Handle on Business: Keep looking for signs to get business info

A question people often ask is how I find all my information for this column. I can’t tell all my secrets because then my competition from “the other paper” will know. Of course, he probably knows already and uses the same methods. And we steal ideas from each other. We’re actually on friendly terms.

One thing that really helps is when readers respond through the e-mail and phone contacts listed at the bottom of this piece. Also, I take a different route to work each day and try to notice things such as “sold” signs.

One of my biggest coups a couple of years ago was noticing some survey stakes in the northeast corner of Government Way and Neider Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. I left my car at the street edge, walked to about the third stake in and saw “COSTCO” printed on it. Hey, it’s great to get a scoop!

Some signs I’ve noticed recently are on vacant lots and say “CNL Design.” A phone call revealed that CNL is a company that designs plumbing and electrical systems. Its signs are for buildings planned for those sites. Among them are some already covered in this column, including Kootenai Cycle on Kathleen Avenue, Hayden Creek Retail Center off Government Way and Prairie Avenue, Redal Law Offices on Government Way, and Idaho Lights off U.S. Highway 95.

Oh, there’s a few others that I don’t have the details for yet and I don’t want the other guy to beat me. Of course, now he might since I clued him in.

One of them is Just Because

One he shouldn’t beat me to (gotta genuflect here) is Just Because Fashions & Gifts in the aforementioned Hayden Creek Retail Center. That complex is one beautifully designed place.

The 2,000-square-foot-plus store with “women’s clothing for everyday living,” jewelry and Brighton products (handbags and luggage) should open today in the complex’s north building. Owner Jill Linton said, “Shopping is an experience here. We have great, more personalized customer service.”

A Priest River native, Linton has had a Just Because store in nearby Newport, Wash., for 20 years. She will have six to eight employees and hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Phone (208) 762-2410.

Camp K-9 boards, trains pooches

OK, this one he beat me to. A boarding and training facility for dogs, Camp K-9, is open at 2179 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls. Owner Larry Doto (pronounced Dotto), a certified master trainer, and his son Nick concentrate on basic and advanced dog training.

Their facility includes a 200-foot run, two fenced lawns, 17 outdoor kennels and room for 48 pooches inside. The kennels are sealed to the floor for safety and health, overhead doors allow fresh air, and the interior is heated and air-conditioned and outfitted with an alarm system.

Originally from Glendora, Calif., Doto came to North Idaho in 1993 after visiting relatives here. His wife Karen operates the neighboring Creative Kids Daycare. Hours at Camp K-9 are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Phone (208) 773-3203.

Tidbits

“ Construction has begun on the 330-stall, two-level parking garage between Riverstone Cinema and the Spokane River off Northwest Boulevard, Coeur d’Alene. Each level is 55,800 square feet, and the facility will have elevators. It will be complete in 2007.

“ One white elephant is a Black Sheep. The former Coeur d’Alene Cinema building between U.S. 95 and Government Way is a storage center for nearby Black Sheep Sporting Goods.

“ When you notice the signs that say “Off-Site Sale at K-Mart” on the Dave Smith Frontier Leasing complex just south of I-90’s Fourth Street exit, it’s no little deal. The Kellogg company uses up to 15 employees and about six hours to move 240 used cars from the CdA and Kellogg facilities to the K-Mart parking lot. It’s obviously worth it; they do it every month.

“ Last week in the Sanders Beach-area condo roundup we talked about the Ice Plant Townhomes at Mullan Avenue and 11th Street. All 24 are now reserved, said co-owner Dan Schreiber.

“ In my space, I want to salute my sister Diane Willis, whose funeral is this week in Thompson Falls, Mont. She and her husband, Warren, were with Campus Crusade for Christ all over the world for 40 years, including 10 years in Outer Mongolia, before her 14-year battle with cancer ended. We’ll miss you, Diane.