With its bar opening this past week, Westwood Brewing Co. has occupied the first brick building in Kootenai County. Built in 1886 at 8162 W. Main St. in Rathdrum, it originally was the Hart Exchange Bank and a hardware store.

The Westwood bar will seat about 50 people and serve craft beers from the Pacific Northwest in domestic bottles and cans and spirits. Hours are 6 to 11 p.m. daily.

Pub food artfully crafted by chef Matt Johnson will be offered in the restaurant, which is scheduled to open sometime between mid-May and early June. Seating about 100 people, the eatery will open at 11 a.m. daily.

The brewery portion of Westwood will open in early fall. Owners are brothers Shaun and Spencer Howell with wives Danielle and Jennifer. The theme is western industrial with a railroad decor. Phone 712-3423. Check www.westwoodbrewing.com.

Cosmic Cowboy Grill

opens Saturday

The grand opening of Cosmic Cowboy Grill will be Saturday at 412 W. Haycraft (west side of Highway 95, north of Appleway).

With seasonal food trends popular on the West Coast, the menu will appeal to Inland Northwest tastes with grilled-to-order meats, fresh vegetables, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. Beverages include house-made iced teas and lemonades and micro-brew beers and regional wines.

Owner Steve Eller and general manager Chris White plan special menus to support athletes here for special events such as Ironman and the Cd’A Marathon. They also offer online ordering, to-go foods and catering.

With a Jackson Hole shabby decor, the place seats 74 inside and 26 on the patio. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Phone 277-0000. Check www.cosmiccowboygrill.com.

Tony’s Custom Meats

opens off Highway 41

Custom cutting, processing and smoking of your beef, pork, goat, sheep and wild game and sausage making are offered at Tony’s Custom Meats, now open at 2708 N. Highway 41 (the former Prairie Meats building), Post Falls.

Owners are Tony and Tammy Bray. He has been a meat cutter in the Inland Northwest for 35 years, learning from his father, Marion Bray, who owned the old Hayden Market in the 1970s.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Phone 773-2333.

P1FCU opens new

PF lending center

A new lending center adjacent to the Post Falls branch of P1FCU (Potlatch 1 Federal Credit Union) is at 3095 E. Mullan Ave.

Services include business, mortgage and consumer services work for members and potential members in Idaho’s five northern counties. Mortgage services are by appointment with other services by walk-ins and encouraging appointments.

Jeff Tucker is business loan officer and Tody Flood is mortgage loan officer. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Phone 704-8900. Check www.p1fcu.org.

Now for the Tidbits

- New businesses opening soon include Hollywood Revolver Bar (formerly The Grail) on Seltice Way, Polished CdA at 413 Sherman Ave., a Philly Express on Northwest Boulevard, EyeGuys Optical and Little Caesars Pizza on Cornerstone in Hayden, and Chamira Fashion and Castaway Cellars in the downtown Plaza Shops.

- A ground-breaking ceremony for Eagle Rock RV & Boat Storage will be 12:30 p.m. May 4 at 930 N. Beck Road, west of Post Falls. It will be an 80,000-square-foot indoor vehicle storage business opening around Sept. 1. Details later.

- “No Outlet” signs are in better taste than “Dead End” signs.

- Sign in a shoe repair store: “We will heel you. We will save your sole. We will even dye for you.”

- A truism: Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.”

- A real headline: “High school dropouts cut in half.”

- Contact Nils Rosdahl at nrosdahl@cdapress.com.