Teri Yaki Grill opens in Cd'A's Riverstone

Bill Betts, of Coeur d'Alene, has opened a Teri Yaki Grill restaurant in the Village at Riverstone northwest of downtown Coeur d'Alene.

Teri Yaki Grill occupies 1,500 square feet of space at 2384 N. Old Mill Loop, in a multitenant retail building just southwest of the Regal Cinemas Riverstone Stadium 14 theater complex, says Betts, who is the first Idaho franchisee for the Salt Lake City-based chain.

Betts describes the restaurant's fare as healthy fast-casual food.

The menu includes teriyaki chicken, steak, and shrimp; shredded pork; and ginger salmon, he says. Main entrees are served with rice or noodles and steamed vegetables. Customers also can order their entrees spicy with heat ratings of mild, medium, hot, or "death crier."

The restaurant also serves California rolls, miso soup, and edamame (steamed soy bean pods).

The food is made fresh, and sauces, marinades, and dressings are made in-house using Teri Yaki Grill's own recipes, he says.

Teri Yaki Grill has nine employees, Betts says.

Bob Spooner, an agent with Spokane-based commercial real estate brokerage Goodale & Barbieri Co., negotiated the lease.

The Coeur d'Alene eatery is the seventh Teri Yaki Grill overall, with five in Utah and one in Louisiana. Another Utah location is expected to open soon, the company's website says.

—Mike McLean

Modern Transport installs its first unit

Retired mechanical engineer John Barber, owner and sole operator of Modern Transport Systems Corp., in Spokane, says the company recently completed the first commercial installation of its trademarked invention, the MagneGlide Magnet Support System for large gates.

The system was installed on a 1,900-pound, 18-foot-wide, 20-foot-high gate at a new athletic field on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. The contract was valued at just under $10,000.

Using the MagneGlide system, the gate requires only about 12 pounds of manual force to slide it open and shut, which compares with about 70 pounds of force that would be required to open the gate without the system, Barber says.

The university was considering different kinds of gates, but with the size needed the gates would wear out quickly and be impossible to move, he says. An architect at the university had heard of Modern Transport's invention and recommended it, he says.

"It is a real-world application. This is an important milestone," Barber says. The university's contractors installed the gate, and Barber says he was present during the installation.

He says he has been working on the invention for more than 20 years. The magnetic support, or levitation, technology can be applied to any sliding door, gate, or panel that has to move back and forth, he says.

Hydrafab Northwest Inc., a Spokane-based metal fabricating company, manufactured the MagneGlide system for Modern Transport Systems.

—Audrey Danals

New bistro opens in North Side space

Spokane-based JWCJ LLC has opened a new North Side eatery called Evergreen Bistro that features a large selection of Washington state-made microbrew beers and wines along with appetizers and pizzas.

Owners Jon and Wendy Christeson launched the new venture in a 550-square-foot leased space in the Five Mile Plaza, at 1902 W. Francis, on July 19, says Connor Christeson, the owners' son and business manager.

The Christesons had operated a restaurant called Go Go Burrito at the same location for the past year and a half, but they decided to change it to a bistro featuring local specialty beers and wines, Christeson says.

Evergreen Bistro currently employs five people including the owners. It offers about 15 beer selections and 20 to 25 different wines, Christeson says.

—Treva Lind

Garland shop grows to offer men's clothes

ZipperZ Inc., a Spokane-based women's consignment store in the Garland District, has expanded its leased retail space to open a men's clothing division called MajorZ.

Julie Shepard-Hall, who co-owns the business at 905 W. Garland with daughter Erica Shepard, says after a shop next door moved earlier this year, ZipperZ took over the lease for that adjacent space. After doing some minor remodeling, the business opened its MajorZ division in July.

The two stores, now located in a combined total of about 800 square feet of retail space, have separate exterior doors but customers after going inside can pass through an internal walkway to reach sections of both ZipperZ and MajorZ, Shepard-Hall says.

ZipperZ opened in March 2012 in about 450 square feet of space. Shepard-Hall says both stores sell apparel, shoes, and accessories. Both stores offer to pay an item's original owner 40 percent of the retail price when the item sells.

Three people are employed at the two stores, including the owners.

Shepard-Hall also separately owns Integrity Insurance Solutions LLC, which offers health and life insurance services and is located at 3913 N. Post, also in the Garland District.

—Treva Lind

Fitness studio to open in downtown Spokane

Two Spokane business owners say they will open The Union this fall as a fitness studio in downtown Spokane, offering yoga classes and separate sessions for stationary bicycle workouts, called spinning.

Co-owners Tyler Lafferty and Nick Murto recently founded The Union Studios LLC to focus on the two fitness regiments and with the idea of incorporating upbeat music and lights, Lafferty says. The business, which is expected to open by mid-November, will lease 2,100-square-feet of space at 121 W. Pacific, he says.

"It will be competitively priced to other local yoga studios with drop-in classes starting at $15 and monthly unlimited memberships available," Lafferty says.

Lafferty and Murto also own Seven2 Inc. and 14Four Inc., companies in Spokane that provide digital and Web-based design services for national clients' online and mobile application projects.

Lafferty says he and Murto decided to open The Union because of their own fitness interests and to include playing upbeat songs during workouts, particularly hip-hop music. He says the studio likely will employ two full-time employees and 12 part-time instructors.

"It will be typical yoga in a fun, upbeat environment," Lafferty says. "We're both into cycling. We had the idea of bringing the two together."

—Treva Lind