Coffee Deluxe Inc., a new Spokane coffee business, plans to open its first coffee shop here in the new Village at Regal Pond development, on the South Hill, this month, and hopes to open three more outlets here within the next year, says owner Lance Aschinger.


At Regal Pond, located at the northwest corner of 44th Avenue and Regal Street, Coffee Deluxe will lease about 1,600 square feet of space at the northern end of a building that will be occupied by a Quiznos Sub restaurant, an ice cream shop called MaggieMoos, and two other tenants.


Coffee Deluxes shop will include a drive-up window and patio space for its customers behind the shop, by the pond, and in front facing Regal, says Aschinger.


Aschinger says he might open other Coffee Deluxe outlets in downtown Spokane and on the North Side by mid-July. He says Coffee Deluxe plans to have a total of four outlets open, including one in the city of Spokane Valley, within the next year.


We are moving quickly to secure the downtown and North Spokane sites, and could conceivably open both of them by mid-July, he says. He says buildings have been tentatively selected for those two outlets.


We are looking for high-traffic areas, says Aschinger. We know this is a pretty competitive business, but the profit margins are the highest in the food industry. You can make a 16-ounce cup of mocha for 55 cents and sell it for $3.25 or $3.50.


In addition to coffees and espressos, Deluxe Coffee will sell gourmet sandwiches and desserts, Aschinger says.


He says each of his coffee shops will employ about 10 people, about half of whom will work full time.


Within the next few years, Aschinger says he envisions opening additional Coffee Deluxe shops in Liberty Lake, Coeur dAlene, and maybe two more in the Moscow, Idaho-Pullman, Wash. area.