Faux-finish specialist opens store in Cd'A

ArtWorks Spokane Inc., a faux-finish contractor and paint distributor here, has expanded by opening a store in Coeur d'Alene, its second.

Owner Nancy Jones says the business is leasing 2,300 square feet of retail space at 2049 Main, in northwest Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone mixed-use development. She says ArtWorks hired two employees to work in the Idaho store that opened Sept. 1, adding to 12 workers based in ArtWorks' Spokane Valley location, at 15310 E. Marietta.

Jones says the new shop primarily displays and sells home decor items painted with a European line of designer paint, which it also sells in the store. The paint can adhere to concrete, walls, metal, and decorative items, Jones adds.

"We needed a location to retail the paint in Coeur d'Alene because it's perfect for do-it-yourselfers," Jones says. "They use it primarily to restore furniture and cabinets. We have lots of customers in North Idaho and Coeur d'Alene, and they requested a store."

From its 5,500-square-foot space in the Valley, ArtWorks mainly serves as a faux-finish contractor in both homes and businesses, offers faux-finish classes, and distributes paint used in the craft.

—Treva Lind



Cloud computing firm here expands services



Datarang LLC, a Spokane Valley-based cloud computing firm, says it has launched a new service that it believes will make cloud, or off-premise, data storage a practical replacement for on-premise storage area networks.

The new service, named I/O Blaze Virtual Storage Area Network (SAN) Service, provides the advantages of cloud data storage, such as reduced capital investment and staffing needs, while eliminating performance, availability, interface, and complexity issues, says Eric Phillips, Datarang co-owner.

It works by caching, or keeping, frequently-used data locally at the client's site, while concurrently replicating less frequently used data to Datarang's servers or to the servers of other cloud-storage providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Rackspace, Phillips says.

It uses a combination of customized software and hardware, usually hardware that the client already owns, so there is little upfront capital investment required to start the service, he claims.

Chris Rostie, who is Datarang's chief technology officer and co-owns the company with Phillips, says, "Organizations that will benefit most from the service store large volumes of infrequently changing data. This kind of data includes network drives, media files, documents, videos, photos, you name it."

Operating here since 2010, Datarang offers application hosting, email and Web conferencing, voice services, off-site data backup, file sharing, and application development environments.

—Kim Crompton



Maui Coffee opens first outlet in Valley



Maui Coffee Roasters USA, an affiliate of Kahului, Hawaii-based Maui Coffee Roasters that was formed to operate coffee stands in mainland U.S., has opened its first drive-thru coffee outlet here in a recently remodeled building in Spokane Valley.

The 600-square-foot structure is located two blocks east of Argonne Road at 9611 E. Trent and has six part-time employees, says Hawaiian native Jay Higgins, now of Spokane, who has more than 30 years of experience in the coffee business and co-owns Maui Coffee Roasters USA with Nick Matichyn and Mike Okazaki, both of Hawaii.

The Valley location is the first of five to 10 coffee houses the company hopes to open in the Inland Northwest within the next three years, Higgins says. He says this store is designed as the prototype for future company-owned and franchise-operated stores.

"We are trying to offer more than coffee," Higgins says. "We have a fairly extensive food menu."

The menu includes Hawaiian baked goods such as coconut bread, banana bread, Hawaiian oatmeal with coconut milk, and a handmade biscuit with guava jam named after the Mauna Kea volcano on the island of Hawaii.

Maui Coffee Roasters has offered fresh micro-roasted coffee for its wholesale customers and retail stores since 1982, and offers 100 percent Kona, Kau, and Maui coffees,as well as Hawaiian blend and Hawaiian-flavored coffees. The company says it recently started using an eco-friendly coffee roaster that uses a patented technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions while consuming 80 percent less energy than conventional commercial roasters.

—Audrey Danals



Tasting room, caterer to partner on kitchen



Nectar Tasting Room says it is partnering with Just a Couple of Moms Catering to install a commercial kitchen at its location at 120 N. Stevens downtown.

Nectar owner Josh Wade says the owners of the catering business are subleasing a roughly 2,000-square-foot basement space from him that formerly served as the LaunchPad Lounge and will be bringing in and installing all of the kitchen equipment.

With the addition of the kitchen, Nectar will be adding a made-to-order menu of appetizers and potential dinner options, and also will be using Just a Couple of Moms Catering exclusively as its in-house caterer for the 100-plus private events held there annually, Wade says. The catering business also will continue to provide services to other clients, he says.

The kitchen installation is expected to be completed within about 60 days, Wade says. Nectar customers should begin to see a slow rollout of new food items in December, with the full menu available starting in January, he says.

Tom White, a spokesman for the catering business, said in a press release, "We can now centralize our catering operation and be the exclusive caterer for such a prime Spokane event location."

Nectar, located in a space formerly occupied by Bridal Collections, is a co-op of five Washington wineries offering more than 50 regional wines through wine tastings, glass pours, and bottle sales.

Just a Couple of Moms is a full-service catering company that provides services for corporate lunches, weddings, rehearsal dinners, and other private events.

—Kim Crompton