Crowd assembles at Ammon Chick-fil-A

Your huddled masses, yearning to consume. ... the scene Wednesday morning at the Ammon Chick-fil-A on Hitt Road, which opens Thursday.

The doors of the Ammon Chick-fil-A, at 3003 S. 25^th East, don't open until Thursday, but more than 75 people had already lined up by 6:30 a.m. today despite the single digit temperatures.

The first 100 adults in line when the restaurant opens around 6 a.m. Thursday will win free Chick-fil-A for a year -- 52 coupons, each good for a Chick-fil-A meal (sandwich, fries and drink). The coupons can be used at any Chick-fil-A in the country and can be given to anyone. Many who win the tickets share them with family, friends or donate them to little league teams, civic groups or others who could benefit from free meals, Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Cindy Chapman said.

Today's group includes several people who have participated across the country, including one man from Florida who has been to more than 70 grand openings and two teachers who are skipping school to participate.

Registration has begun and once it’s complete the parking lot will be transformed into an overnight celebration. Chick-fil-A will provide entertainment, security, restrooms and, of course, plenty of food during the countdown. A DJ will be on hand between 1 and 4 p.m. to provide games and music. Later, campers will enjoy Chick-fil-A for dinner and have a chance to watch “The Polar Express” on an outdoor screen before a late-night Chicken Soup party.

The restaurant, in the Teton Spectrum parking lot, is expected to bring with it more than 65 new jobs.

Airline to discontinue I.F. to Boise flight

SeaPort Airlines has announced that it plans to discontinue its flight service between Idaho Falls and Boise at the end of the year.

Apparently, the lagging economy and the company's aircraft financing problems are to blame for the decision, said Idaho Falls Regional Airport Director Len Nelson, in a press release issued Monday by the city of Idaho Falls. City and economic development officials will continue to seek another viable carrier to take over the route.

SeaPort began offering the route June 18, nearly a year after Horizon Airlines discontinued its nonstop Boise-Idaho Falls flights, which it had been offering for more than 20 years.

Anyone with a SeaPort ticket to Boise for after Dec. 31 should contact the airline directly at (888) 573-2767 or online at www.seaportair.com.

More press for Idaho Falls on The Daily Beast

Wow! After recently ranking No. 2 as the best place in the United States to start over, Idaho Falls now comes in at No. 18 on The Daily Beast's list of America's Top 25 Coldest Cities. In other words, Idaho Falls is a great place to start over if you don't mind freezing.

I can imagine many readers of The Daily Beast -- the Newsweek-sponsored blog put out by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown -- taking a look at many of the cities on this list and saying to themselves, "I wouldn't live there if you paid me to." Considering their chic, Bozeman, Mont., St. Albans, Vt. and Minneapolis might be obvious exceptions. But Fairbanks? Grand Forks?

Before posting the link, I want to add that my old Post Register colleague Ken Retallic once heard me complaining about subzero temperatures here and laughed me to scorn. Ken came to Idaho Falls from Grand Forks, and still feels this place is more like Belize.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2010/12/10/america-s-25-coldest-cities.html

Buddy's to close Idaho Falls restaurant

We here at BizMojo Idaho would much rather write about a restaurant opening than one closing, but it is our sad duty to report that Buddy's on Channing Way will be shutting its doors at the end of the year.

Give them credit for trying. They opened in early August 2010, right about when Idaho Falls was beginning to feel the full effect of the economic downturn.

For those of you whose response is, "How could they? I love Buddy's!" ask yourself, when was the last time you ate there? The business hasn't been good enough, said the manager I talked to Thursday.

Running a restaurant is a tough business, and for locally owned places it can be hard to compete with chains like Olive Garden, which, as we know, have deep pockets and a devoted following.

But the commonly held notion that 90 percent of restaurants fail in their first year is a myth. I've posted a link below to an article that was published earlier this year by Randy White, CEO of White Hutchison Leisure & Learning Group, a consulting group based in Kansas City, Mo. Here are some key points from a three-year study they did:

• During the first year of operation, slightly over one-quarter of all restaurants closed or changed ownership. By the end of their third year, just short of 60% of all restaurants closed or changed ownership. The turnover rate varied little between independent and chain restaurants.
• Restaurant turnover was highest in areas with higher concentrations of restaurants. In other words, the greater the number of restaurants for a given population, the greater the failure rate.
• A successful restaurant requires focus on a clear concept that drives all activities, an operating philosophy that encompasses business operations as well as employee and customer relations. "Failed restaurant owners, when asked about their concept, discussed only the food product," White wrote. "The researchers concluded it was obvious from the interviews that food quality does not guarantee success; the concept must be well defined beyond the type of food served."

Buddy's in Pocatello, an institution there, will remain open, so anyone hankering for "Buddy's Breath" will still have that option.

http://www.whitehutchinson.com/blog/2011/02/the-truth-about-restaurant-failure-rates/ 

That One Place opening Monday in downtown I.F.

After more than a half-year of vacancy, the space at 552 North Capital Avenue, where Pachanga's used to be, is going to be opening Monday as That One Place.

The restaurant, which has been at 569 Third Street since opening in April, is moving downtown for better traffic and because owner Trent Walker says he wants to be part of the downtown scene. The menu focuses on sandwiches, soups, wraps and rice bowls, all fresh from scratch.

A native of Salt Lake City, Walker has been in Idaho Falls since 2001, when he came to work for Dole Fruit and Vegetable. From there, he went to work for Nicholas Foods, supplying restaurants in Idaho Falls, Driggs, Victor and Jackson, Wyo. Visiting all the restaurants that he did, he had plenty of inspiration and ideas once he started planning to open his own.

He said he is under no illusions about going into the restaurant field. "It's a tough market, but if you can find your own niche I think you can do well," he said.

The name "That One Place" came from his 16-year-old son, who'd heard his grandparents talking all the time about places they'd eaten around the world, e.g. "Remember that one place we went to in Italy?"

"He said, 'You ought to call it that,' and we liked the idea," Walker said.

The restaurant manager is Ashley Mueller. They provide catering, carryout and delivery. For more information, call 529-9804.