Pita Pit rolls into new digs on Sherman

Ah, these pleasant evenings are wonderful. And downtown is a great place to be. You can have food and beverage at one of the places with tables spilling onto the sidewalk. Then go for a walk on Tubbs Hill, through the park, along the dike road or on the boardwalk.

One of the busy Coeur d’Alene sidewalk cafes is the new Pita Pit. Opening two weeks ago at 320 Sherman Ave., the affordable, fast-food facility offers hot or cold sandwich ingredients in pita bread. This is a thin, soft but not tough, crust-like bread cut into large wraps to hold the goodies.

You can choose from among about 30 veggies, meats, cheeses and sauces in any combinations. Pita Pit also has old standards and specialties. The cost is $4 to $6. Salads, snacks (chips) and drinks are available. Other options include pita platters, delivery and catering.

Coeur d’Alene is the new headquarters for Pita Pit’s U.S. operations. Dr. Jack Riggs purchased the Canada-based company’s current and future U.S. operations, of which he is chairman and CEO. Preferring college towns, Pita Pit has 76 operating locations and 22 planned, including one near Gonzaga University. The leased, 1,400-square-foot Coeur d’Alene store, which previously was Wild Bill’s Cookhouse, among other bygone restaurants, also will serve as the company’s national training facility. Company President Nelson Lang, visiting here this week, was a co-founder of the company in Canada in 1995. Riggs’ son Peter, who has been with the company in Santa Barbara, Calif., will move to Washington, D.C., to develop the East Coast market. Other Inland Northwest locations include Missoula, Bozeman, Pullman and Boise.

Jack Riggs was educated at Coeur d’Alene High School, the University of Idaho and the University of Washington. He started North Idaho Immediate Care facilities in 1986. He has served as a state senator and lieutenant governor.

The Coeur d’Alene store is expanding its hours Friday, opening at 8 a.m. and closing at midnight Sunday through Thursday and 3 a.m. weekends. It has about 30 employees. Phone 765-3326. Its Web site is pitapitusa.com.

Assisted living facilities expand

Responding to the growth of North Idaho’s population and the popularity of services for people who need help with their daily living needs, both Beehive Homes and Guardian Angel Homes plan major expansions of their assisted living facilities in North Idaho.

Beehive has begun construction of an office building and two houses at Division and Wyoming streets in Pinehurst. The office will have about 2,500 square feet of space, and the houses each will be about 15,000 square feet with kitchens, dining and family areas and 15 private rooms with bathrooms.

The new 24-hour care facilities should be complete in November and will employ about 25 people. Beehive also has facilities in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint and plans to add two living facilities to its Coeur d’Alene complex.

Guardian Angel Homes plans to add a 4,500-square-foot community center and four new homes to its facility at 1040 E. Mullan Ave., Post Falls.

The community center, which will be available for public use, will include meeting and exercise rooms, a commercial kitchen, a business center and offices. The new homes will expand the assisted living capacity to 52 private rooms and four double rooms. Employment at the Post Falls location will grow to about 75.

The Post Falls facility also plans a 60-unit expansion of retirement housing apartments to begin next year. Guardian Angel also has facilities in Liberty Lake, Lewiston and Richland, Wash. Phone 777-7797.

Tidbits

•Car d’Lane was an extremely successful event last weekend. It shows how making a few blocks of Sherman Avenue into a walking street would work. Somehow, however, downtown events need to provide places to sit and more shade. I saw Coeur d’Alene Resort magnate Duane Hagadone checking out the event by himself.

•Regal Cinemas’ grand opening of its 14 screens in Riverstone this week has been terrific, especially with the proceeds benefiting Tubbs Hill, Christmas for All, NIC and Children’s Village concerns. Let’s hope the company, with 105 employees, will remain so community-minded.

•Aaaargh! Finding cement for a home project can really be a problem. The shortage evidently is due to several factors: the scads of local construction projects competing for cement, EPA standards limiting the development of U.S. cement plants and China dominating the buying of the international market.

•The vacant residential lot on West Lakeshore Drive in Coeur d’Alene has a “sold” sign. The asking price was $1.1 million, a neighbor said.