Developer Launches Work On Upscale ‘Boutique’ Hotel In Downtown

Work is under way on a new upscale lodging establishment in the heart of Spokane’s downtown business core.

The Luzzo, a “boutique” hotel, will link together adjacent landmark business buildings at Sprague and Post, just across the street from the celebrated Davenport Hotel.

“We will add another touch of elegance to the historic district,” says owner-developer Joe Dinnison. “Luzzo is Italian for deluxe.”

The general contractor is James W. Elmer Construction Co. of Spokane.

The hotel will wrap around and over the popular Fuggazi restaurant on the Northwest corner of the intersection. Dinnison recently bought the upscale dining spot with plans to incorporate it into the operation of the hotel.

Fugazzi is the anchor tenant of the Whitten Building, which Dinnison bought and restored half a dozen years ago. More recently, he also acquired the adjacent Miller Building on the west. The two turn-of-the-century structures share a common elevator.

A specialist in historic restoration, Dinnison has bought, restored and returned to the downtown mainstream half a dozen major business properties in as many years.

Ben Franklin survives in small towns

Spokane once had two Ben Franklin stores. Both are long gone now, and when the venerable variety chain filed for bankruptcy last summer, it looked like the end for the century old five-and-dime.

But altogether unheralded in small towns across America, towns like Cheney and Deer Park, Wash., and Old Town, Idaho, hundreds of Ben Franklin franchised outlets continue to fill a niche on Main Street.

In the communities above, Bill Nation and wife Nancy own the franchises. “We try to offer the atmosphere and service of the old line Ben Franklins, while employing modern technology to make it all possible,” he says. “Socializing is a large part of our business.

“We have customers tell us, ‘You really don’t operate a store. You operate a meeting place.”’

But times have been hard, he admits, since the variety chain filed for financial reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code last July. Chicago-based Ben Franklin Retail Stores Inc. closed company-owned stores across the country, along with a large part of its distribution facilities, says Nation. “It has been traumatic for a lot of people,” he freely admits.

The franchisees’ supplier is scheduled to emerge from Chapter 11 protection in April. “We hope they will survive,” says Nation. “They are such a superior source of merchandise, and a fine company. We haven’t found another even close. They are shipping us about 80 percent of what we order.

“If they don’t make it, we’ll have to look elsewhere for merchandise.”

An ill-planned experiment with company-owned crafts stores contributed to Ben Franklin’s money problems, according to Nation. “The key to survival is a new financial package for 1997 - can they get it in place? If so, they’ll have a good shot,” he said.

Further clouding his personal outlook, he says, is “the rumor that Wal-Mart is coming out to the West Plains.” That would be a tragic twist because Ben Franklin, the quintessential variety chain, gave birth to the 800-pound gorilla of discounting that is Wal-Mart today. Sam Walton started with a Ben Franklin store, as Nation observes, and became the chain’s biggest franchisee before founding Wal-Mart.

“We sure hope they aren’t coming out this way,” he said of Wal-Mart. “That would put a serious dent in us.”

Nation started with F.W. Woolworth Co. in 1964 in Oregon. He joined Ben Franklin’s Portland district office in 1975. The couple bought their first store in 1981 in Cheney.

Besides his three stores, Nation says the closest surviving Ben Franklin he knows of in the Spokane area is at Sandpoint.

Straight answers to common questions

Responding to widespread weather damage, Washington State Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn has issued answers to oft-asked insurance questions:

Q. Am I covered if my car was damaged by falling limbs or because my carport collapsed on top of it?

A. Your car damage should be covered under the “comprehensive” clause in your auto insurance policy. Make sure you notify that company if different from your homeowner insurer. Damage to the carport should be covered by your standard homeowner policy. Note that each coverage would probably involve its own deductible.

Q. Somebody told me that I was responsible for preventing damage and that I wouldn’t be covered if I failed to shovel snow off my roof or take down a nearby tree as a potential hazard.

A. Not true. Your coverage protects you against all of the listed perils of its coverage. It requires you to report damage as promptly as possible, and it expects you to take reasonable steps to minimize damage once it occurs.

, 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