Couple raising funds for Cd’A coffee truck

Husband and wife duo Young and Michal Bennett have formed Coffee Roboto LLC to launch a new coffee truck in the Coeur d’Alene area and are seeking to fund their business venture through the Kickstarter crowdfunding website. 

If enough money can be raised through that effort, the coffee truck will serve eight-ounce and twelve-ounce drinks, including cappuccinos, americanos, lattes, mochas, drip coffee, and shrub sodas. The couple launched their fundraising effort on Kickstarter on June 15 and it’s set to run for 30 days. If they can’t raise enough money,  Bennett says the two will “pursue something on a smaller scale,” mentioning bike carts as one possibility. The two acquired a 1979 Ford truck in February, says Michal Bennett. The vehicle previously was used as a coffee truck under the name of Long Story Short, which closed about 10 years ago, she says.

Bennett says her husband has “been working in coffee in some capacity since he was a teenager,” and lists experience ranging from serving to marketing, training, and equipment installation.

Currently, the couple doesn’t plan on hiring anyone else.

However, Bennett says, “We want to eventually provide opportunities for baristas around the area to come in and get some coffee-making experience if they need. Providing education is a big part of Coffee Roboto in addition to just serving and making coffee.”

Coffee Roboto plans to operate on Saturdays in Hayden and at the Kootenai County Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Fridays in the Fray’s parking lot at 811 N. Fourth in Coeur d’Alene, from 6 a.m. to noon, but those hours may be subject to change, says Bennett.

—Samantha Howard 

Float Spokane to open with new spa concept

Jarrod Riggan and Eric Freels have launched Float Partners LLC, which will do business starting this summer as Float Spokane.

The business will occupy 2,700 square feet of leased space in the Liberty Lake Commons, at 1334 N. Whitman Lane, in Liberty Lake, where it will open in mid-August, Riggan says.

Float Spokane will offer floating sessions that Riggan claims will promote relaxation and healing therapy through one-hour floats in sensory-depriving flotation tanks, called pods.

“The idea is to allow the body to find areas that it needs to heal naturally,” Riggan says.

The pods will be filled with 300 gallons of 93-degree water made dense with Epsom salt, a therapeutic mineral that, when dissolved in high concentrations, enables people to float effortlessly.

Riggan claims floating can help in the treatment of fibromyalgia, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic back pain, and a number of other ailments and conditions. “The body is relaxed and weightless. There is no pressure on any part of the body,” Riggan says, adding, “Pregnant women love it.”

Initial pricing will be $40 for a first-time float. Other packages will be available with discounted prices for multiple sessions. Monthly memberships also will be available.

Float Spokane will have four pod rooms.

“We’ll be able to accommodate up to 40 people a day,” Riggan says.

He says Float Partners will have two employees initially.

Commercial real estate agents Dallas Lightner and Bryan Walker, both of Spokane-based NAI Black, brokered Float Spokane’s lease.

 

—Mike McLean

Second Bennidito’s set to open this month

Bennidito’s Pizza owner Chris Bennett says he expects to open a new restaurant and brewpub at 1909 E. Sprague at the end of this month.

Bennett opened a Bennidito’s restaurant at 1426 S. Lincoln, on the South Hill, 20 years ago. He also opened a second restaurant at 9025 N. Indian Trail Road about 10 years ago, but says he closed that restaurant in February 2013.

Renovation of the 4,500-square-foot space along East Sprague Avenue that Bennett is leasing started in March. The restaurant will take up 3,000 square feet, while the brewpub will occupy 1,500 square feet. 

Bennett says Dave Coombs and Cody Coombs of DMC Properties, of Spokane, performed the renovations. 

The current South Hill Bennidito’s restaurant occupies 2,800 square feet of space. Bennett says he has roughly 20 employees, most of whom are part time, who will be dividing their time between both venues. 

Bennett says he partnered with fellow East Valley High School classmate Dan Spalding in 1994 and created David’s Handcrafted Pizza. Bennett sold his interest in David’s and opened Bennidito’s the following year, he says.

 

—Kevin Blocker 

RiverBum online fly shop purchased

Dave Jolie and Rick Pieczonka have acquired the assets of online fly fishing sales business RiverBum Inc. and have moved the operations to Spokane from Salt Lake City.

RiverBum currently offers flies for freshwater and saltwater fly fishing at RiverBum.com, Jolie says.

Within the next six to 12 months, or sooner, if possible, the company also plans to create franchise relationships with local fly shops to offer gear and other supplies, he says. Relationships with physical store-front operations will enable RiverBum to distribute premium brands of fly fishing gear, including poles, reels, and apparel, to retailers and also sell gear online, he says.

Jolie says RiverBum has an exclusive agreement with its main fly supplier, enabling the online shop to offer quality flies at competitive prices. A size 10 Orange Stimulator, for example, is priced at $1.75 each with a minimum purchase of three units.

Jolie’s background is in engineering and supply-chain management, while Pieczonka brings a retail commerce and information technology background to the endeavor.

Both are fly fishing addicts and former customers of RiverBum, Jolie says.

“My partner and I have always been looking to get into an appropriate business we have a passion for,” he says.

Jolie and Pieczonka, and their wives Tracy Jolie and Heather Pieczonka, run the business with no other employees.

“One of our objectives is to broaden the sport’s demographics,” Jolie says. “We’re actively trying to bring women into the sport.”

 

—Mike McLean