Marquee bar owners buy Fast Eddie's pub

Bird is the Word LLC, a company formed by business partners Jeremy Tangen and Matthew Goodwin, has bought the assets of Fast Eddie's All Purpose Pub, located at 1 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. downtown, from Dale Kleist.

Tangen and Goodwin say they will maintain the look and feel of the sports bar, which has been in business for 25 years. Tangen says they plan to expand the menu, happy hour specials, and drink specials, and plan to add a sidewalk patio next spring.

Fast Eddie's is located in 3,500 square feet of leased space and employs roughly 12 people, he says.

Goodwin had worked at Fast Eddie's a few years ago, Tangen says. He and Goodwin also operate Marquee Lounge, at 522 W. Riverside downtown, and Press, a cafe at 909 S. Grand Blvd. on Spokane's South Hill.


Metal manufacturer changes hands, moves

Brassfinders Inc., a Spokane-based fabricator and supplier of metal products for the architectural and construction industry, has changed hands and has moved to a new location.

Mike Eckel and his wife, Connie Lambert-Eckel, bought the assets of Brassfinders from company founders Michael and Linda Harrington, who have retired. Mike Eckel managed Brassfinders for eight years before the Harringtons offered to sell the business to him.

"(Mike's) dedication, natural talent, and problem-solving abilities made him the ideal candidate to carry on our legacy," the Harringtons say in a letter.

Mike Eckel and Michael Harrington designed and constructed a 2,000-square-foot shop for the new Brassfinders location inside a leased space at 718 N. Crestline, in East Spokane.

Previously, Brassfinders occupied a building at 1918 W. Clarke, in Browne's Addition. The Harringtons currently are selling that structure, Eckel says.

Brassfinders has been in business for 33 years and specializes in making and selling solid brass, copper, chrome, and stainless steel products for restaurants, hotels, retail stores, commercial buildings, and residences, Eckel says. The company currently has one other employee, he says.

New froyo shop opens at Northtown Square

Jim and Jennifer Heggenstaller, of Spokane, earlier this week opened a second outlet of their frozen yogurt business, called Blu Berry Frozen Yogurt, at the Northtown Square retail center on Spokane's North Side.

The new outlet is located in a leased space in the southwest portion of the shopping center and is next to Swank Boutique and a Max Muscle Sports Nutrition outlet.

Jim Heggenstaller says the business is the first to occupy the 1,200-square-foot suite, and that he made the improvements to the space himself to accommodate the self-serve froyo shop.

The Northtown Square shop has nine employees, including two full-time managers, he says.

The Heggenstallers opened their first Blu Berry outlet last April at 3007 E. 57th on Spokane's South Hill, he says. The couple also have franchised their business model, and a franchisee operates a Blu Berry outlet in Silverdale, Wash., Heggenstaller says.

He says he would like to open additional Blu Berry shops in the Spokane area and is considering potential future locations in Airway Heights and Spokane Valley.


North Side board shop to move in early 2012

Let It Ride LLC, which does business as Let It Ride Board Shop, plans to move early next year to a 1,500-square-foot leased space in a building that's currently under construction at 426 E. Hastings, across that street from the Wandermere Fred Meyer Center, on Spokane's North Side.

Company co-owner Paul Jones says Let It Ride currently leases about 1,500 square feet of floor space at 101 E. Hastings and has been open for a little more than a year.

Even though the new space is slightly smaller, the shop will gain 200 square feet of retail space because of the layout design, Jones says. The new location also is expected to offer better visibility to a higher traffic volume, he says.

Jones owns Let It Ride with his wife, Kristie. The company has three other employees.

The concern specializes in wakeboards, snowboards, skateboards, and longboards, as well as clothing and accessories related to those sports.

Idaho group launches DavesBillboard.com

Rathdrum resident Dave Spiker and four partners have launched DavesBillboard.com, a website designed to offer services similar to Craigslist.com.

Spiker is using the Inland Northwest as a test site to gauge the website's effectiveness. The majority of the site's services are free, with the exception of business, food, and lodging listings. Ten percent of the proceeds from the site will be donated to wounded soldier programs, he says.

Spiker and his partners—Nik Petersen, Steve Ayles, and Kirk and Mimi Fisher—wanted to organize better buyer-and-seller information on the Internet. The site that they co-founded includes what Spiker calls "Business Power Pages," which allow businesses to create sales flyers, coupons, develop smartphone QR codes, embed video, and connect to social media.

Fitness, health center opens doors downtown

Regeneration Point LLC, a fitness and wellness training company, has opened in downtown Spokane.

Owner Bettina Torres says the company has leased 1,200 square feet of space at 1100 W. Railroad, next to Brooklyn Deli. The space previously housed a sound-and-recording studio. It only required some painting to create a new environment for the general fitness concern, Torres says.

Torres is the only employee at Regeneration Point. Part-time contractors provide in-house massage therapy, acupuncture, emotional counseling, and health coach services.

The company is certified to use PneuThera Technologies physical therapy equipment and Bemer USA LLC therapy products. Before opening Regeneration Point, Torres was an independent distributor for Bemer. Benefits of using the equipment include increases in bone density, flexibility, and strength, improved immune system and circulation, and weight loss, she asserts.