Biz Bits: Pullman’s Pups & Cups under new ownership

A Pups & Cups employee who owns an Australian shepherd has acquired the business.

“I love dogs and I love coffee,” said Quinlan Madsen, the new owner. “It’s hard to find a better combination.”

Madsen plans to continue the dog-friendly format of the bakery, coffee house and cafe he purchased from CJ Roberts.

Dogs will still be allowed in the customer sections of the business, including indoor and outdoor seating areas and an indoor dog play area, Madsen said.

He’s also keeping the menu with its popular rotating selection of gluten-free pastries, he said.

The hours have been expanded. Pups & Cups at 250 E. Main St. is now open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

He’s also adding more events such as live music and open mic nights and perhaps animal adoption times in cooperation with area not-for-profit groups.

Madsen brings eight years of experience in the restaurant industry to the business. He’s worked at Pups & Cups twice, once when his fiancee was completing her bachelor’s degree at Washington State University and again just before acquiring the business while she studies to be a veterinarian at WSU.

He’s also been a manager of Frankie’s Pizza in North Bend, Wash., and worked at Starbucks.

His time at Pups & Cups, Madsen said, has given him important insight into its operations.

He believes it has a bright future even though revenue has decreased some during a project to upgrade downtown infrastructure that has limited access to some stores and restaurants in the area.

Once the project wraps up this fall, Madsen said, he expects business will rebound.

“This seemed like the next logical step,” he said.

Two local medical centers honored by American Heart Association

The American Heart Association has honored TriState Health in Clarkston and Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics in Colfax for their efforts to improve outcomes for victims of heart disease and strokes.

The two hospitals are among 47 in Washington that participate in the association’s “Get With the Guidelines” program.

The goal of the program is to recognize hospitals “for consistently following up-to-date, research-based guidelines to ensure all patients have access to lifesaving care,” according to a news release from the American Heart Association.

Lewiston vet opens Beyond Primal Firearms

LEWISTON -- Before being deployed with the U.S. Marines for combat in Syria, Carson Brown spent hundreds of hours putting together, disassembling, maintaining and troubleshooting weapons ranging from M16 assault rifles to fully automatic grenade launchers.

“I really enjoy learning,” Brown said. “These weapons are what your life depends on when you’re in the military. So why would you not want to know everything you can know about it in case something goes wrong?”

Now the military veteran and Lewiston High School graduate is using that expertise to help his customers. He creates custom semi-automatic AR-15 and AR-10 rifles, as well as AR-9 pistols and rifles at his new Lewiston Orchards business, Beyond Primal Firearms.

At Beyond Primal Firearms, his customers include hunters, as well as recreational and competitive target shooters. They typically spend between about $1,500 and $3,000 for a rifle.

They tell Brown how they want their weapon to function and look, including details such as the color, length of barrel and what type of caliber it will fire.

Then he orders the components, sends them to a subcontractor for painting, assembles the rifle, checks its function and test fires it before the customer takes it home.

“There’s a million different options,” Brown said. “I help people who don’t know how to build them, don’t know the ins and outs.”

In addition to selling custom rifles, Brown also carries parts for rifles and eventually plans to add a line of ammunition.

What is now Beyond Primal Firearms began about three years ago. He obtained his federal firearms license and a license to fly drones when he was working full time as a juvenile detention officer.

For a couple of years, he built the firearms side of the business while also doing drone photography of properties for real estate agents.

This year, the demand for custom firearms was so robust he moved the business into its brick- and-mortar location: the basement level he extensively remodeled at a commercial building that houses his sister’s hair salon, Kosmo, on the main floor. (See next story.)

Beyond Primal Firearms is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 550 Thain Road, Suite B.

Kosmo salon relocates to Lewiston Orchards

LEWISTON -- Kosmo, a salon that originated in downtown Lewiston, has relocated to 550 Thain Road, Suite A in the Lewiston Orchards.

The salon provides haircuts, hair coloring, hair extensions, facial waxing and eyelashes in an environment where cosmetologists focus on providing their customers a relaxing experience, said Kami Earl.

The stylists at the salon include Julia Johnson, Kinsey Weakland, Kacie Harrington, Alli Magnuson, Meghan Yates and Taylor Buono. Chrissy Tunison is the salon’s lash artist.

The move is an important milestone for Earl, who has seen the popularity of the salon grow since she opened it in 2016.

She founded it in a 500-square-foot former hot dog stand across the street from Fur Family Cinema in the Lewiston Orchards. Later, she moved it to a leased space in downtown Lewiston.

She is purchasing the building in the Orchards, something that will give her more financial stability in the future, Earl said.

Kosmo is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Valley Vision selects Watkins as president

Ann Martin Watkins has been elected to serve a two-year term as president of Valley Vision.

Watkins is a partner with Martin Insurance in Lewiston. She is one of four officers elected to serve two-year terms.

The others are Dave Pankey, vice president; Jeff Nesset, secretary; and Su Brown, treasurer.

Pankey is a director of regional underwriting at Regence BlueShield of Idaho. Nesset is a senior vice president and financial adviser at D. A. Davidson & Co. in Lewiston. Brown is a retired certified public accountant.

Valley Vision is a not-for-profit economic development organization supported with private and public money that serves Nez Perce and Asotin counties.

“Mayor of Flavortown” collaborates with Camp Chef

One of the nation’s most prominent celebrity chefs is partnering with Camp Chef, a business that has ties to Lewiston.

A deal that Vista Outdoor has entered with the “Mayor of Flavortown,” Guy Fieri, known in part for his spiky bleached hair, will include co-branded cooking pieces with Camp Chef over a multiyear partnership, according to a recent news release from Vista Outdoor.

“Fieri has long served as an unofficial brand ambassador while using the brand’s products on screen, on stage and at home,” said Eric Nyman, Co-CEO of Vista Outdoor and CEO of Revelyst, the name of Vista Outdoor’s recreation products segment.

Fieri entered the national spotlight after winning a season of “The Next Food Network Star.” At the time, he was an owner of a small California-based chain of restaurants called Johnny Garlic’s.

Camp Chef has an extensive line of sturdy, high-quality outdoor cooking equipment such as stoves, grills, fire pits and smokers.

Camp Chef shares its parent company, Vista Outdoor, with numerous businesses like Lewiston’s CCI/Speer.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.