Truly A Small Business

The name of the new store describes its contents in general; however, the very tiny items need a close look to appreciate their uniqueness.

Creative Gifts & Miniatures occupies two spaces between Lake City Shoe Repair and Videonics in the minimall at Fourth and Best in Coeur d’Alene.

The store’s inventory includes miniature items and accessories for doll houses and room boxes. Many gifts are made by area artists, including woodworking and nautical items.

The owner is Judy Krueger and the manager is Kim Wargi. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 to 4 Saturdays and 11 to 3 Sundays. Phone 676-9178.

Family-friendly tanning

The name of another new business generates grins.

Tan Fanny & Beans offers three tanning beds with a unique feature - a window that looks into a recreation room where kids can play and watch TV or videos while Mom tans herself.

“I could never tan because I always had kids with me,” explained owner Mindy Aldrich, a native of Enumclaw, Wash., who has been in North Idaho seven years.

Her business at 829 Highway 53 (near Rathdrum Feed) includes a drive-through espresso stand and balloon bouquets. She has six employees and is open 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 7:30 to 6 Saturdays and Sundays. Phone 687-3999.

Road expansion will close Topper Too

One of North Idaho’s first drive-in restaurants will close next month, but its traditional Cruise Night gathering will move to a sister location.

The planned widening of Government Way in Coeur d’Alene will cramp Topper Too and the neighboring Les Schwab Tire Center to the point where both businesses will lose parking and access space. So Les Schwab will expand to the south when the 30-year-old Topper Too building is removed.

The drive-in’s five employees will be absorbed into owner Bob Ovnicek’s three Paul Bunyan drive-ins in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden. Ovnicek, a Coeur d’Alene native, said Monday Cruise Night, a gathering for classic and custom car buffs, will move to the Paul Bunyan in Hayden.

Les Schwab will move its service bays to the new space to the south. Access will still be from Government Way and Anton Avenue. The business moved to Government Way in 1980 from the space now occupied by Bracks Supply on Fourth Street. Gene Wisdom, who manages 19 employees, said the change won’t begin until next spring.

Pet grooming store opens in Rathdrum

A personal relationship with a pet is the key to successful pet grooming, according to Glenda Ulery, who has opened “R” Dog Grooming in Westwood Plaza (across from the Burger Heaven drive-through window), Rathdrum.

“When you groom someone’s dog, you have an important member of their family,” said Ulery, who also is a director of Noah’s Exotic Wildlife Shelter. “When you can get along with a lion or tiger, you can get along with a poodle.”

With 10 years’ experience, Ulery grooms all breeds of dogs and cats. She also sells pet I.D. tags and will be selling pet grooming supplies and shampoos. A Spokane native, she has been in North Idaho since 1980.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 9 to 6 Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Phone 687-6565.

Tidbits

The City of Coeur d’Alene’s purchase of the Cherry Hill sledding area and meadow property off 15th Street is great news. The acreage will become a park and home for a fire station and possibly a community center. Possibilities include activity rooms, a gym, pool and tennis courts, the latter probably replacing the old Rotary Courts from McEuen Field. A multi-use indoor tennis facility would be a good idea.

Former Mayor Al Hassell had suggested the city look unto buying the land six years ago when the price was less, but the city council wasn’t interested then. Hassell and predecessor Ray Stone also pushed the revamping of Northwest Boulevard to be an actual boulevard, creating an attractive western entrance into town for many years.

The correct phone number for Body Perfection, a new business profiled in this space last week, is 762-7867.