Business round-up:

Hillsdale gets a commercial printer

Where there were once pet supplies, there are now high tech digital printers. Where there were pet lovers, there are now artists seeking to reproduce their work.

Co-owner Jeff Axline assists artist Amelia Opie.

Symbiosis Printing, owned by Jeff and Kath Axline, opened in early March at 6325 SW Capitol Highway, #B, which is just around the corner from the Hillsdale Post Office in the Bank of America/Queen of Diamonds "alley."

Jeff has over 30 years experience as a printer. He first got the printing bug by producing silk screens at age 14 in Long Beach California. Now much of the printing he does is for artists who want high definition reproductions of their work to archive or share.

He and Kath also do printing jobs for businesses and others who want brochures, flyers, business cards and posters. Photographs are among Jeff's favorites as he is an amateur photographer himself.

For small to medium-sized jobs, the digital equipment produces high-quality reproductions less expensively, he explains.

The sleek machines can even produce bound books, which some customers have made as gifts for family and friends.

Kath and Jeff discovered Portland on a road trip to Seattle and were immediately taken with the city. They have three children and concluded that Portland would be better for raising children than the Bay Area, where they were living.

They now live in Multnomah Village, five minutes from the attractive, welcoming print shop. They were drawn to the commercial space because of its available parking, sunny location, and reasonable rent in a "quality" community.

On a recent Wednesday, artist Amelia Opie was in the shop watching one of the printers reproduce several of her paintings on paper. Opie said she likes working with Jeff and Kath because they are at the front counter and actually do the jobs themselves. The originals aren't handed on to someone else in a back shop. "It's real personalized service," she said, "and they speak the language people understand."

All of which sounds like "Symbiosis," the name of the business. Here's the definition, which Jeff and Kath happily share: "Symbiosis - the relationship between two different kinds of living things that live together and depend on each other."

After 14 years working at the Second to None store which sells second-hand children's wear and accessories, Indy Hill is closing shop because of health problems in her family.

She has owned the store for 12 of those 14 years. The last day of business is Monday, March 31.

Hill said she has been unsuccessful in finding someone to buy the business, but she is certain that commercial property owner/manager Ardys Braidwood will have no trouble finding a new tenant in the desirable location between The Cakery and the UPS store in the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

In Mid-March, Food Front opened a sit-down section of the grocery to customers. Now they don't need to take the store's deli selections home but can pull up one of 24 seats in the brightly lit dining area just to the left when you come in the store.

Jeff Hough, the store's assistant manager, says Food Front wanted to create a space with a "community feel."

Food Front General Manager Holly Jarvis was one of the first to use the new space.

There's even complimentary tea available on a counter near the entrance to the area.

To make room for the eating area, items that were less popular were dropped from the store. But Jeff is quick to add that Food Front will still take special orders for customers who don't find what they want.

Jeff has one small regret: The space opened the Saturday before Spring Break week and so wasn't getting immediate use. Wilson students are expected to be regulars.

Providing a place for grocery shoppers to sit down and linger a bit has become common in the industry as patrons of Burlingame Fred Meyer, the Raleigh Hills New Seasons and the new Barbur Safeway know.