Peking Garden owners happy to be open again
The regulars of the Peking Garden restaurant were dismayed last February when a fire broke out in the kitchen and destroyed the building.
The business has been reborn and opened its doors, appropriately enough, on New Year’s Eve. “It took a long time,” said owner Ruth Lo. “We knocked down the whole building.”
It took time to get the insurance money before the restaurant could be rebuilt at 3420 E. Sprague Ave. The new building has a new layout, but is the same size. Lo is particularly proud of the stained glass ceiling tile in the dining room ordered from Taiwan. “It’s colorful. I don’t think there’s any other one in Spokane.”
Lo and her husband George had owned the restaurant for 31 years before the fire. “It’s been 10 months,” she said. “For me, it’s been so long. I’m so glad to come back and see my regular customers.”
Lo let her former employees know that she was reopening and they all quit their new jobs to come back and work at the Peking Garden. “It’s like family for them.”
The cause of last year’s blaze was never determined, said fire investigator Mike Zambryski.
The Crickets are coming
Spokane Valley Cricket customers will be pleased to learn there is now a Valley Cricket location operated by Wiser Wireless.
Store manager Tai Saito describes it as an independently owned Cricket store. “It looks, smells and tastes like Cricket, but it’s Wiser Wireless,” he said.
The location, which opened Dec. 20, sells only Cricket phones and accessories. Four phone models are available right now, but Saito expects new ones will all the bells and whistles to come in. “It constantly changes. It changes faster than computers, actually.”
The store, on the northwest corner of Sprague Avenue and Evergreen Road, is exactly midway between Cricket’s Coeur d’Alene and North Side stores. It’s also in an easy to find location. “Everybody knows where Sprague is,” Saito said.
Current Cricket customers can also come and pay their monthly bills at the store.
Grand opening
The UPS Store at 509 N. Sullivan Road will celebrate its grand opening Monday through Friday. There will be coupons and special discounts available, including black and white copies for two cents per page.
The business also offers packing and shipping services, mailbox rentals and office supplies.