Coffee shop opens in Mountain View Hospital

The world of coffee suits Jen Brooks, who is now managing Higher Grounds, the new coffee shop in Mountain View Hospital.

The coffee shop opened to hospital employees Oct. 24 and to the public on Monday. Brooks, who worked at The Villa Coffeehouse in downtown Idaho Falls for three years, heard about the opportunity over the summer and jumped at the chance to be running her own shop.

Higher Grounds serves locally roasted coffee by Steve and Harry’s, muffins from Perkins, and cupcakes from Love at First Bite. They plan to be serving soup and paninis from Bella Vita in Snake River Landing. Customers are welcome to get what they like and enjoy it in the hospital lobby.

Brooks said she is excited by the reception Higher Grounds has gotten. Mochas are selling particularly well.

“We’ve hooked most of the employees, because we’re here and our prices are lower than Starbuck’s and Java,” she said.

Jen Brooks, manager of the Higher Ground coffee shop in Mountain View Hospital

Developer lines up Domino's, Subway for retail center

Compared to a few years ago, business construction in Ammon has slowed to a crawl, but to hear Dean Mortimer talk one would think the sun is beginning to shine again.

Mortimer’s company, Comfort Construction, is building an 11,000-square-foot retail strip center at 3379 E. 17^th Street, next door to Ace Hardware. His other company, Command Properties, has three tenants lined up for it: Domino’s Pizza, Subway and Salon Suites.

“What gave us the confidence to move forward was good solid tenants,” Mortimer said. He added that he’s seen quality retail space filling up in the past 12 months. The project is slated to be finished in May 2012.

Domino’s will own its own part of the building, while Subway will lease. Salon Suites, another one of Mortimer’s companies, leases beauty salon and massage therapy spaces to contractors who want to operate on their own.

Pointing to the Idaho Falls Labor Market Area’s September unemployment rate of 7 percent -- 2 percent below the statewide average -- Mortimer said he is optimistic about the local economy.

“The businesses we have are somewhat recession-proof,” he said. “We have the Idaho National Lab, Melaleuca’s a strong employer and agricultural prices are doing really well. Compared to some other places, we have a diversified economy.”

In-N-Out Burger -- The Next Olive Garden?

While I appreciate the excitement over the news that Chick-Fil-A and Carl’s Jr. are coming to Idaho Falls, as someone who watched the buildup to Olive Garden I feel compelled to comment that these don’t really compare.

Truly, is there anything that could excite people here to the degree that Olive Garden did in the three to four years before it finally arrived? The announcement was front page news. Once it was over, I felt like I did when the Beatles broke up.

I believe that only one chain restaurant has what it takes to inspire a feeding frenzy of the same magnitude, and that’s In-N-Out Burger. I’ll bet some of you started salivating right now. I rest my case.

Does the Irvine, Calif.-based chain have any plans to put a restaurant here? Who knows? Given my experience with chain restaurants, they never say yes or no until they’re ready to make an announcement. In-N-Out doesn’t franchise. If they do move into Idaho, my guess is they would start in the Boise area, because that’s the way it always seems to work. But I could be wrong.

The company’s practices and recent history suggest that an In-N-Out here is at least possible if not inevitable. They don’t build restaurants more than a day’s drive from one of their distribution centers, and they have one in Draper, Utah. Indeed, after opening in St. George in 2008, eight In-N-Outs subsequently popped up in the Salt Lake Valley.

I know what you’re thinking: “This is just a tease.” You’re right, but we all need some excitement, don't we?

Mmmm ... a mouth-watering Double-Double and fries from In-N-Out Burger.

An interesting link for the media-obsessed

I don't know how many of you listen to Fresh Air, which airs every morning at 10 on KISU, but this was an interesting interview with David Carr, media reporter for the New York Times.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141658047/david-carr-the-news-diet-of-a-media-omnivore

I especially liked how he described the Internet as a "self-cleaning oven" where errors can be revised or clarified much more easily than in errors in print. That's his background as a newspaperman talking, and I know how he feels.

My wife, Karen Juell, one of the best copy editors I've known, coined the slogan, "Error free is up to me." What would the world be like if everyone posting on the Web held that as sacred? Errors are unavoidable (I could tell you about a few doozies of my own), but a casual attitude toward them is something no one with any self-respect should take lightly.

RaboAgriFinance opening office at Snake River Landing

RaboAgriFinance, which provides financial services for agricultural producers and agriculture-related businesses across the United States, has announced it will be opening a new, larger office in Idaho Falls at Snake River Landing sometime between now and the end off the year.

The office will be at 960 Pier View Drive, occupying around 2,600 square feet, with ample parking and accessibility to the public. While waiting for the new office, RaboAgriFinance, a division of Rabobank, is operating at 901 Pier View Drive, Suite 202B.

The company has had an Idaho office in Twin Falls. “We are excited to continue to offer and expand our innovative approach to financial and risk management to this region’s agricultural businesses,” said Nathan Thomsen, the Idaho Falls office's team leader.

Anyone with questions can call Thomsen at 208-733-0044 or look at the company's Web site, http://www.raboag.com/.