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| The dining room at the Kneaders in Orem, Utah, where the chain started in 1997. The company announced Wednesday it would be coming to Ammon's Sandcreek Commons shopping center. |
With two major tenants open for months, it’s been a relatively quiet fall at Ammon's Sandcreek Commons shopping center, at the corner of Hitt and Sunnyside roads, but not much longer.
The Broulim’s grocery store is scheduled to open Dec. 17, and a slew of smaller businesses have announced plans to locate in the 40-acre development.
Ball Ventures and Woodbury Corp., partners in the project, announced today that Kneaders, a Utah-based chain specializing in artisanal baking, would be opening its second Idaho location at Sandcreek Commons. This came a day after Rita’s Italian Ice released the news that it would be opening its first Idaho store at there in March 2016.
Construction of the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is well under way and Great Clips is planning to open 1,200 square feet this weekend in the 18,639-square-foot retail center next to Broulim’s. Progress is about where they expected it to be by the end of 2015, said Eric Isom, Ball Ventures’ chief development officer.
"The momentum id definitely coming," he said. "I would say we're pretty much right on schedule, maybe even a little ahead on pad development."
In addition to Cabela’s, Hobby Lobby and Broulim’s, there is room in the project’s first phase for one more 50,000-square-foot anchor tenant. “One of the things we're really trying to do right is the tenant mix,” Isom said. "You want quality tenants and the right mixture."
Isom said they also try to respond to what they hear from local people, and there has been a lot of interest in Kneaders. "So many people are familiar with it from the trips they've made to Utah. I'ts been one of the most common requests in the last two or three years."
Founded in Orem in 1997 by Gary and Colleen Worthington, Kneaders specializes in European hearth breads made from scratch on site daily, as well as gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries and breakfast items. It also provides catering services for groups of all sizes, from birthday parties to weddings, and offers a variety of retail products including award-winning gift baskets and holiday-themed gifts.
So far, the company has 42 locations in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Idaho, where it opened its first store in Meridian. Like many chains, there is a mix of franchise operations and company-owned stores. The Ammon restaurant will be company owned.
A soft opening for Great Clips is slated for Saturday, with grand opening events beginning Dec. 11 and continuing through the end of the year. Hours for the new location will be Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This will be our fourth location in the Idaho Falls area and we really look forward to serving Ammon customers,” said franchisee Randy Jensen, who with his wife, Marcia, owns seven locations total.
Eventually, Ball Ventures and Woodbury Corp. anticipate developing 320,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and service space at Sandcreek Commons. For now, Phase One everything happening north of Judy Street is anticipated to add nearly $80 million to the local tax base and 1,200 new jobs.
