Aquarium shop offers full range of services
Don’t go looking for snakes or ferrets or cockatoos at Guppy Tales. As its name implies, the new store on Spokane’s North Side is all about fish.
And with 2,000 square feet of leased space to work with, owners and sisters Tina Hammond and Laurie Davenport have room for more than 50 tanks and 60-plus varieties of tropical fish. The store will carry 20,000 to 40,000 fish, plus tanks and supplies.
Guppy Tales will open Sunday at 3803 North Division St., at Providence Avenue. Look for the brick building with a copper roof.
It will offer tank setup, cleaning and water-testing services in homes and offices. The owners also plan a tank-relocation service, handling a complicated chore for businesses and residents.
The store also will operate a “fish rescue,” taking fish off the hands of people who no longer can maintain their aquariums or whose fish have outgrown the tank. They’ll quarantine the fish for a time, then keep or resell them.
Hammond and Davenport also plan a reading hour for kids, while their parents can kick back with a cup of coffee.
“It’s a very relaxing atmosphere,” Hammond said. “We have used books on fish and setting up aquariums, so they can read about what they may or may not want in the tanks.”
A grand opening event is set for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Sharpening service expands with Spokane outlet
The Cutting Edge Sharpening Service, a north Spokane business, will open its doors Tuesday.
Owners Karen and John Thurston already operate a Cutting Edge Sharpening store in Coeur d’Alene.
The Spokane store, which will take up about 300 square feet, is at 2915 N. Division St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Like the North Idaho store, the North Division location will also sell cutting tools. Information on the company’s services is at www.worksharper.com.
The Thurstons are also opening a nonprofit thrift store in a larger adjoining space at the North Division location. That store, called diVISION Thrift Store, will open Nov. 27, said Karen Thurston. It will operate Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will sell clothing, shoes, accessories and small household items, including toys.
Some of the items carried by diVISION will be purchased from North Idaho nonprofit Community Green Cross, which collects unsold items from Kootenai County thrift stores. The money Community Green Cross collects from diVISION will benefit a number of North Idaho charities, Karen Thurston said. DiVISION Thrift Store will also donate proceeds to Spokane community groups offering music education and health care. Interested nonprofit or educational groups can contact Thurston about that program at (208) 660-1359.
Retailer opens fifth Zip’s
Dennis Kelly recently opened his fifth Zip’s fast-food restaurant close to the Broadway Truck Stop, at a store at 6525 E. Broadway Avenue. He also owns shops at Five Mile Shopping Center, Monroe Street and Northwest Boulevard, 3rd Avenue and Lincoln Street and at Trent Avenue and Fancher Way. The new shop employs 15 people.
Industrial park has new tenants
Three new tenants have taken leases at the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, 3808 N. Sullivan Road.
•Statewide hunger relief operation Northwest Harvest is leasing 13,600 square feet in Building 15. The Seattle-based nonprofit provides food to more than 300 food banks and agencies across the state. The warehouse in the Spokane Valley will handle items distributed to Eastern Washington agencies, said Northwest Harvest Executive Director James Gibbs.
•Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest is taking 44,000 square feet in Building 18. The space will be used for storage and distribution.
•Cleaning & Restoration, doing business under the name Steamatic, is leasing 7,980 square feet in Building 11. The privately held firm provides residential and commercial cleaning and restoration.