Seasonal Businesses Gearing Up For Summer Traffic In North Idaho

‘Tis the season.

For North Idaho, “the season” isn’t Christmas.

Most seasonal restaurants, campgrounds and activities open their doors, kick out the kinks and tune up their cash registers this month. Last week Silverwood and the Farmer’s Market opened with new attractions. Many others will follow within the next couple of weeks.

Revamped Rockford Bay Resort enters the boating season next Friday (May 24) with the remodeled restaurant kitchen expanding to three meals a day. The midday sandwiches and soups will move from the roadside store to the lakeside restaurant/lounge building

Owners Geri and Larry Hyatt make a special effort to be community friendly, putting out a neighborhood newsletter and offering monthly neighborhood parties with live music. The Hyatts also own Zero Defects, a company with operations in Post Falls and Boise.

Expansion is the plan for success for Doc & Crockett’s restaurant and lounge, 1658 E. Miles, Hayden Lake. The redecorated, remodeled restaurant added 1,400 square feet to expand from six to 15 tables and from 12 to 27 stools.

“We had served 91 people at six tables and decided something had to change,” explained Manager Bob Stanley. He also admitted the place is named for the family’s two dogs. He joked that the dogs needed to be part of the business because feeding them was draining the profits.

With Chef Albert Alexander moving down the fairway from the Hayden Lake Country Club, versatility is a key to the menu. It varies from light fare (turkey burger, pasta and soup) to the exotic (garlic pepper prawns, steaks, rabbit stew and ostrich).

With a full-service bar, Doc & Crockett’s is open Monday through Saturday at 1 p.m. and offers dinner 5-10 p.m. It reopened this week.

Returning to the days of yesteryear, Wilson’s Variety in downtown Coeur d’Alene is adding a traditional soda fountain this summer.

The old-fashioned ice cream specialties and soft drinks will be offered at the fountain on the east side of the building, as it was for many decades. The west side of the place will feature variety items, over-the-counter drugstore items, gifts and souvenirs. A year-round Christmas store also is planned.

Originally from Orange County, Calif., where they had a similar store, owners Fred and Sheila Prim bought Wilson’s in 1994. They’ve thought about a new name of the place, but changing 70 years of tradition might be rocking the boat, she predicted.

Across the street, at 404 Sherman, Simply Elegant is a major new tenant in the Elder Building. The home furnishings and decorating store replaced Partners, a gift and decorating store that moved to the Wiggett Antique Mall.

Opening last weekend, the business offers Victorian to traditional furniture, with brand names of Century, William Allen, Lexington, Universal and Pulaski. Decorating items, gifts and collectibles include lamps, prints and silk florals.

Items that customers don’t see in the 2,500-square-foot showroom, they can find and order from catalogs.

“We can do the whole house, the furniture and the decorating,” said Dave Volking, who owns the business with his wife Patricia. The Volkings also own the Victorian Treasures store in Northern Lights Mall and Volking Construction.

Here’s a tidbit trio:

Personnel from more than 15 regulatory and service agencies will be available to help existing and potential small business owners at an information fair Tuesday, May 21. The Small Business Fair will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Bonner Room of the Student Union Building at North Idaho College. Phone 769-3333.

Communities along the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene may protest the 100 percent closure of the Thompson Pass Road this summer for its reconstruction. Their reasoning is that the road is being worked on four days a week; the other days money-bearing travelers wouldn’t impeded construction. However, other North Fork folks say the condition of the road is impassable (pun intended).

Calls and letters from businesses wishing to be included in this column are welcome. A news angle must be evident, such as new business, new location, new owner, new expansion, etc.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Nils Rosdahl The Spokesman-Review