Trio to open spa, salon downtown


Three Spokane women with more than three decades of combined experience in the cosmetology and massage therapy fields plan to open their own business, Green Salon & Day Spa, downtown next month.

The trio, massage therapist Heidi Crow, esthetician Cheryl Lystad, and hairstylist Annie Grieve, will operate the business in a leased 1,400-square-foot space on the ground floor of the 113-year-old downtown Hale Building, at 227 W. Riverside.

Crow says the salon will be in the main lobby area, and will have four chairs, three of which the owners are looking to rent out to stylists.

Separate rooms at the spa will house massage therapy tables and an esthetician station where the treatments offered will include facials, waxing, and nonsurgical face-lifts.

The business will offer services by appointment only with staff available seven days a week.

Crow says the owners and three other stylists they plan to hire will make up the staff members.

Crow says the business is based on an environmentally conscious concept that the owners will promote by using chemical-free beauty and treatment products. In keeping with their eco-friendly concept, Crow says the salon won't offer perms or acrylic nail applications.

Bike sales, repair shop opens in Valley


Chris Andreasen, of Spokane Valley, has opened The Bike Hub, a bicycle sales and service shop here.

The shop, which opened early last month, is located in 4,400 square feet of retail space in a building at 12505 E. Sprague that also houses two other shops. Andreasen says it's open seven days a week and sells several brands of new bicycles that include Trek and Diamondback, some used bikes, bike parts and accessories.

The service department, Andreasen says, will repair all makes and models of bikes.

Andreasen previously was general manager of Wheel Sport East LLC, in Spokane Valley, for 12 years, prior to opening his shop here.

He says he is subleasing 1,800 square feet of space to another business, Spokane Yoga, on the basement level of the building.

The Bike Hub will offer indoor stationary cycling classes there this winter for people who want to stay conditioned for riding, Andreasen says.

Andreasen co-owns The Bike Hub with John Abernathy, of Spokane Valley. He will operate the business himself until next spring, when he says he expects to hire two or three employees.

Andreasen has 15 years of experience in cycling. A licensed cycling coach, he previously taught cycling classes at Spokane Falls Community College.

Spa, fitness studio to open on Grand
Julie Greeley, of Spokane, says she plans to open a business on the South Hill next month to be named Grassroots Wellness Spa & Fitness Studio.

Greely, who has worked for 20 years in the health and fitness industry here, has leased a three-level, 7,600-square-foot commercial building at 1303 S. Grand.

The top level will house a fitness studio for yoga, Pilates, and meditation classes, and a spa and treatment center will occupy the main, or middle level for massage therapy, facials, footbaths, life coaching, and other health treatments. Greely says she will seek to rent out the basement level by the day to business groups for meetings, retreats or other corporate events.

Services at Grassroots will be available to clients via a membership, or per treatment, and Greely says the fitness studio will also feature yoga classes for children.

She says Grassroots will be open Monday through Saturday, and will employ 19 full-time workers.

She plans to expand the number of Grassroots outlets in the Spokane area, and will add more employees once her operation on Grand Boulevard becomes established.

Storage system maker moves, shrinks space
Space Solutions Inc., a 4-year-old Spokane Valley maker of custom storage systems, has leased a 1,500-square-foot space in the Vista Industrial Park, at 111 N. Vista, and has moved there from a larger space at 11006 E. Empire, says owner Ken Martin.

The move will enable the business to save on rent, while still maintaining its current level of production, Martin says.

Space Solutions specializes in building storage systems for residential garages and closets, and recently introduced foldaway beds. It also sells and installs special floor coatings for garages, basements, walkways, and other applications. Its primary market is the residential sector, Martin says. His son, Nate, manages the business.

Space Solutions will manufacture all of its storage products at its new business location, which Martin says includes a 100-square-foot showroom.

Auto dealer relocates block east on Sprague
3 Fat Guys Car & Truck Sales LLC, of Spokane Valley, has leased the 1,400-square-foot former Spokane Kia dealership building and its adjoining 1,400-square foot outdoor lot at 11905 E. Sprague and has moved there from a larger space at 11813 E. Sprague, where it had been for 4 1/2 years, says Kevin McClure, general manager.

The dealership, which is owned by Howard Castle, of Spokane, and has six employees, opened at the new location in mid-July, McClure says. He says the move was prompted by a slowdown in business due to the economic downturn, and the rent is less at the new location.

Though the dealership has 1,300 square feet less space at its new home, the property includes a newly refurbished car showroom and a two-bay shop that will allow it to expand into auto detailing and cleaning services, McClure says. He says it expects to begin offering those services later this summer.

Daughter takes helm at orchard enterprise


Karene Simchuck, of Mead, has taken over ownership of Hidden Acres Orchard, located atop Green Bluff, north of Spokane, following the death earlier this month of her father, George Conniss, who founded the business in 1971, says Manager Connie Smith.

Hidden Acres is located at 16802 N. Applewood Lane, on 34 acres of land, 32 of which are devoted to orchards. Five full-time and about 12 part-time seasonal employees work there, growing vegetables and varieties of fruits that are used to make jams, jellies, syrups, and butters, Smith says.

She says all of the produce is processed there and is sold either to retail customers there or on a wholesale basis to companies such as Yoke's Washington Foods Inc., Marketplace Gifts Inc., and Made in Washington Inc. to be offered through their retail stores.

Smith says Conniss, who was 96 when he died, stopped working the orchards at age 89, after which Simchuck unofficially took over running the business.