Sports card shop in Cd’A downsizes

Coeur d’Alene sports card and memorabilia shop Pick 6 Sportscards Inc. has moved to a 720-square-foot leased space at 610 W. Hubbard, says owner Sam Gasper. 

The shop, which first opened in 2012, previously was located in a 1,200-square-foot leased space at 2016 N. Main, in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone development. Gasper, who is the shop’s only employee, says he decided to move to reduce costs.  

“There was a lot of wasted space,” he says. “It’s also lowered my overhead by 60 percent.”

The shop sells sports cards, novelty items, signed and unsigned memorabilia, sports card supplies, and other sports collectibles, Gasper says. He says his inventory includes autographed memorabilia for four major sports: football, basketball, baseball, and hockey.

“We have mini-helmets, pennants, and car flags,” he says. “We also have bats and jerseys. I do framing for jerseys and stuff like that.”

Gasper says he would like to grow the shop’s offerings in the future, although he doesn’t have any specific plans at this time.  

—Katie Ross

Smoothie, juice bar opens on South Hill

Michelle Kinyon has opened Guice (pronounced juice), a stand-alone, drive-thru smoothie and juice stand, to serve what she says is the demand for healthier food choices on Spokane’s South Hill. 

Guice occupies about 115 square feet of space at 4502 S. Regal, in the South Hill Ace Hardware parking lot. The smoothie drive-thru is currently open Monday through Saturday, but Kinyon hopes to extend hours to Sunday by next spring. 

Kinyon operates the juice bar by herself, but says she may add an employee when she extends hours to Sundays. 

The Guice menu includes all-organic, nondairy smoothies made with a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as alternative milk products such as rice, almond, and coconut milks, and coconut water. Organic peanut butter and honey also are available in some drinks.

The smoothies and juices range in price from $4 for a kids 8-ounce smoothie to $6.50 for a 16-ounce drink. Additions to the drinks include booster shots of Echinacea, ginger and lemon, as well as wheatgrass, chia seeds, and protein powder. Organic bars are available to go, as well as a hummus plate with vegetables. 

Kinyon says she saw a need for a healthy juice bar as an alternative to the numbers of fast-food restaurants and coffee shops. She says this is her first retail type of business. 

 

—Judith Spitzer

Flower shop closes as owners retire 

The owners of Hillyard Florist have sold their building and are closing the store, says Larry Thomas, who co-owns the shop with business partner, Wendell Banning.

Thomas says he and Banning plan to retire.

Barbara Barry, who bought the property, says she plans to open Hillyard Gardens, a live plant shop and bistro there next month. Barry owns Total Cosmetology Training Center, also in the Hillyard neighborhood, at 5303 N. Market, which she says will continue to operate.

Hillyard Florist has been in operation nearly 30 years, Thomas says, adding that he, Banning, and the late William Crippen bought the business 25 years ago.

They moved the shop to the 3,500-square-foot stand-alone building at 4915 N. Market from another Hillyard location in 1991, he says.

Thomas, who has a degree in horticulture from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, says he landed in the floral field almost by chance.

“I got in the business by accidently taking an elective course in college in floral design,” he says. “There was no turning back.”

Thomas says he and Banning are grateful for the support Hillyard Floral has received from the Hillyard community over the years, noting that the business has handled orders coming from around the globe, including Russia, Poland, Hong Kong, Japan, England, Holland, and throughout North America.

Thomas declines to disclose the terms of the real estate transaction, which was brokered by Steve Peterson, of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson North.

 

—Mike McLean

Fitness center adds Riverstone location

Physzique LLC, a Liberty Lake-based fitness club, has leased 2,400 square feet of space in the Riverstone development, at 2480 Old Mill Loop, where it plans to open a new club in January.

The Coeur d’Alene club will be its fourth overall, says Zach Hunt, who co-owns the business with his wife, Amy.

Physzique offers fitness coaching in small group settings, customized workout programs, and nutrition counseling, Hunt says.

One of the club’s primary programs is a 12-week challenge series involving weekly weigh-ins in which Physzique’s coaches encourage clients to be accountable and committed to working toward their goals, he says.

The challenges include prizes for winners at each studio and conclude with a celebration to reward participants’ successes, Hunt says.

Physzique’s other studios are located at 1611 N. Molter, in Liberty Lake; at 8117 N. Division, on Spokane’s North Side; and at 2101 E. 29th, on the South Hill.

Hunt says Physzique also plans to open an outlet in Kennewick in January.

Physzique will begin taking new-client applications for the Coeur d’Alene studio this month, he says.

Hunt says quite a few clients already come from North Idaho to work out at Physzique’s studios in Spokane and Liberty Lake.

“Most of our studios are at capacity,” he says. “We’re limiting each studio to around 540 clients.”

The Riverstone studio likely will have six employees, says Hunt.

Doug Byrd, of Byrd Real Estate Group LLC, and Bob Spooner and Ryan Oberg, both of Goodale & Barbieri Co., negotiated the lease.

 

—Mike McLean