Bank of Idaho plans customer appreciation day for Friday

Bank of Idaho will host a “Customer Appreciation Day” at its downtown Idaho Falls branch, 399 N. Capital Ave., Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A “shred” truck also will be on hand for customers who want to destroy old documents. There will be food from Dickey’s BBQ and a customer give-away.

Founded in Idaho Falls in 1985, Bank of Idaho has branches in Pocatello, St. Anthony, Ashton and Island Park. For more information on Customer Appreciation Day, call 524-5500.

Entrepreneurs' Platform set for Tuesday at EITC

Local Almond Milk, an Idaho Falls company, will be one of the presenters at the Entrepreneurs' Platform at EITC Tuesday.

The Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center (E Center) and Founder’s Forum will be holding its next Entrepreneurs’ Platform Tuesday at Eastern Idaho Technical College.

The Entrepreneurs’ Platform seeks to bring together local entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders to learn about new businesses and ideas, expand professional networks and help grow the economy. Audience members can support the Platform presenters by offering resources, including expertise, contacts, etc., after their presentations.

Sponsored by the Idaho National Lab and Eastern Idaho Technical College, Tuesday’s Platform, will be held in Room 541 of the the Alexander Creek Building from noon to 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Each of the businesses presenting is seeking mentoring and resources to continue to grow. The presenters include:

Landon Walker: Owner of Local Almond Milk, which produces local almond and cashew milk.

Joseph Cammack: Co-founder of ArmsReach, a bedside organizer. This product started at Eastern Idaho’s Start-up Weekend last October.

Coulton Woods and Stephan Larson: Starts of FiXD, which provides insurance for cell phones and tablets.

For further information on the Entrepreneurs’ Platform or the mission of the E Center, contact Megan Luthy at 208.356.5009 or visit www.idahoecenter.org.

Tradehome Shoes plans store in Grand Teton Mall

A Tradehome Shoes store somewhere in America

Tradehome Shoes has filed plans with the Idaho Falls Building Department to put a store in the Grand Teton Mall.

This will be its third store in Idaho. It has one in Twin Falls and another in Boise.

The company was founded in 1921 and is based in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. It currently operates more than 100 stores in 20 states, including two in Idaho, in Boise and Twin Falls. Its stores carry nearly 100 brands from Dr. Martens to Adidas to Johnston & Murphy.

Here are the company’s social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/TradehomeShoes1921
http://www.tradehomeshoes.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/TradehomeShoes

Idaho Falls liquor store opens in new location

Store 203, now at 385 North Woodruff Avenue

Idaho Falls doesn’t have a new liquor store, just a bigger one in a location with better traffic.
The new state store, at 385 North Woodruff Avenue, between WinCo Foods and Great Clips on Woodruff Avenue, replaces the one at at 2105 Niagara Street.

“I just love the lighting,” said cashier Debbie Peterson, who came over to the new store when it opened Tuesday.

Although beer and wine are sold in grocery and convenience stores in communities where local authorities allow it, hard spirits in Idaho are sold in state-owned stores that are licensed to franchisees. Idaho Falls has three stores and Ammon has one.

The Woodruff Avenue store is managed by Jason Fitch. A move from Niagara had been in the works since the liquor store opened in the Teton Spectrum in Ammon, Peterson said. The space on Woodruff had been vacant for more than a year, ever since the party supply store had moved out.

Hours at Store 203 are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Delta begins flying Airbus jet daily into Idaho Falls

Delta has begun flying an Airbus A320 into Idaho Falls Regional Airport every night.

After nearly 20 years, Delta Air Lines has begun flying big jets back into Idaho Falls Regional Airport.

The seating plan of an A320

Since May, an Airbus A320 has been flying in from Salt Lake City every night at 10:20 and leaving at 8 the next morning. Airport Director Craig Davis said that while the original plan was for a trial period, he has since been told the flights will be permanent.

Delta stopped flying 737s into Idaho Falls in the 1990s, opting instead to have Skywest provide service with Brasilia turbo-props and Canadair regional jets. The Brasilias are long gone, and the CRJs are reaching the limit the Federal Aviation Administration is willing to allow them to remain flying in United States airspace. “(They’re) timing out and being decommissioned, and the big question is what is going to replace them.

With 12 first class seats and 148 seats in the main cabin, the Airbus is a much larger and roomier plane. This is the same jet Frontier was briefly flying between Idaho Falls and Denver in 2014 (a new CEO changed the company's business strategy, and Frontier pulled out of smaller markets). Davis said he does not know whether more big commercial jets will be coming to Idaho Falls, but sees the Delta flight as a positive sign.

On a less celebratory note, he said he does not see fares out of Idaho Falls coming down until Delta and Alaska Air settle the feud they are having over the Salt Lake to Seattle route. At a recent conference he attended, an executive from one of the carriers told him that could take 12 to 18 months.

“Obviously we’d like to have Delta drop its rates,” he said.