BIZ BITS: Heavenly spot for a wedding

DEARY — The members of the Fredrickson family have always loved weddings, so much so that they would watch TV shows such as “Say Yes to the Dress” together.

That fondness for marriage ceremonies is part of what led them to open the Edge of Heaven Wedding and Event Barn, which recently debuted near Deary.

The year-round event center is housed in a new, timber-frame, fully enclosed, 5,000-square-foot barn with heating and air conditioning with an indoor capacity of 250 people, said Teri Fredrickson, who owns the business with her husband, Ryan Fredrickson, and their daughter, Savannah.

The barn has restrooms with hot and cold running water, a full kitchen and separate rooms where the bride and groom can get ready, Fredrickson said in an email.

A large patio with a roof runs the full length of the barn and is surrounded by party lights. The scenic 80-acre property has several outdoor areas for weddings, as well as a pond with views of forest and a canyon the Potlatch River flows through, she said.

The cost to rent the venue for the weekend is $5,500, including 16 round tables and 200 chairs. Additional information is available by emailing eohweddingvenue@gmail.com.

The venue doesn’t have any overnight accommodations, but many Airbnb properties are available in the vicinity, Fredrickson said.

The Fredricksons originally purchased the property as a place for the cattle in their polled Herefords herd to graze in 2015 and have gradually added amenities.

“While we were putting the road in one fall, there was a beautiful double rainbow over the canyon and our property and that is how we came up with the name, ‘Edge of Heaven,’ ” Fredrickson said.

Besides operating the wedding venue and raising cattle, Ryan Fredrickson has another business, Practically Perfect Trucks, where he restores trucks.

Car wash up and running in Clarkston Heights

An enzyme that removes dead bugs from vehicles helps customers at Adele’s Express Auto Wash in the Clarkston Heights get excellent results when they clean their cars.

That take comes from Jeff Port, who opened the two-lane car wash this summer.

The treatment comes with all car washes. The customer or a car wash employee sprays the solution onto vehicles, then scrubs the surfaces with a brush that has sturdy, but gentle, horsehair bristles before the vehicles enter the automated section of the car wash.

It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 2307 Appleside Blvd., just north of Hayes House on one of the busiest roads in the Clarkston Heights.

Three levels of car washes are available that cost between $11 and $15 per wash. Discounts are available for buying multiple car washes at the same time. Customers pay with methods such as cash, credit or debit cards at automated stations before they enter the wash.

The most expensive option takes about seven minutes. It includes a wash of the car’s undercarriage along with steps such as cleaning, washing, triple foam, sealant and a spot treatment.

The business also has stations where customers can dry their vehicles with complimentary towels or vacuum them in sessions that start at $2.

The popularity of the car wash has been growing steadily since it opened, Port said.

Some customers notice it, he said, because of its exterior landscaping.

Six faux palm trees with coconuts illuminated with clear lights similar to those used for Christmas trees stand in artificial turf along the west side of the business.

“When they’re all lit up at night, they look pretty cool,” Port said. “It looks kind of tropical. Nobody else was doing it, so I figured I’d do it.”

The name of the car wash is a reference to his wife, Lacey Adele Port, a Lewiston-Clarkston Valley Realtor, as well one of his other businesses, Adele’s Storage Units, which has more than 400 spaces in Asotin County.

A construction contractor, Port also owns itinerant housing in the oil production area of North Dakota.

He originally purchased the lot where the car wash is because a sewer line runs through it that serves one of his properties immediately north of the business.

Initially, he thought he would construct more storage units on it, but because of set-back requirements, he wouldn’t have been able to have enough for them to turn a profit, Port said.

A car wash seemed like a good option partly because Appleside Boulevard is a primary route to some of Asotin County’s nicest neighborhoods and he frequently sees people driving luxury cars on the road, he said.

One of his goals has been making the customer experience pleasant. As often as possible, he or one of his children are on duty at the business.

If anyone has issues when the car wash isn’t staffed, they can call (509) 751-9868, the same number for information about his storage units.

Travel agent brings expertise to Lewiston-Clarkston Valley

A mother of five children and a travel agent, Melissa Mayberry, is accepting new clients after recently relocating to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley from Shoshone County in northern Idaho.

“I specialize in ocean and river cruises that visit ports all over the world,” said Mayberry, the owner of Adventure Travels, in an email.

“I have firsthand knowledge of many ports in California, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands,” said Mayberry, who received her training online through The Travel Institute based in Massachusetts.

Another area where she excels is in helping plan family vacations for groups with lots of children and extended family members, sharing what she’s learned on her own trips with her customers, she said.

Before moving to Shoshone County, Mayberry and her husband, Chris Mayberry, a general construction contractor and owner of Cornerstone Tile & Construction, lived in Clearwater County for 20 years.

The telephone of Adventure Travels is (208) 413-4224. Its email is adventuretravelswithmelissa@gmail.com.