Mark Schneider • Rambleraven Gear Trader • 3220 N. Division, Spokane

I opened as NW Outdoors in 2017 as a consignment shop for outdoor gear and clothing.

Those first three years were challenging, but despite not having a large marketing budget, we’ve seen great year-over-year growth. Other than frequent ads in Out There Outdoors, we’ve depended on customer referrals and word-of-mouth to expand our market. We take pride in maintaining a high level of customer service and are continually humbled by the positive feedback we receive from the community.

When the stay-at-home order was issued in March, we were right in the middle of changing our name, a mixed-retail expansion, and launching a new website complete with full inventory. We reopened for curbside pickup on May 4, and although sales are down from this time last year, we’re confident that sales will increase as the restrictions are lifted and we return to normal life.

Despite the current economic uncertainty, the business is strong, and we’re excited about the future of Rambleraven Gear Trader.

Dean Haynes •  Tomato Street Italian Restaurant • 6220 N. Division, Spokane; 221 W. Appleway, Coeur d’Alene

With permission from the company’s Facebook page.

As you may have heard by now, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and all the uncertainties it brings, we have made the very difficult decision to close our downtown River Park Square Tomato Street (at 808 W. Main).

We will greatly miss all of our wonderful employees and fantastic downtown guests every day. However, our North Division location will remain open, and we hope to see you there.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported our family at our downtown location. We will certainly miss you but do look forward to seeing you up north. Likewise, our partner store in Coeur d’Alene is alive and well.

Brian Estes & Michelle Youngblom • LINC Foods • 3808 N. Sullivan, Bldg. 12P, Spokane Valley

Local Inland Northwest Cooperative Foods is a farmers’ cooperative that distributes local, farm-to-table products to restaurants, institutions, and grocery stores across the Inland Northwest.

Our business is built around connecting local producers to local markets, but this crisis has underscored for us the difference that community support really makes.

The COVID-19 pandemic required most of our wholesale partners to close their doors for the time being. With our member farms reliant on these local sales, we saw it as a necessity to adapt our business model to provide a market for crops already invested and in the ground.

A week after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee instituted the stay-at-home order, we launched the LINC Marketplace, a way for individuals to order from our member farms online for contact-free pickup or home delivery. Since the end of March, we’ve delivered over 800 orders of local food to individuals, supporting over 40 regional producers.

Pickup days are every Tuesday and Friday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. We have a mobile pickup on the South Hill on Tuesday in the parking lot of the Pathfinder Café, at 3026 S. Grand, and Friday, on the south end of the parking lot at Gonzaga University’s McCarthey Athletic Center. Pickup also is available on those days at our warehouse at the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, off Sullivan Road, in Spokane Valley. A home-delivery option is available via Treehouse Deliveries on Tuesday.

Although there have been moments of great uncertainty and challenge for our team, we are grateful to be working on such a worthwhile undertaking – helping to ensure our region’s farms can weather the current economic challenges while providing a safe way for our community to access healthy, local food.