Italian restaurant starts up in Cd’A

A new Italian restaurant, Uva Trattoria LLC, has opened in Coeur d’Alene to serve homemade authentic Italian dishes. 

Steve Van Zeveren, who owns Uva Trattoria with his sister, Lisa Van Zeveren, says the restaurant aims for a bistro atmosphere and features a wine bar. “Uva” is an Italian word for wine grapes, while a “trattoria” is a less formal version of a “ristorante”, or restaurant. 

Uva Trattoria has leased a 4,000-square-foot building at 2605 N. Fourth and employs about 15 people. The building formerly was occupied by a Fiesta Mexicana restaurant. 

“Aesthetically, we changed it from what it was,” Steve Van Zeveren says, noting that altering the décor to match the cuisine included painting and other modifications.

He says the restaurant is trying to focus on bringing in lunch-hour customers from neighboring businesses with lunch specials. 

“We also try to use organic when we can,” Van Zeveren adds.

Uva Trattoria is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

—Virginia Thomas

Energy consultant opens in Lake City

Sightline Energy LLC, an energy-efficiency and sustainability consulting company, has opened in Coeur d’Alene, says Ryan Arnold, the company owner and founder.

Arnold says he started Sightline Energy to help Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area architecture and engineering firms remain competitive and compliant with complex energy efficiency and sustainability requirements.

He currently operates Sightline Energy out of his Coeur d’Alene home and shared office space in McEuen Terrace, at 710 E. Front, in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Through energy modeling, Sightline Energy helps design firms understand how their designs affect energy usage, Arnold says.

He says he anticipates that Sightline Energy’s services will be needed by design firms that work on a variety of projects, including residential, commercial, and public works.

Sightline Energy has no other full-time employees, although it contracts with other consultants as needed, he says.

Arnold has been involved in energy efficiency issues for several years, recently as a building energy simulation analyst for a Spokane engineering company. Prior to that, he was a weatherization and technical monitoring specialist for the state of Idaho.

 

—Mike McLean

Tattoo shop to move into Kendall Yards

Mom’s Custom Tattoos, which operates under Brainspace Studios LLC, will be expanding and moving to a new Kendall Yards location early this fall, says owner and tattoo artist Beth Swilling. 

“I’m hoping October first at the latest,” Swilling says. 

The company has leased about 1,000 square feet of floor space at 1226 W. Summit Blvd. Swilling says the new location will be better for business, due to the more central location and a larger space. Mom’s Custom Tattoos currently is located in a 100-square-foot space at 319 W. Hastings Road, in a building it shares with Rocket Bakery. 

“I get a lot of people who say, ‘We couldn’t find you,’” Swilling says. 

Swilling is currently the only employee at Mom’s Custom Tattoos, though she hopes to have a piercer working with her by August. She says she also plans to add another tattoo artist after the move. The business also will sell hard-to-find jewelry. 

Part of the building where the tattoo studio will be leasing space currently is occupied by Brain Freeze Creamery. The space that Swilling has leased is being renovated to fit the needs of a tattoo and piercing shop, as well as adding rooms for private tattoo and piercing sessions, she says.

Swilling is eager to move into the new space, and hopes to have a soft opening in mid-October before hosting a larger event sometime in November. She plans to announce the move on her Facebook page. 

Swilling says she began tattooing in 2002, moved to Spokane in 2004, and joined a tattoo shop before starting her private studio six years ago. Her website is momstat2.com.

 

—Virginia Thomas

Dinner show venue reopens for season

The Rockin’ B Ranch, of Liberty Lake, is bringing back its Cowboy Supper Show for one weekend a month this summer in honor of its 20th anniversary, says co-owner Scott Brownlee. 

The show is running Friday and Saturday nights, with a Sunday matinee, on the second weekend of each month from June through October, Brownlee says. 

“We’re just ‘a-warsh’ with excitement,” he says. 

The facility, located at 3912 Spokane Bridge Road, hosts the show in its 12,000-square-foot barn. Brownlee, who started the supper show with wife Pamela, says they closed the show down two years ago, but demand was so high they decided to revive it for the anniversary. 

“We just had so many people come up to us in Costco and say, ‘Oh we’re so sad, can’t you do it one time in the summer.’ And this is our 20th anniversary, so we thought what the heck, let’s just do it one weekend a month.”

The supper show runs with 15 to 20 employees, Brownlee says, and features music, entertainment, and a barbecue dinner. 

The revamped supper show features its original star character, Deputy Dusty Bicuspid. The music for the show has evolved over time, Brownlee says, and currently features tunes like “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” as well as some remakes. 

“We do a completely vocal rendition of the William Tell Overture, complete with gunshots,” Brownlee says. 

The show begins with a shootout on an outside stage before heading inside the barn, Brownlee says. The opening features some special effects, including an exploding outhouse.

In addition to the supper show, the Rockin’ B Ranch serves as a venue for weddings, fundraisers, and other events, Brownlee says. 

 

—Katie Ross