Locally owned Valley fast-food joint opens
Spokane restaurateur Harold Fettig has opened Stop N Go Family Drive-In, a family-owned restaurant, at 6505 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley.

The 3,200-square-foot building had been occupied by a Zip's Drive-In for 32 years, which Fettig also owned. That restaurant closed in June and Stop N Go opened on July 6, says Phil Costello, Fettig's son-in-law and operator of the new restaurant. He says Fettig chose to close the Zip's because sales had never fully recovered after the completion of the Sprague Avenue-Appleway Boulevard couplet about 10 years ago.

Costello says the new restaurant will focus on traditional drive-in food that is reasonably priced and is ready when ordered.

"It's a throwback to yesteryear. The menu is really simple, it's hot and fresh and once you order it we try and have it right there for you," he says.

Stop N Go's menu includes cheeseburgers, fish-and-chips, chicken strips, fries, shakes, malts, and fountain sodas, all priced between $1 and $5. The restaurant only accepts cash to make the ordering process go faster and to eliminate the 3 percent to 5 percent fee of running debit and credit cards, which would have to be reflected in higher pricing, Costello says.

He says he has been in the restaurant business for about 12 years. He and his wife also own a Zip's location on East Francis. Fettig has been in the business since the 1960s, and is one of the original operators of Zip's in Spokane.

Stop N Go is a new concept, and Costello says if it is successful, he and his wife will open other Stop N Go outlets in the Spokane area.

The business employs 10 people.

Longtime teacher here opens tutoring franchise
Roger Gilstrap, a longtime teacher here, has launched a franchise outlet of a national in-home tutoring program, named Club Z! In-Home Tutoring.

Gilstrap, who is retiring from his job at a bible translation company later this year, says Club Z! has more than 350 franchises across the U.S. The Tampa, Fla.-based company's program features one-on-one tutoring to students of all ages, from elementary school to college, he says.

Club Z! offers personally tailored in-home tutoring to allow students to have a comfortable setting for learning, he says, but if the home setting is too distracting for students, the tutoring can be done at a library or in a public area.

"One of the main reasons kids struggle in the classroom is because of distractions there that affect their ability to learn," Gilstrap says.

He says he has vetted about 20 certified teachers here, as well as professionals who work in a variety of fields, to use as tutors in the program as they are needed.

He says most lessons are between one and two hours, and prices range from $30 to $40 an hour.

New pet boutique here sells high-end dog items
Kendra Cunningham, of Spokane, has opened Diva Dog Pet Boutique, which sells dog supplies, clothes, and toys, in a 720-square-foot space at 911 W. Garland.

"Spokane didn't have anything 'frou-frou' for dog owners; you had to order it all online," says Cunningham, who owns two Yorkies.

She says she chose the Garland Business District for its boutique-friendly atmosphere, and hopes to attract people on the street with their dogs.

She says dogs will be allowed in the shop to try on outfits and shop with their owners, as long as the pets are up-to-date on their vaccines and are well-behaved.

Cunningham says her shop will be an upscale pet store, but will have something for everyone, with products covering a wide price range. She says she also will have a pet photographer there.

She says she plans to have a "Pink Club" at the boutique which customers will be able to join with a membership. Through the club, they will be offered different pink-colored products each month at a discounted price. She says she will donate a portion of the membership fees and of the sales of the products to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a charity that raises funds for breast cancer research. She also plans to raise money for local animal shelters and other charities, she says.

Cunningham is the only person working at the shop now, but says she plans to hire some employees in the future.

Family opens Italian- Greek restaurant here
The Karatzas family has opened a Greek and Italian restaurant, Greek Street Pizza & More, in a 1,300-square-foot space at 3331 W. Indian Trail, which formerly was occupied by a Papa John's pizza outlet.

Originally from a small island in Greece, co-owner Peter Karatzas says he has had more than 45 years of experience cooking authentic Greek food and owns the restaurant with his wife, Cherryl; two sons, Vagelie and Telly; and a daughter, Margaret. The family recently moved to Spokane from Colville, Wash., after selling Cafe Italiano, a restaurant they owned there for several years, says Margaret Karatzas-LaDuke, Peter's daughter.

She says the new restaurant will offer 16 pizza combinations as well as a make-your-own option, and also will have traditional Greek fare such as baklava and gyros. Pizzas will be priced between $14 and $20, she says.

"We use the best ingredients, and we feel that selling a pizza for over $20 is unfair," she says.

She says the family moved to Spokane to open its business to be in an area with more traffic than Colville. She says they plan to open a Coeur d'Alene location soon, at 226 W. Ironwood Drive, and also hope to open a South Hill location in the near future.

Pest control business specializes in bedbugs
After working in the pest control industry for more than 10 years at several companies in the western U.S., Raymond VanderLouw, of Spokane, has opened his own pest control business here, named Enviro Pro.

VanderLouw says his company specializes in commercial and residential pest control, and he claims he can eliminate almost any kind of pest, including spiders, cockroaches, birds, rats, and other rodents and insects.

He says his company will specialize in bedbug control, after the recent increase of bedbugs in the region. The method he uses heats up a room to 130 degrees through four mobile heating units, which kills the bedbugs infesting the space, he says. VanderLouw says bedbugs are traditionally eliminated using chemicals, which takes longer and can be less effective than using heat.

"I am trying to get ahead of the curve here with this new technology," he says

Through the heat-killing method, VanderLouw says his company can get a space back into use within six to eight hours, rather than the several days it takes with a chemical extermination method.

VanderLouw is the only employee of the business.