Hip New Gourmet, Natural Foods Boutique Gets Off To A Fast Start

‘We tried to create a little of the Seattle shopping experience - the adventure, the appearance, the ambience - in Spokane,” says Linda Fossi.

Judging from customer reaction, the Bountiful Fresh Foods supermarket and deli at Main and Division has succeeded admirably.

“I can’t believe I’m in Spokane,” a patron of the Seattle-inspired gourmet and natural foods boutique marveled within my earshot during a recent visit. It’s a typical response, co-owners Fossi and Rebecca Rebmann told me.

They are convinced the new-wave venture offers the promise of financial success. “We’ve only been open five weeks,” reported Fossi, “and already we’re breaking even. Now, I’m ready to start making some money.”

The duo opened a similar store, called A Trip to Bountiful, in Coeur d’Alene four years ago, and it is prospering. Hence, the expansion to Spokane.

The Spokane supermarket’s deli features organic beef, pork, chicken and duck, prepared foods to take out or to eat in a dining nook at the front of the store, along with a juice/espresso bar. This is a world apart from the original health food stores of the 1960s. They were, and hereabouts still mostly are, unremittingly sterile and uninviting places more resembling a pharmacy or doctor’s office than a popular stopping place.

But the traffic and the clientele at this gathering spot make it clear a lot of people pop in as much to see and be seen as to shop. And for those in need of a stiff jolt, the coolest thing a person can do here is knock down a double shot of greenish wheat-seedgrass extract or sip a celery/carrot juice cocktail.

“We have the same prices as the supermarket,” claims Fossi, “only we give you organic butter and organic milk and saltfree, sugar-free cereal for $3 a box, in an upscale atmosphere. We get as many affluent South Hill shoppers as 30-year-old parents with tykes in tow coming in for free-range chicken and local eggs and low-fat prepared meals from our deli.

“It’s a happening kind of place,” says Fossi. “We’ve had designers come in and ask who did our design, and what style this is.”

The two owners did their own design, picked all the materials and colors themselves, and did as much of the construction as they could. But as to the style, the best Fossi can offer is “eclectic.”

Three words come to my mind. Inside and out, from the vari-colored linoleum tile in the entryway to a streetscape sprinkled with longhaired kids, dogs and derelicts, this place says “urban village hip.”

It’s a work of art.

Small-business outlook improves

Wall Street may have the jitters, but on Main Street the scene is serene.

Small-business optimism has reached a 1996 peak, according to the latest poll by the National Federation of Business Research Foundation.

Federation analysts said the surge in optimism is driven by improved earnings, stable inventories, strong hiring plans, an upbeat view of short-term sales and improved credit conditions.

But one in six small-business members cite difficulty finding qualified employees as their biggest problem - bigger even than “government regulation.” And that, the NFIB says, is a first in the 23-year-history of the survey.

Local duo seize opportunity

Continued corporate downsizing, decimation of marketing staffs, and the growth of outsourcing have created a new entrepreneurial niche for Mary Macri and Sandy Beach.

They are event facilitators. NorthWest Events LLC of Spokane plans, organizes and executes corporate events from concept to conclusion.

“We put on retreats, seminars, open houses, dedications, picnics, parties, and much, much more,” says Macri. “We coordinate with the client, the caterers, the florists, the decorators, the entire spectrum of service providers.”

Macri formerly worked in marketing for the Spokane law firm of Lukins & Annis, P.S. and the ad agency Gross Hatch Associates. Beach spent several years at Supervalu Inc.

Maybe we just have fewer tax cheats

A. Avery & Co., CPAs, challenges a recent report in The Spokesman-Review of a study that purports to show tax cheats are twice as likely to face criminal charges in Seattle as in Spokane.

“What bunk!” declares tax specialist Anson Avery in his firm’s client newsletter. “I know the service. THEY DON’T SPARE ANYONE. If you are an IRS auditor, you can count on being audited yourself.”

So why are fewer criminal tax cases filed per capita in Spokane than Seattle.

“I think,” says the veteran tax accountant, “it’s because we have fewer criminals.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes a notes column each Wednesday. If you have business items of regional interest for future columns, call 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review