Deer Park welcomed a new business, Five North Coffee and Gifts, into the area on November 24th.  Grand Opening events included a ribbon cutting and a raffle/donation drive to raise money for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.  Prizes included a cooking basket, cookie basket, cocoa basket, and free coffee for a month. When Somer Acton began planning out her new location, she had a vision of creating a space where people could shop for high quality, unique gifts, with a side of coffee: a place where people can come to meet and hang out in a comfortable, welcoming environment. Somer owns Five North Coffee and Gifts, as well as Daily Life Essentials next door.  After the New Year, she will be opening her third location in the same building, a co-op market giving local vendors a place to sell their high quality, local items. Deer Park is growing and expanding and Somer hopes that the area businesses will continue to grow, so that people no longer need to leave Deer Park and travel to Chewelah or Spokane to do their shopping.

At the age of 10 Somer Acton began dreaming of the business that she would one day own.  Originally designing her dream around the Chattaroy feed store building, she started a notebook and filled it with drawings, plans, and ideas.  A brick walled bookstore with music and alcohol in a cozy space that included a half wall with a cut out star. Looking around the room at Five North Coffee and Gifts, you get see that dream brought to life, but with a slightly different purpose.  On October 18th, Somer and her family began the renovation of their new space, giving them just over five weeks to prepare for their grand opening event on November 24th. She and her father worked hard to revitalize the historic location inside the Kelly building on Main Street in Deer Park, while her husband crafted the tables located in the cafe.  Many of the furnishings within the building have been up-cycled from local historical sites like the old Crescent building and Hillyard depot. As you enter the shop, you see a cast iron stove, recovered and repurposed as a coffee bar. The gift area has an old work table, found in the storage space underneath the old Crescent building. Both add to the charm of the location and give it a unique flair.  Even the tiles surrounding the coffee bar hold a special meaning; they fit with the star from her original drawings, and after falling in love with the pattern, Somer noticed the name of the tile company was “SomerTile.” Somer also noted how grateful she was to her employees, who signed on early, trusted her vision, and began training before the space was ready. Somer and her employees all trained together at Thomas Hammer to ensure that all their drinks are made consistently.  Currently, Five North offers coffee with 12 flavor options, tea, hot cocoa, breakfast burritos, pastries, IQ bars, and vive shots. They will continue tailoring their menu as they grow and learn what their customers like; eventually they hope to add lunch offerings. Keep checking back to see how their store and coffee shop grows and updates.