Wake Up Call opens its eighth coffee shop

Spokane Valley-based coffee shop operator The Wake Up Call is planning to open its eighth location by year-end at 1621 W. Northwest Boulevard, in northwest Spokane.

The Wake Up Call has four shops in Spokane Valley and three in Spokane, each characterized by a large red England-style phone booth structure in front of the shop.

While the company’s previous shops all have been newly built, owner Christopher Arkoosh says the new store will be located in a converted, 1,250-square-foot former Albertson’s gas station, and will be the chain’s first repurposed location.

“We’d been searching for another location in Spokane, and this spot is a highly visible site,” he says. “Repurposing a building was something we hadn’t tried yet, so this is a really cool project.”

Arkoosh says the space is in the midst of a $430,000 remodel, which he hopes will be completed in time for a mid-December opening.

Spokane-based Yost Gallagher Construction is the contractor on the project, and TREK Architecture, formerly MAKE Architecture, also of Spokane, is designing it.

The Wake Up Call currently has 125 employees across its seven locations, he says, and plans to hire 15 more to staff the new shop.

Arkoosh started the chain in 2004 with the opening of a coffee shop at 1703 S. Dishman-Mica Road.

“Business is good. We wouldn’t be expanding otherwise,” he says. “Spokane is a fantastic market for building a loyal reputation.”

Arkoosh is leasing the newly remodeled space from NW Blvd. LLC. Chris Bell, of Spokane-based commercial real estate brokerage NAI Black, negotiated the lease.

—LeAnn Bjerken

 

Tool maker expands on original invention

The inventor of the Spare Me 5-1 Rescue Tool device says he’s expanded on the device, creating three additional features for a Spare Me 8-1 Rescue Tool.

Kevin Klier, of Colbert, Wash., and his brother, Dan Klier, created a crowdfunding campaign earlier this month, hoping to generate investor interest in the new take on their original idea.

At slightly more than 18 inches long, the 5-1 tool has a 5-inch-wide shovel to help remove debris, snow, and mud from around tires, and the shovel end can then be flipped over and used as an ice scraper on windows during bad weather. A flat, grooved, metal surface on the reverse side of the shovel is designed to provide traction on slick or deep surfaces by wedging it under a tire, and the tool also can be used for added leverage when changing tires.

Finally, it can serve as a tire lift when replacing a flat tire, Kevin Klier says.

Now, the Kliers are trying to generate funding to manufacture the same style of tool. However, the 8-1 device has a small attachment that’s equipped with a flashlight, a weighted metal end capable of breaking glass, and a blade that can be used to cut a seat belt, he says.

“The 8-1 is an extension of the 5-1. We had to start somewhere with production, so we limited the manufacture at first to the 5-1,” Klier says. “With the 8-1, we’re trying to get away from the perception that the 5-1 suffers from, and that’s this is something that’s merely a snow-traction device.”

Klier estimates 15,000 5-1 devices have been sold since it debuted at the beginning of 2016. The Kliers hope the 8-1 tool will be in production and ready to sell next year at an anticipated retail price of about $30.

—Kevin Blocker

 

Graphic artist, event planner share offices

Two businesses, Studio H creative and Encore Events LLC, have moved into shared space on the fifth floor of the Paulsen Building, at 421 W. Riverside, says Hara Allison, Studio H creative’s owner and creative director.

Each business previously operated out of the owner’s respective private residences, says Allison. 

Studio H creative is a graphic design studio that offers branding, print, and website design, she says.

Jennifer Evans, owner of Encore Events, says her event-planning business specializes in corporate events, with a niche for nonprofit clients.

Since purchasing Spokane trade show management company Showorks Inc. last year, Encore Events also offers alliance procurement fairs, through which small businesses can learn about working with different levels of government, Evans says.

She says Encore Events also plans events it hosts, such as Decadence! A Spokane Chocolate Festival, which is scheduled for Nov. 3 at the Washington Cracker Co. Building, and Restaurant Wars, a dining event that was held Sept. 30 at Avista Stadium, she says.

Allison and Evans are sole employees of their respective businesses, says Allison.

—Samantha Peone 

 

Pet supply retailer opens second store

Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile, of Spokane, has opened a second store in a 700-square-foot space in a multitenant building at 1206 W. Summit Parkway, in Kendall Yards, says Amy Barker, who co-owns the store with her husband, Dan Pringle.

Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile’s new store shares staff with its first store, located at 5608 S. Regal on Spokane’s South Hill. The two stores have a total of eight employees, Barker says.

Referring to the new Kendall Yards store, Barker says, “It’s a dog-friendly community here, so this is a good location for us.”

Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile carries natural and holistic dog and cat food treats, with nothing made from corn, wheat, soy, or animal products, she says.

The store also carries toys, pet-themed gifts, leashes and collars, beds, and other pet supplies and accessories, she says.

Barker and Pringle purchased Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile in November 2013 from original owners Don and Cyndi Cutler, who opened the store in 2009.

Barker says the couple had been approached earlier by Kendall Yards developer, Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Corp., about leasing the space, but they turned it down.

“But some time went by, we revisited the idea, and I’m now happy we did. This is going to be a good location for us,” she says.

—Kevin Blocker