Lighting and staging company expands

Silhouette Lights & Staging Ltd. has built a 2,400-square-foot warehouse at 6507 W. Alderbrook Lane, just south of the Geiger Field-Interstate 90 interchange, to accommodate its growing operations, says owner George Lathrop.

The new structure is roughly five miles west of Silhouette's main building, located at 2432 S. Inland Empire Way.

"We keep growing. We keep buying equipment and vehicles, and it's gotten to the point where it just doesn't fit any more," Lathrop says of the decision to expand.

He says he looked at properties that were available and decided, "It made sense to buy our own land and build our own building."

Lathrop says he and his employees completed most of the design work for the new warehouse. Mill Valley Construction, of Deer Park, was the contractor for the $250,000 building project.

Silhouette Lights & Staging offers consulting services to architects who design schools and churches. In addition, the company sells and rents equipment for theaters and outdoor stages at its Inland Empire Way location. It also installs permanent lighting and staging and sets up temporary equipment for productions. Venues in which the company has worked include the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Riverfront and Manito parks, and others as far afield as Seattle and central Montana.

Silhouette Lights & Staging has eight full-time and six part-time employees.

Central Asian eatery opens on E. Sprague


Kyrgyzstan native Andrey Chumov and his family have started a central Asian restaurant, called Chai Hana, in East Spokane.

The restaurant, which opened last month, is located in a 1,500-square-foot retail space at 3329 E. Sprague, next to a Russian grocery store, Mariupol European Deli. Chai Hana, which means "tea house," can seat up to 20 people. It employs three people and is open for lunch and dinner, with delivery available.

Chumov says the eatery makes its own Asian bread and offers pastries with meat, shish kebabs, fresh salads, and other fare.

"We have a lot of Russians in the Spokane area," he says. "They miss this kind of food."

While Chai Hana will serve a demographic similar to the neighboring Mariupol deli, the two establishments offer complementary items and don't compete, Chumov says.

Business plan writer starts coaching firm

A new business called Your Custom Business Plan has opened in a 700-square-foot space in the Valley Chamber Business Center at Liberty Lake, at 1421 N. Meadowwood Lane.

Owner Arla DeField says, "I love the incubator space because I am with other new businesses that are starting up. My target customers are new businesses."

Your Custom Business Plan coaches business owners and helps them research and gather data for starting or expanding a business, then provides technical writing expertise for creating a business plan. DeField charges a fee for service based on the complexity of the business and the extent of the help needed. Her fees can range from $300 to $7,000 for work she does herself, but she says she'll bring in other professionals for more involved projects, such as an industrial startup.

So far, Your Custom Business Plan has worked on business plans for a plumber, a website developer, a direct sales cosmetics company, and a pool and spa retailer.

DeField has a range of previous business experience, from owning a service and repair shop to real estate investing. In the medical field, she has worked in billing and managed a hospital department. She is a certified trainer-facilitator and will soon complete her training for a business coaching certificate.

For now, the business has no other employees.

Architect opens new firm in Coeur d'Alene

Element Architecture PLLC, a new firm specializing in sustainable design, has opened in Coeur d'Alene.

The owner and sole architect at the firm, Ryan Johnson, says he focuses on both environmentally friendly materials selection and design in his projects.

"I worked for a Missoula (Mont.) firm that was very focused on including sustainability in all their projects," Johnson says. More recently, he moved to Coeur d'Alene to be closer to family and worked there for Miller Stauffer Architects. In January, he opened Element Architecture and now works out of his home.

So far, he says he has been doing contract work for other architecture firms. The firm has no employees besides Johnson. He says he is marketing Element Architecture through Facebook and is developing a company website.

Motorsports shop opens in Post Falls


Veteran mechanic Bill Peyton and his wife, Michelle, have opened a shop in Post Falls, called Peyton's All-Season Motorsports, that repairs boats, snowmobiles, custom motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles.

The Peytons are leasing a 3,400-square-foot building and about 4 acres of land at 2625 E. Seltice Way.

"We mostly do repairs at this point, but pretty soon we're going to have parts," Bill Peyton says.

The shop works on all brands of snowmobiles, boats, and ATVs, plus Harley-Davidson motorcycles and custom choppers, he says.

Working at the shop along with the Peytons are their son, Nick; their daughter's fiance, Greg Manahan; and sometimes their daughter, Taylar, he says.

"I've been in this industry for 25 years, and I've always worked for other people. I've been planning on doing this for the last five years," and the right opportunity finally came up, Peyton says.

He says he expects the shop to benefit somewhat from pent-up demand following the recent closure of a couple of other Post Falls sport-vehicle businesses.