UPS Store joins Sullivan Road mall
Sullivan Road is continuing its building boom with a new strip mall that is rapidly filling up.
The UPS Store is the latest business to open its doors in the storefront at 509 N. Sullivan Road. It’s owned by first-time business owners Roger and Carol Lent. “It’s a really good time of year to start off in this kind of business,” Roger Lent said.
Lent was a pilot in the Air Force for 20 years, then taught chemistry at Spokane Falls Community College for 20 years. He and his wife work in the store along with their daughter and son-in-law. “I wanted to try something new and also to provide an employment opportunity to my daughter and her husband,” he said. “They’re newlyweds, so they’re at the point where they don’t want to leave each other’s sight.”
Lent first considered opening a location in Airway Heights, but the local UPS Store representative suggested Sullivan Road. “We looked at the demographics,” Lent said. “Sullivan is the road in the Valley.”
In addition to shipping and packaging, the store does business cards and copying. There are also mailbox rentals. “The advantage of getting a mailbox from us is they can get packages,” he said.
The store opened on Dec. 1, and Lent is optimistic about its future. “We want to have a successful experience here,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll take a little while for the business to build up.”
A double shot
An espresso company that opened its first stand at 16th Avenue and Dishman-Mica in July is getting ready to open its second location. The new Wake Up Call on Evergreen Road just north of Sprague Avenue is scheduled to open later this month.
The business will be easily recognized because of its distinctive buildings modeled on an English-style phone booth. “People know the Wake Up Call because of the building,” said Chris Walsh, whose family owns the company. “We just designed a building and had it built. All the English phone booths are red, so we went with red.”
The new location will have inside seating, which the first location does not have. The business also sells baked goods. “We thought it was a great location,” she said. “The traffic count is good on Evergreen.”
The owners also have plans to open a third location in downtown Spokane soon. “When we started Wake Up Call, we always planned to do multiple ones,” Walsh said. “We’re hoping to expand outside Spokane.”
The company will hire 12 new employees to staff the two additional locations.
Modern Electric seeks directors
Modern Electric Water Co. has three openings on the board of directors. The company is accepting nominations for the two three-year terms and one one-year term. The positions are open to any shareholder. All property owners within the Modern Electric district are shareholders.
The deadline for nominations is Jan. 5. The positions will be filled during elections scheduled for Feb. 26 at the company’s annual meeting.
For information, call 928-4540.