Just a couple of quick blurbs about things happening up north, along Empire Avenue.

The new Empire Car Wash is open. It’s a full-service car wash and they had an ad in Sunday’s paper for a free wash (good through May, I think). They also have a sign out on their corner (Empire and Highway 97) advertising something called "King Kong Coffee." We didn’t see a coffee stand, though.

La Costa Azul, a new Mexican restaurant, just opened yesterday on the corner of Layton and Empire, across the street from the Central Oregon Gymnastics Academy. They’re doing lunches and dinners, possibly with a seafood slant. It seems like an unusual place for a restaurant because that area seems a little industrial-ish—storage centers and large administration buildings all around—but it does serve the less-visible residential neighborhoods around there, so hopefully it’ll do well.