Post Falls printer adds equipment

Minute Press, a longtime Post Falls commercial printer, has added about $105,000 in new equipment that it says will enable it to offer a high-quality product with a faster, short-run turnaround.

Owner Mark Heckel says the company's new ultraviolet coater and a new digital press allow Minute Press to meet the needs of its customers and to compete with some of the online printers.

The UV coater rolls a protective, high-gloss coating onto a postcard that helps the printed piece stand up to the wear and tear of being mailed. The new machine cost about $25,000, Heckel says.

The company paid about $80,000 for its new digital press. Heckel contends the quality of digital printing is catching up with offset printing, and the company's new press allows it to do a lot of short-run, fast-turn, full-color printing, something that isn't cost effective with traditional offset presses. Offset printing, however, is more cost effective for larger orders, he says.

Minute Press has been in business since 1994, and Heckel purchased it in 2003.

Audrey Danals

Acupuncture clinic opens in Post Falls

Barbara Kraxberger has opened an acupuncture and wellness clinic, called Shen Tang, in the Windermere Real Estate office building at 1616 E. Seltice Way, in Post Falls.

"Acupuncture has treatments for many different things that can be wrong with the human body," says Kraxberger. The Chinese healing art can be used by itself or in conjunction with an herbal regimen to treat many different diseases, illnesses, and injuries, she says.

"Aside from the needles, we also do fire cupping, which is pulling stagnated blood and qi to the surface, bringing new, oxygenated blood to the affected area," she says. Qi, also known as chi, is the energy of the human body, she says.

The clinic also offers Gua Sha and Tua Na, two other forms of massage.

An initial assessment for new patients takes about two hours to determine the most appropriate treatment, and subsequent treatments last 30 minutes, she says.

Kraxberger received a master's degree from the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine and has been licensed since 2009. She has been in the Inland Northwest for about a year and a half, moving here from California. Before opening Shen Tang, she worked with developmentally disabled adults in Spokane Valley.

She decided to become an acupuncturist after a personal experience with the Chinese healing art. About 15 years ago, Kraxberger says she was suffering from a serious kidney problem and a friend insisted she see an acupuncturist. She underwent treatment and was cured of her problem.

Audrey Danals

Oral surgeons return to rebuilt office space

Northwest Center for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, owned by Drs. Kenji Higuchi and Daniel Skinner, has moved back into its original location after being displaced by an explosion and fire last September.

The clinic's suite in the Valley Mission Professional Building, at 12509 E. Mission, was a complete loss after an explosion there. "It was totally gutted," says Skinner.

The clinic moved to a temporary location at 205 N. Pines, which had previously housed a dentist's office.

Skinner says the newly remodeled space in the Valley Mission building had to be brought up to current code, which involved putting in what's called a level-two anesthetic facility, similar to those used in ambulatory surgery centers, he says.

The clinic treats conditions of the face and mouth, including tooth extractions, dental implants, corrective jaw surgery, and trauma of the facial region.

Higuchi and Skinner have been in practice together for about 15 years.

Paul Harrington, of South Henry Studio, of Spokane, designed most of the renovations in the 4,500-square-foot leased space, and John Rovtar, of Design Studio Inc., of Spokane, designed the reception area. Ramey Construction, of Spokane, was the contractor. Ron Ogle owns the building.

The clinic employs 18 people in addition to the doctors, and has recently added Dr. Brandon Newell.

Audrey Danals

New fitness studio set to open on South Hill

Three Barre Belles LLC, of Spokane, plans to open a new fitness studio franchise outlet, called The Bar Method, in the Grapetree Village complex on Spokane's South Hill.

The Bar Method is a national franchise founded in 2000 by Burr Leonard in San Francisco, and it currently includes more than 70 outlets nationwide.

Kerrianne Thronson, owner of Three Barre Belles, named after her three daughters, says the studio will offer a program using full-body exercises that incorporate a ballet barre to help strength and conditioning. The exercises involve fat-burning interval training and muscle-shaping isometric exercises with attention to alignment of the joints, she says.

The 2,100-square-foot leased space the studio will occupy, at 2023 E. 29th, will accommodate around 24 people per class and will have a locker room and showers. The space currently is being remodeled, she says.

Besides Thronson, the studio will employ two instructors and three support staff.

She says single classes will be offered for $18. The new-client special will be unlimited classes for 30 days for $99. She plans to offer a variety of packages thereafter.

Jenna Nicol and Brian Anderson, both of NAI Black, handled the lease.

Audrey Danals

Revolver relocates next to Fast Eddie's

The Revolver Bar & Lounge has relocated to a 3,200 square-foot space at 221 N. Division, between Fast Eddie's All Purpose Pub and Ugly Betty's Public House in downtown Spokane.

Owner Romeo Villaro says the bar opened at its new location earlier this month.

Villaro says the move was prompted by the sale of the building at 227 W. Riverside where the Revolver had operated for three years.

Villaro says the bar employs four bartenders and several doormen, who rotate between the downtown bar and one he owns at 633 W. Garland, on Spokane's North Side, that also does business under the Revolver name.

Villaro says he had been looking for a South Hill location where he could open a third Revolver Bar & Lounge, but had to shift his focus toward relocating the downtown bar when the building was sold. He says his goal is to have three Revolver locations in Spokane, and he hopes to open a location on the South Hill within the next year and a half.

Jessica Valencia