Shoppers’ Imaginations Can Run Wild At New Coeur D’Alene Toy Store

A toy store where customers can get lost in their imaginations rather than in a warehouse of stacked aisles is the emphasis of Some Place Else, which opens Saturday in Silver Lake Mall.

Items in the 3,250-square-foot store (next to Sears) vary from incense to a $10,000 telescope to 250 different products in the glow-in-the-dark room. Most items are educational, scientific, entertaining or collectable.

“It’s a visual store,” explained Michael Amkruetz, who owns the business with his father, Jan. “It has play tables and all natural wood displays that make it more like somebody’s family room.”

Variety, high quality and competitive are additional adjectives he provided.

“A key factor is service,” Amkruetz said. “The salespeople have product knowledge. We won’t have a loss leader, like one advertised Lego toy, just to get people into the store. We carry a full line offered by every staple (brand name) - Playmobile, Brio, Learning Curve, Erector, Lego. We’ll match any other store’s prices.”

Although stressing educational and scientific items to the extent that the store participates in school projects, Some Place Else doesn’t neglect the fuzzy side of toys. Included are eagles, whales, 14 types of monkeys, a 5-foot gorilla, a 60-pound turtle and dozens of teddy bears.

The Amkruetz family came from The Netherlands to New Jersey in 1988. They retired to Bigfork, Mont., from Bellingham, Wash., in 1992. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s in marketing from Western Washington University. He will manage the six to 10 employees in the Coeur d’Alene store. The family also has toy stores in Bigfork and Kalispell.

Most boys spend countless hours in the dirt. They make serious truck sounds and move mounds of dirt while constructing complex freeways and country lanes (lined with stick telephone poles) to their dream houses built with small rocks and driftwood.

To Frank Reed of Hayden, this is a dream come true. As of April 1 he will have quit his 10-year job as a mechanic at Auto Shack to pursue his special interest of building and repairing roads.

In his new business, Custom Road Grading, Reed utilizes two classes of Caterpiller road graders, a dump truck, water truck, two weights of tow-behind rollers, two scrapers and a front-end loader.

“I’ve been running equipment since I was 14 (in Plummer),” Reed said. He followed with welding and auto mechanics courses at North Idaho College.

Now he works with his toys. He offers free bids for individuals and contractors. Phone 772-1883.

The outdoors also is the work area for Northwest Plant Health Care, which offers holistic care for trees and shrubs.

“We take care of one tree or a whole property, a one-time visit or continual care,” said Joseph Zubaly, who opened the new business this month with his wife, Kate.

The focus is on the plant, not the pest, Zubaly said. A certified arborist, he uses a research-based approach to augment the health of the trees so they can defend against pests or adverse environmental conditions. (Remember the ice storm?) The benefits, he said, are reduced pesticide use, lower long-term cost and increased property value.

The Zubalys came to the Hauser Lake area from Chester County, Pa., in 1995 after a four-month cross-country trip. They will be at the Spokane Home and Garden Show April 4-6. Phone 777-0374.

Tidbits:

Although purists lament that the former Idaho-based Northern State Bank is now named Washington Trust, it’s a relief to not have to turn off the tiresome “banking from your point of view” radio jingle. Man, how many years was that ad combined with the sports news on Coeur d’Alene’s KVNI?

How about another customer service blow by the post office? Although the Coeur d’Alene post office improved its downtown parking problem when adding its Kathleen Avenue distribution center in January, it discontinued Sunday mail pickup. And, despite the possibilities, the new distribution doesn’t even have a mail drop-off.

My remark that the new Ameritel is classier looking than the Coeur d’Alene Inn brought some protests from the latter. Note that I wasn’t rating the service of the facility, just the look.

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