Chubenko describes Mariupol as a convenience store that specializes in European-style groceries, including imported meats, cheeses, candies, and cookies.

The Chubenkos opened their first store over a year ago, at 3329 E. Sprague. They operate that store with their three sons, and the family also will operate the South Hill store, she says.

The store is named for a city in southeast Ukraine, which is in Eastern Europe, where the Chubenkos are from.

Marshall Clark, president of Clark Pacific Real Estate Co., of Spokane, handled the South Hill lease.