Lease Problems Force Virtual Golf To Close

The wintertime forays on the virtual links at St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill are over.

Golfers who have taken to the artificial turf at Virtual Golf, 6512 E. Sprague, to escape the nasty winter weather of the Spokane Valley will not find it there next year.

The business is closing at the end of this month.

“We can’t get a decent lease,” says co-owner Leo Ohanesian.

Virtual Golf has been transporting Spokane golfers to courses around the world for the past five years. At each indoor booth, simulators flash a photographed view of a hole onto a floor-to-ceiling screen.

Golfers whack a ball at the screen while three infared cameras measure the speed, direction and spin. The computer then sends an imaginary ball down the course on the screen and flashes the result of the shot.

Moving the cameras, screens and other equipment that creates the virtual golf experience would be too expensive and take too much work. Ohanesian says it cost more than $65,000 to outfit the interior of the building when the business opened.

Ohanesian plans a semi-retirement after the business closes.

“This will be the third time,” he says. “Maybe this time it will stick.”

Ohanesian will continue to build custom golf clubs and repair clubs for his customers out of his Spokane Valley home. He can be reached at 922-2448.

Virtual Golf has four employees.

Tidyman’s remodel planned

Tidyman’s is planning a $2 million remodel this summer that will change the decor and rearrange some features of its store at Sprague and McDonald.

Remodeling will begin in June and should be finished before Labor Day, says Patty Kilcup, Tidyman’s director of consumer affairs.

This will be the second time the store has been remodeled since it was built in 1990. It was last updated about six years ago.

Kilcup says the new decor package will give the store a marketplace feel, similar to the interior of the Tidyman’s in southwest Spokane. Other changes will include a new tile floor, checkstands with a more efficient scanning system, and fixtures in the bakery. Also, the exterior doors will be replaced to make it easier for customers to enter and exit the store at either entrance.

The remodeling will not add space to the 66,000-square-foot store, Kilcup says. However, the Espresso Bar will be moved toward the front of the store and an area to sit down will be added. The pharmacy area also will be redesigned so customers will have more privacy when meeting with the pharmacist to discuss their needs.

New tenants at industrial park

Two new businesses have leased space in the Spokane Business and Industrial Park, 3808 N. Sullivan Road.

Diamond Freight Systems Inc. will move its 2-year-old air freight shipping business to the industrial park from 910 N. Lake Road, says Karen Hoadley, office administrator. The corporation is based in Yakima.

Hoadley said the move will increase Diamond Freight’s warehouse space by about one-third to 10,400 square feet.

The trucking company has 20 employees.

Exercise Equipment Center Inc. has leased about 1,500 square feet at the industrial park to bolster its retail store in the Spokane Valley.

Manager Greg Duncan said the space will be used for storage of exercise equipment and service parts. Exercise Equipment Center sells upper-end workout gear for the home, such as treadmills, weight machines, and heart rate monitors at 506 N. Sullivan Road.

The 26-year-old Seattle company opened its Spokane Valley store in January. It has three employees.