Skateboard Shop Hits Banner Pothole

Mark Conley and Shane Nowka thought opening a business in the Spokane Valley would be an easy skate.

Conley, 22, and Nowka, 27, are the young entrepreneurs behind Locol Board and Skate at 12220 E. Sprague.

They saved their money, signed a year-long lease and ordered some banners to advertise the new shop.

That’s when the skate turned into an uphill ride.

The pair posted two $500 banners on the east and north sides of the building at Sprague Avenue and Pines Road that houses their shop, upsetting Walgreens RXPress pharmacy, their downstairs neighbors.

“We’re getting a huge corporate fist shoved down our throat,” said Conley, who removed the banners Tuesday. “They say the signs don’t make Walgreens look as professional as it should.”

The orange, red and yellow signs are about 10 feet long and four feet wide.

A spokesman from Walgreens said the signs may intimidate older customers.

“You don’t see 60-year-old people out skateboarding and Rollerblading,” said Michael Polzin, Walgreens spokesman.

“(Locol) wants to attract a modern, cutting edge clientele, and unfortunately the images we’re trying to project aren’t quite the same.”

Conley and Nowka said their landlord, Advance Corporation, asked them to remove the banners immediately, stating that they weren’t preapproved and were improperly located.

The lease signed by Conley and Nowka says all signs must be approved by the landlord before posting.

But Conley said he received verbal permission from the landlord to post signs on the building.

The landlord says otherwise.

“He was told where he could put signage and where he couldn’t,” said Thomas Hamilton Sr., president of Advance Corporation. “He asked to put up signage, but he put it up in the wrong place.”

Hamilton said Conley and Nowka should be happy they have a cheap lease. They pay $650 a month in rent, which Hamilton reduced to help them open the new business.

“I’ve done more for them,” said Hamilton. “They’re just kids.”

That’s exactly how Conley and Nowka don’t want to be treated.

After investing about $20,000 into their new venture, the two consider themselves business professionals. Conley’s family owns Conley’s Place restaurant and the White Elephant store in the Valley.

“They treat us like kids,” said Nowka. “But we’ve done a lot to remodel this place.”

Locol will sell snowboards, skateboards and inline skates. The 2,200-square-foot store will also feature clothing and skate repair.

The owners plan to hold a grand opening during the first week of October.

If Locol can present an alternative solution to the signage problem, Walgreens would consider it, Polzin said.

In a show of good faith, Conley and Nowka hired a contractor to draw up plans for banner frames, which could be posted on top of the building instead of the facade.

That is perfectly within the terms of their lease, Hamilton said.

“They have every right to go higher,” said Hamilton. “I like to see people make it. I can’t make money unless they do.”

, DataTimes