Spokane designers start new company

 

Carolina Johnson and Susannah Stoltz, of Spokane, have launched a new business here named SEAM Interiors LLC, a residential design investment company that they will operate mostly out of their homes.

Through that business, Johnson and Stoltz will purchase dilapidated homes, refurbish them, and then sell them.

Johnson separately owns and operates The Design Shop LLC, a six-year-old business once located at 228 W. Sprague and that she now operates from her home. In the last year, however, Johnson has put more effort into setting up the new business.

They work primarily on-site and out of their own homes, and are currently working on two projects, she says. 

“We’re seeing a demand for what we believe is our one-of-a-kind residential design,” Johnson says. “We totally restore them.”

 “I do feel it is important to say that we never list the sale price for more than what the comps say,” Johnson says, referring to comparable properties used for price comparison purposes.

As opposed to gutting the residence entirely, Johnson and Stoltz say they prefer to do restorations based on preserving as much of the existing home as they possibly can.

“We love restoring old homes and breathing life back into them,” Johnson says.

Johnson and Stoltz have been good friends for a decade and have worked on past projects together as independent contractors.

They were profiled on an HGTV program called “Bungalow Reno” that aired on April 17.

Johnson says HGTV has approached her and Stoltz about the possibility of running a 12-episode show based on their business.

—Kevin Blocker

 

New Wolffy’s slated for Airway Heights

 

The owners of Wolffy’s Hamburgers say they will open a restaurant in Airway Heights in late July or early August.

The new restaurant will be located at 12807 W. 14th, just south of U.S. 2, in a building formerly occupied by a Taco Time restaurant, says Justin Davis, who manages the Wolffy’s in Spokane at 1229 N. Hamilton near Gonzaga University.

The Airway Heights restaurant will be able to accommodate up to 60 patrons in 2,500 square feet of space there, next to a Yoke’s Fresh Market store.

“The game plan there is to specialize in breakfast and lunch only,” says Davis, whose parents first opened Wolffy’s in the mid-1980s.

Davis will operate the Airway Heights restaurant when it opens.

“I think we can marry those two concepts, breakfast and lunch, because we scouted that area for a while and could not find another location serving breakfast,” Davis says.

Planned hours of operation will be from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Davis says. 

Davis says his family has opened and closed three other Wolffy’s restaurants since the ’80s.

From 1988 to 1995, a Wolffy’s outlet operated at the intersection of Francis and Monroe in North Spokane. Another Wolffy’s restaurant was at Argonne and Montgomery in Spokane Valley and operated from 1989 to 2004. Wolffy’s Steakhouse operated from 1995 to 2006, near Mead High School north of Spokane, Davis says.

“People think the fact they closed means they weren’t successful,” Davis says. “They all did well. They closed because either good offers were presented for property from other businesses or personal reasons in the family.”

—Kevin Blocker

 

Auto Credit Sales  moves its Valley lot

 

Auto Credit Sales has moved its Spokane Valley car lot to the former Barton Auto facility, at 10819 E. Sprague.

The Barton operation there had closed following Lithia Motors Inc.’s acquisition of Barton Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Alpha Fiat last December. 

Auto Credit, which specializes in used-auto sales and financing approval, previously had been located at 5905 E. Sprague. 

The dealership’s general sales manager Mitch Vogel says this new location is more convenient for customers and allows space to develop a larger service department for vehicles. 

 “We freshened up the building with new paint, new furniture and outside signage, as well as a large LED light sign for the road,” he says. 

Vogel says the new facility includes a 19,000-square-foot building and a 120,000-square foot lot.

In addition to its Spokane Valley space, the company has three other locations, one in north Spokane at 2712 N. Ruby, one in Post Falls at 120 W. Seltice Way, and one in Hayden at 15047 N. Government Way. Vogel says the company has a total of 60 employees, or about 15 per location. 

Auto Credit Sales dealerships are owned by the Indianapolis, Ind.-based finance company, Phoenix Financial LLC. 

—LeAnn Bjerken

 

Chad White to open new ceviche bar here

 

New ceviche bar Zona Blanca is set to open later this month in downtown Spokane, at 154 S. Madison. 

The bar is the latest business venture of San Diego-based Top Chef contestant Chad White, who grew up in Spokane and recently returned with plans to launch a new restaurant. 

White says he does still have plans to open that new restaurant, to be called Native Post & Provisions. But while he continues to search for a location suited for that concept, he is working to open Zona Blanca. 

The bar will occupy 800 square feet of space inside the tap room of the Steel Barrel, an incubator brewery where local brewers can experiment and gain experience brewing.

White has spent the past 15 years living in the San Diego area operating two restaurants and traveling throughout Mexico. 

Because his cooking style is heavily Baja-influenced, White says Zona Blanca will serve ceviche, a South American dish that includes seafood or raw fish, as well as other appetizer-like dishes. 

“The bar will also serve mixed cocktails, local and non-local beer, as well as the beer they brew themselves at Steel Barrel,” he says.

In addition to its tap room, the Steel Barrel features a 1,000-square-foot brewery area, which owners Cameron Johnson, Joe Potter, and Peter McArthur hope to use as a shared space. 

Johnson says, “We plan to have multiple, separately licensed breweries sharing space and equipment here.” 

Current anticipated tenants at the Steel Barrel include Johnson’s Young Buck Brewing Co. and Potter’s Little Spokane Brewing Co., but Johnson says the space eventually will be home to three more breweries, with new companies rotating in as existing brewers leave.

—LeAnn Bjerken