Spaghetti Station closing its doors

Next Saturday will be the last day of business for the Spaghetti Station at 11204 E. Sprague Ave. Owner Bob Racicot gave several reasons for his decision to close the doors. “It’s just the Sprague corridor has caught up with us,” he said. “Business has slowed way down.”

Racicot’s wife, Wanitta, is also scheduled to have surgery on her hands and will be unable to help with the business anymore, he said. Racicot has also been trying to split his time between the Spaghetti Station and the Broadway Bar and Grill in Spokane, which he also owns.

“I just can’t do two of them,” he said. “We’re 60 years old. We want to slow down.”

Racicot has owned the East Sprague restaurant for six years. He previously owned The Shed restaurant at 1801 N. Division St.

Copier Connection moves

Instead of asking why the chicken crossed the road, you could ask why Northwest Copier Connection owner Dwayne Wilson moved his business to a new location in the same office complex at 11616 E. Montgomery Ave.

“Instead of the inside of the complex where nobody knew I was, I’m on the front side of the complex,” Wilson said.

Now in Suite 59, Wilson took advantage of the 7,000 additional square feet in his new location to expand his business. Previously devoted to service and repair of office equipment, Wilson now has a copy center, shipping services, mailbox rentals, laminating equipment, moving supplies and key-making equipment.

“We’re across from three or four apartment buildings,” he said. “I’m hoping people will need keys.”

Wilson said he offers “a little bit of everything,” including greeting cards and Cougar hats. His goal is to offer more services to the neighborhood around him. “I felt like there was nothing in this area for businesses. It seems like all the copy centers are south of I-90 in the Valley and there’s nothing really north of I-90.”

Wilson has owned the business for three years and opened in his new location last week. He and his wife are the only employees. “We’re hoping with the holiday season approaching that we’ll get busy and we’ll have to hire someone,” he said.

More room at the Inn

The Rock Inn recently completed a remodeling project that added a second banquet room and reconfigured the inside of the business. Owner Craig Swanson said the new room can hold up to 75 people.

“We separated our bar and restaurant by putting a banquet room in between,” he explained. “We knocked out a couple walls in the nightclub area to change the seating area.”

The two-month project was relatively inexpensive with a price of $4,000. “We were putting up walls, basically. We didn’t have to change the roof or the structure.

“It totally changed the feel of the place. It used to be one big room, basically.”

Swanson allows groups to use his banquet rooms for free but requires each group to spend at least $100 on food or drink. So far Swanson said he has been averaging about three reservations a day. “We’ve just been getting slammed with reservations,” he said. “This is the season for it.”

Swanson said he may hire two new employees if the demand for the rooms stays high.

The Rock Inn is located at 8122 E. Sprague Ave.