Sandwich shop has bite
Showing research that the future of the commercial sandwich is very positive and that their restaurant is a great example, San Francisco Sourdough Eatery of Coeur d’Alene is adding its third restaurant.
And the owners are hoping that’s simply a beginning. They are also offering franchise opportunities that they hope will blossom into dozens of eateries.
About 65 percent of employed workers eat meals that can be held in their hands, and 39 percent of working adults say their typical lunch is a sandwich, according to Robert Lenhart, who owns the Coeur d’Alene-based company with his wife, Maricela.
“The QSR (quick-service restaurant) sandwich segment alone increased 76 percent from 1992 to 1996,” he said. “I want to get us up to 30 to 40 places.”
More than 20 types of sandwiches are the basis of the menu of the Coeur d’Alene store they started in the building they bought in 1999 at 322 Sherman Ave. Although they offer different bread choices, their mainstay is San Francisco sourdough, which Lenhart’s family developed at restaurants in the C-state 25 years ago. They bake it fresh at the store daily. They also make their own mayonnaise.
Keeping their overhead to a minimum and their free time to a maximum, the Lenharts’ Coeur d’Alene store is open at lunchtime only, with downtown employees and tourists comprising nearly all their customers.
Their Liberty Lake store, which opened three years ago, has longer hours, as will the Boise store. It will open Labor Day weekend on Eagle Road. Lenhart said he hopes the next store will be in the Hayden area. Information is on the Web site ( www.sfsourdougheatery.com) and by phoning him at 676-9848.
Lumbermens building store open
All types of building materials, especially those needed at the last minute, are available to building contractors at Lumbermens.
The building supply store opened last week at 3909 Schreiber Way (across from Humanix off Kathleen Avenue), Coeur d’Alene. Standard and special supplies are available, including lumber packages, siding, windows, studs, plywood, trim, roofing, cabinets, trusses, caulking and hangers.
“We have what contractors are most likely to run out of,” said Mark Decker, who operates the store with Daryl DeMills. “Customers can also order supplies through us. We’ll bid for their business, and we’ll deliver.”
The business is expanding from its Spokane site, where trusses, lumber and doors are stored. Plans include adding a stocking yard and lumberyard in Coeur d’Alene.
Based in Olympia, the company has 80 outlets in five states. Coeur d’Alene hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Phone 665-5900 or check the Web site at www.lumbermens-building.com.
Bettis building in Ironwood
Coeur d’Alene building contractor Kevin Bettis has two commercial projects under construction in the Ironwood area east of Kootenai Medical Center.
Bettis will put his own construction company in the two-level, 5,000-square-foot building at 1015 N. Ironwood Drive. The building is filling what once was a ravine across from Ironwood Athletic Club. Bettis will occupy the west portion of the upper floor, and the rest will be available for tenants in early September.
Medical personnel are the likely tenants of another 5,000-square-foot, one-level building under construction at 943 W. Ironwood Drive (behind Idaho Northwest Bank). Completion is due in September. The agent marketing the place is Monte Risvold of Tomlinson-Black Realty.
Unemployment rate 7 percent
The unemployment rate for Idaho’s five northern counties in June was 7 percent, down from 8.1 percent a year ago.
In figures from Idaho Commerce & Labor, the June rate was up from 6 percent in May because high school and college students entered the labor market when the school year ended.
The unemployment rate for Kootenai County was 6.6 percent, with 4,068 people unemployed in a labor market of 61,587 people. Of the other four counties, Benewah’s rate was 9.3 with 408 unemployed; Bonner, 7.0 with 1,298 unemployed; Boundary, 7.3 with 336 unemployed; and Shoshone, 8.4 with 527 unemployed.