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Steamboat Springs — Three new businesses are poised to open in the south wing of Central Park Plaza by July.

They include a golf specialty store, a franchise real estate brokerage that is new to Steamboat Springs and a temporary employment agency already operating four offices in the Colorado mountains.

Blake Stansbery said Golf Etc. is an independently owned store under the flag of a regional brand based in Texas.

His new store will be two doors down from Mountain Eyeworks. The staff will customize clubs for clients and give them a chance to hit golf balls on the premises before they buy.

Stansbery's store will be across Mount Werner Road from Sports Authority, the biggest sporting goods chain in the nation. However, he said his store will be able to carry brands and offer services his competitor cannot.

"We'll be custom fitting clubs, and we'll be standing behind our work for a year or so," Stansbery said.

Two indoor hitting areas will be used primarily for club fitting he said. Club length, weight, shaft thickness and grips can all be adjusted to suit the buyer's body types.

There will be an indoor putting green for customers to test equipment.

Stansbery hopes to be open shortly after July 4.

Mountain Temp Services hopes to open in the space bet-ween Mountain Eyeworks and My Wireless by the first week in July.

The employment agency has operated offices in Aspen, Carbondale, Eagle-Vail and Dillon since 1994, Aspen manager Tony Grant said.

Longtime Steamboat resident Jeff Carrell will be the manager of the new store in Central Park.

Grant said his company has found temp agencies work well in mountain resort towns where unemployment is low. The company has found many part-time residents choose to work extra hard in one season in order to be able to pursue travel or their favorite form of outdoor recreation in another season. A significant number of mountain workers look for temporary work to fill in gaps and boost income seasonally, he said.

Mountain Temp Services promotes itself to the construction and landscaping industries. They try to match employees and employers in moving labor, payroll services, clerical and other office jobs.

Veteran Steamboat retailer Denise Cantafio has acquired her real estate license and, together with two longtime Steamboat attorneys and another Realtor, plans to open a Real Living franchise in Central Park as soon as they can complete a tenant finish - perhaps within three or four weeks.

Attorneys Ralph Cantafio (Denise's husband) and Mark Fischer intend to continue their legal practices while participating in the new real estate agency.

Cantafio said Kristen Pappas, whose husband is a contractor, will join her. They are also recruiting new Realtors.

Cantafio said her store will be the first Real Living office in Colorado.

- To reach Tom Ross, call 871-4205

or e-mail tross@steamboatpilot.com