Marine vets open Adorkable Flowers

 

Adorkable Flowers and Gifts LLC, a retail florist, has opened in Liberty Lake. 

Spokane native Andrea Wallgren and her husband, Joshua, both Marine Corps veterans, own the company, which she says held its grand opening in January. 

“We had a small soft opening back in October, so I could kind of get a feel for retail,” says Wallgren. “Things have been going really well so far, with a good mix of both new and returning customers.” 

The shop is located at 21950 E. Country Vista Drive, occupying an 1,800-square-foot space that Wallgren says the couple leases from Amersell Inc. 

Adorkable creates both custom and prearranged flowers for any occasion, including the option of printing a short message onto living flower petals. 

“I’m a licensed vendor with a company called Speaking Roses,” says Wallgren. “Through them, I can print short messages on rose petals.” 

The shop also offers balloons, a fresh flower market, and gift items for sale.

Wallgren says for now, she and her husband, are the business’s only employees, although they hope to hire more soon.

“Following the service, I wanted to be my own boss, so I went to Spokane Community College for a florist degree,” she says. “We funded the business ourselves, and really we’re only just getting started.”

—LeAnn Bjerken

 

O’Doherty’s closes North Side eatery

 

Tim O’Doherty, co-owner of O’Doherty’s Irish Grille downtown, says the O’Doherty’s Irish Pub & BBQ on Spokane’s North Side, at 10208 N. Division, has closed and he’s looking for an individual or business to take over the lease there.

O’Doherty says there’s $30,000 left to be paid on the lease, which ends June 1. The 2,000-square foot space seats up to 40 people and can seat more on an outside patio. O’Doherty, who co-owned the location with his wife, closed the North Side location—near the intersection of Hawthorne Road and Division Street—on Dec. 31.

“It made money the first three years, and that began to turn around after roadwork shut down Hawthorne,” says O’Doherty, who owns the equipment at the North Side location. He says if he can’t find someone, or a business, to assume the lease, he plans to sell the equipment there.

Now, with Riverfront Park under construction, the O’Dohertys decided to put their attention toward the downtown tavern and restaurant at 525 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., he says.

“We had a small crew of seven people working up north, and fortunately, we were able to take three of them downtown,” he says. 

—Kevin Blocker

 

Mediterrano’s out; Hansens to move in 

 

Spokane restaurant owners Jeremy and Kate Hansen are in the early stages of planning a new venture in the 544-square-foot space that used to house the Mediterrano Mediterranean restaurant in the Saranac Commons building, at 19 W. Main downtown.

Kate Hansen says the couple hasn’t determined what kind of food the new business will serve or what it will be named, but that they hope to open the eatery in a couple of months. She says they have discussed creating a “street food” style restaurant specializing in quick breakfasts and lunches to go.

Shahrokh Nikfar opened Mediterrano two years ago in the 7,000-square-foot Saranac Commons building where he still owns and operates Caffe Affogato, an Italian-inspired coffee, tea, and ice cream shop.

He closed Mediterrano—which shares space with Black Label Brewing Co., the Hansens’ Common Crumb Bakery, and Caffe Affogato—at the beginning of February, he says.

Nikfar, who was Mediterrano’s sole owner, had a full-time job outside the restaurant and operated the coffee shop.

“I did the best I could to keep it going,” Nikfar says. “But between the road construction on Main in the summer last year and the long winter, I realized I just didn’t have enough resources to keep it going.”

That’s when he approached the Hansens and asked them if they’d be interested in occupying Mediterrano’s space.

The Hansens also own Sante restaurant in the Liberty Building, at 404 W. Main downtown, and Hogwash Whiskey Den and the Inland Pacific Kitchen, both in the Washington Cracker Co. building, at 304 W. Pacific.

Hansen says Sante will provide meat products and Common Crumb will provide baked goods for the new establishment.

—Kevin Blocker

 

Art cooperative plans move to larger space

 

Spokane-based nonprofit Urban Art Co-op plans to move on April 8 from 3017 N. Monroe to larger quarters at 3209 N. Monroe, says JoDee Moody, marketing committee chairwoman and hand building instructor. 

The nonprofit will occupy 3,000 square feet at its new location, up from 1,700 square feet in its current spot, says Moody.

Urban Art Co-op operates primarily as a pottery studio and offers eight-week beginner, intermediate, and advanced pottery classes on wheel throwing and hand building, says Moody. In partnership with the city of Spokane’s Parks and Recreation Department, the co-op also offers a five-week introduction to clay class, she says. That course is $89.

Eight-week classes are $125, says Moody. After that, students can pay to become members of the co-op. Memberships are $50 per year, she says. Open studio members pay $30 per month to have a locker for storing their pottery items. Open studio members can come in and work whenever they choose to during open studio hours. 

Moody says the co-op also has seven resident artists who pay more per month to have 24-hour access to the studio and have private shelf and storage spaces. Resident artists also assist in running the nonprofit.

Along with pottery, the co-op offers workshops in other art fields, such as jewelry, eco printing, felting, and sculpting. 

 “Our dream is to include metal art, painting, glass blowing, just all different kinds of art,” Moody says.

Moody says the co-op doesn’t have any paid employees; everyone who works there is a volunteer, including its six founders, one of whom is Moody. 

Urban Art Co-op is open Monday to Saturday.

—Samantha Howard