Produce store added personal touch

As Shields Produce closes this week on Third Street in midtown Coeur d’Alene, it will be more than a 34-year-old business that’s retiring. Nearly every customer has had a personal, chatty relationship with the amicable owner over the years.

When you enter the place, you see bins of fruits and veggies enticing you on the outside and cartons of everything inside. Oh, it’s not stacked in neat pyramids like Seattle’s Pike Place Market, but it’s interesting. You’re invited to taste whatever interests you. If owner Gary Shields isn’t immediately visible, he’s around back messing with incoming/outgoing stuff. Or you hear chatter and notice folks in any of several lawn chairs on the shady east side.

Shields is an athletic age 58 with a muscle shirt, shorts and a Rose Bowl cap. In the chairs, you hear about athletic records he set at Coeur d’Alene High School and his two football Rose Bowl trips with the University of Washington. And his upcoming retirement move to Hawaii.

The ramshackle produce shelter and Shields’ small house behind will make way this fall for a new veterinary clinic run by Drs. Frank Clovis and Dennis Thomas. It will double the size and replace their Animal Medical Center for small animals, currently at 1902 Sherman Ave. They also have River City Animal Hospital in Post Falls.

The Blue Bay

With the name The Blue Bay reflecting a dinner menu of seafood, steaks and specialties, a new restaurant will replace the former Dugout Sports hangout at 1910 E. Seltice Way, Post Falls.

Aiming for a mid-September opening in a remodeled facility, The Blue Bay will offer traditional family-style breakfast, lunch and dinner for reasonable prices, according to Dwight Dirkmaat, who owns the business with his wife, Renee. They’ll employ about 40 people in the 9,500- square-foot space. It includes an extra room for special events and restaurant overflow. The Blue Bay will offer beer and wine, with cocktails planned for the lounge.

The Dirkmaats, who came to North Idaho 25 years ago from Lake Tahoe, Calif., say they’re excited about opening a restaurant in Post Falls. A Spokane restaurateur shares ownership.

New building

Construction has started on a new complex for Dickinson Insurance in the southwest corner of Polston Avenue and Syringa Street in Post Falls. The 11,500-square-foot building will consolidate the company’s existing locations.

The facility will include the Dickinson and Glacier insurance and financial services companies, a drive-through European Koffee Haus and Bakery, and a large room for community meetings. A second, 6,500-square-foot building will be built for lease across the courtyard from the main building.

J.D. Dickinson, who owns the business with his wife, Tracy, joined his father in the business in 1988. They came from Walnut, Calif. He was educated at Mount San Antonio College and the University of Redlands. With 14 employees, the facility should open in early 2007. Jim Edwards, of Coeur d’Alene, is co-owner of the buildings.

Tidbits

“It’s good news that some local stores often donate returned merchandise to charity stores. The donating stores can write it off their taxes, but that’s fine.

It’s too bad something similar can’t happen with unsold prepared foods. Those “leftover” cooked chickens at grocery stores are thrown away “for health reasons.”

“Last week we talked about how businesses with unkempt landscaping discourage customers. The opposite certainly is true with Dalton City Hall, where the fantastic floriculture is the work of Butch Blanchette, maintenance supervisor, and volunteers Sue Nussear and Patty Dahlman.

“Sheesh. This heat makes returning to parking-lot cars pretty uncomfortable. It’s literally cool how some places, such as Prairie Shopping Center, actually have many trees in the medians to help shield the vehicles.

“It can be tough to determine a movie to see when they aren’t listed in the paper. A Spokesman-Review spokeswoman said the paper prints free what’s playing when it’s submitted, but often the theaters in Post Falls and Hayden don’t bother.

“It sure can be frustrating how some products are so securely wrapped in hard plastic containers that are nearly impossible to open. In the process you can easily damage the product or make the inside directions unreadable. Gripe to the companies. They’ll often send you a gift certificate.