Open & Shut: A roundup of comings and goings among Anchorage-area businesses

This is the first installment of a new, occasional series in the Anchorage Daily News, taking a quick look at the comings and goings of businesses in Southcentral Alaska. If you know of a business opening or closing its doors in the area, send a note to reporter Annie Zak at azak@adn.com.

OPEN

Dipper Donuts: This Spenard doughnut shop at 1209 W. 36th Ave. is open Tuesdays through Fridays for boxes of doughnuts from 6 a.m. until the goods sell out. Currently a work in progress, with furniture and equipment in disarray and boxes stacked in one corner on a recent weekday, Dipper Donuts plans to have a grand opening soon.

Co-owner Laura Cameron describes the retail and wholesale business as a "craft donut" shop, comparing it to craft beer.

"Everything's homemade — they don't last longer than a day," she said.

The location near Spenard Road appealed to her and co-owner Andre Horton because of recent changes in the area, she said: a new housing complex, the Church of Love and the reconstruction of Spenard Road itself.

Bivy: This art gallery opened in September at 419 G St. in downtown Anchorage. It's open 12 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Along with the gallery, which will host rotating exhibits, the space has a bookstore dedicated mostly to artists' books.

"I noticed here in Alaska this scene related to artists' books was not explored, is fairly new for here," said Simonetta Mignano, who runs the gallery with her husband. She's from Italy and he's from Alaska. "There's a recession going on now so I think that this is a challenge for sure, but it's also interesting. We opened the space with the vision of networking within the community."

Market Juice: A juice bar that opened in Spenard in July, Market Juice sells cold-pressed juices and uses a returnable bottle program to limit waste.

Market Juice, 2601 Spenard Road, is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays. The owner, Sarah Glassett, wanted to bring a juice bar to Anchorage not unlike those "on every corner" in Los Angeles, she said.

"Anchorage isn't Southern California and doesn't need to be, but Anchorage is responding," she said. The juices will run you $9. The shop also sells smoothies, tea and more.

"My goal was to open a place that gave people easier access to healthy choices," said Glassett, who worked for years in a corporate environment that she said challenged her focus on a healthy lifestyle.

SHUT

Aloha Stop & Shop: This Midtown Anchorage shop, which sold poke bowls, Hawaiian snacks, gifts and clothes, closed at the end of October shortly after its third anniversary, according to its Facebook page. "Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are forced to close our doors on Tuesday, October 31st," the post said. Owner Tasha Kahele couldn't be reached for comment.

Route 33: Spenard restaurant and music venue TapRoot closed earlier this year, and then one of TapRoot's owners turned the space into a new restaurant called Route 33. That space appears to be closed now, too. Route 33's doors have been locked during business hours multiple times when a reporter has stopped by in recent weeks, and its "open" sign has been dark. The owner, Hans Nowka, did not want to comment on what happened when reached over the phone.