All Wood Prepares For Opening

Offering a variety of woods and finishes and specializing in office furniture, All Wood Furniture Co. hopes to open this weekend in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden.

The 6,500-square-foot store, located in the building that formerly was Keystone Lighting, will be the largest unfinished furniture store in North Idaho, according to Bruce Eckhardt, who owns the business with his wife, Tina.

Wood varieties include oak, pine, alder and parawood, a mid-density, oak-like wood from Brazil. Bruce Eckhardt said the store will be stocked with about 300 items for sale, including kitchen, bedroom, dining and occasional pieces, all of solid wood and ready to be finished.

The store also will offer a large variety of finished oak office furniture, a complete stain center, custom finishing service and workshops in furniture finishing. It will have six employees.

Involved in the retail furniture business in the Inland Northwest since 1971, Bruce is originally from Los Aptos, Calif. He graduated from Eastern Washington University. Tina, originally from Fishers, Ind., moved here from Columbus, Ohio.

Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays (closed Tuesdays) and noon to 5 Sundays. Phone 762-8483.

Taking advantage of available space and a freeway-accessible location with great visibility, River City Yamaha will occupy three buildings south of the outlet malls off I-90’s Pleasantview Exit in Post Falls.

Offering a complete line of Yamaha all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles, the business will begin in the former floral store and eventually spread to the former Michael’s Restaurant building, a 5,600-square-foot facility that will be completely remodeled.

Anticipating an early June opening, Greg Mills, who owns the business with his wife, Diana, will also offer parts, accessories and service and may expand into watercraft. The Millses have owned Kootenai Saw & Cycle on Best Avenue in Coeur d’Alene for many years.

Visibility and easy access from the freeway played heavily into the business decision, Greg said, as recreation enthusiasts will be driving to the mountains and lakes from Spokane.

Greg is a Coeur d’Alene native and was educated at the University of Idaho. Originally from Spokane, Diana came to Coeur d’Alene from Moscow. They expect to have seven employees at the new store.

Another large, vacant building filling up in a key location will be a boon to downtown Bonners Ferry.

The 6,000-square-foot building that had been a J.C. Penney store (and earlier a Safeway) will become a Larson’s department store.

With a grand opening planned May 31, Larson’s will offer men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and shoes with brands such as Levi, Carhartt, Wrangler, Woolrich and Pendleton in clothing and White boots. The emphasis will be on moderately priced ready-to-wear, work, sports and Western-wear.

Richard Larson, who owns the business with his wife, Linda, called the new facility a “junior-sized department store.” They expect to employ three people.

In the clothing business for a third generation, Richard’s family goes back to an ownership of the J & L Clothing store in Sandpoint from the early 1900s to the 1940s. They later were with J.A. Foster Clothing and opened Larson’s in Sandpoint in the 1960s. Linda originally is from Bonners Ferry.

Hours at the new Larson’s will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 to 4 Sundays. Phone 267-3330.

One of the more apt names for a business is A Bouquet of Doves, a release of poetic birds to commemorate a special occasion.

Joe Taggart, a grass farmer near Boechel Road in the Rathdrum area, maintains a hobby of specialty birds. He said his doves, available for release or simply show, add a special touch to an occasion.

It could be one bird flying to the sky at the end of a funeral or a pair of birds (maybe followed by a flock of up to 50) at a wedding.

“Typically, the birds will briefly circle your party with their symbolic beauty and then depart for home,” Taggart said. He also has a cathedral-like cage to display the birds. Originally from Villanova, Pa., Taggart came to North Idaho in 1973 after visiting friends here.

The cost depends on the number of birds and how far he travels for the event. Two birds at a Coeur d’Alene event would be about $25. Customarily, a bride and groom will toss the birds into flight together.

A Bouquet of Doves is available for events ranging from Spokane to Sandpoint. Phone 687-1075.