Second Idaho Falls Carl's Jr. opening set for April 16

Enough calories to feed a village in India for a week?

It's been almost seven weeks since Carl's Jr. opened on 17th Street, and we're reasonably certain that anyone who cares about a juicy burger has been there at least once.

This morning, in a moment of idle musing, it occured to me that the L.A.-based chain might have finally scheduled an opening for the second restaurant, at 1115 Northgate Mile, well under construction. I could not reach my usual source, Kelly Grieve, who was in a meeting, but her assistant, Cindy, confirmed to me that a tentative date of April 16 has been set.

She said the date could change due to any number of reasons, that it could be sooner or later. But at least those of you who care now have a pretty good idea of when to start salivating. We'll keep you posted.

Labor Department report indicates more benefits offered in 2011

There's good news in the first report of 2012 from the Idaho Department of Labor, a survey of fringe benefits offered by employers in 2011.

More employers reported providing medical and dental benefits to their full-time employees, ending a decline that began in 2005 and returning the state estimates to pre-recession levels.

There's plenty to look at in the 49-page report, which can be viewed at http://lmi.idaho.gov/ResearchProjects.aspx

Here are some key points from the executive summary:

• Employers indicated they were more likely to offer full‐time employees fringe benefits compared with part‐time employees.
• Bigger companies offer better and more extensive benefit packages.
• Industry sectors requiring more experience and education continued to offer more benefits than their counterparts in natural resources and mining, leisure and hospitality.
• Region continued to be a non-factor in determining whether a firm offered any form of fringe benefits to employees.

Young Professionals to hold first mixer of '12

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network will have its first mixer of the year today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Teton Toyota.

The group was started in 2008 as a way for future business leaders to network with each other, socially and professionally. YPN is an official committee of the chamber and has a board of directors made up of eight people.

Events like today's mixer are free and open to anyone in the 21-to-40 age range. They often feature guest speakers.

Food and drink will be provided, and there will be live music by Happyville (which, incidentally, got its start two years ago at a chamber event like this. Michelle Ziel and I started singing together when a man appeared on a flaming pie and said to us, "You shall form a band.")

For more information on YPN, visit the Web site, http://www.idahofallsypn.com/

Open houses, fly-tying demo set for I.F. downtown

Downtown Idaho Falls has some fun coming up, and since it’s not 10 below (remember folks, it’s February and very well could be) it might not be a bad idea to head down that way.

On Saturday morning, Jimmy’s All Season Angler, 275 A St., will be hosting a free fly-tying demo. These go through March 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A complete list of tiers can be found at http://www.jimmysflyshop.com/ 

In the afternoon, five downtown restaurants and one bar will be having an open house from 3 to 6 p.m.:

• 3’s Co., 368 A St.
• Il Castello, 445 A St.
• Snakebite, 401 Park Ave.
• Pachanga's, 501 Park Ave.
• That One Place, 552 N. Capital Ave.

Also, Vino Rosso, 439 A St., will be open with a no-host bar and appetizers. Start at anyone of these restaurants, and go back and forth as much as you please.

On Saturday morning, Jimmy’s All Season Angler, 275 A St., will be hosting a free fly-tying demo. These go through March 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A complete list of tiers can be found at http://www.jimmysflyshop.com/

Scoresby Farms opens second Idaho Falls store

Produce at the Scoresby Farms Woodruff Avenue store

Scoresby Farms has opened its second store in Idaho Falls, at 1710 South Yellowstone, where the Shell station used to be.

Since they opened their first store, at 2045 North Woodruff, it's been a busy year for Justin Scoresby, his brother, Shawn, and dad, Eric. One or more of them travels to California every two weeks to pick up the freshest fruit and vegetables they can find. This week, they have oranges from the Los Angeles Wholesale Market at 39 cents a pound and avacados from Oxnard at 3 for $1.

"Because we buy from the farmers direct we skip the warehouses," Justin Scoresby said. "Our produce is fresher and better. We for sure have the best oranges in town, and all kinds of really good citrus."

The South Yellowstone store is 2,100 square feet, with about 1,600 square feet of retail space. The expansion will allow them to put a bakery into their North Yellowstone store.

While local produce isn't available this time of year, in the summer the family grows vegetables on 50 acres. "We try to do all Idaho stuff as us much as we can," Scoresby said.

The Scoresby Farms Web site is http://www.scoresbyfarms.com/