Warner Truck Centers building $8 million dealership south of Idaho Falls

 

Warner Truck Centers of Salt Lake City, is moving forward on an $8 million Freightliner Truck dealership in Bonneville County, on 12.73 acres of land near Interstate 15 Exit 113.
The plans, filed in late July, call for a 55,106-square-foot truck sales and repair area, with a 10,000-square-foot mezzanine. It project is located at the corner of 65th South and Doug Andrus Drive. The contractor on the project is Zwick Construction of Midvale, Utah.

The company has been in operation since 1983. The Idaho Falls dealership will be its fifth. Its other Idaho dealership is in Jerome and another is planned for Caldwell. In Utah, the company is in Salt Lake, Salina and Hurricane. Overall, it employs close to 480 people.

As a certified Freightliner, Western Star, and Sterling dealership the company provides parts and service for both heavy and light duty vehicles, body and paint work and fleet management.

For more about the company, follow this link to a 2013 story that ran in the Salt Lake Tribune: Utah's Warner Truck Center keeps the big rigs moving.

Voigt Davis becomes affiliated with national real estate network

Voigt Davis, a longtime Idaho Falls real estate agency, has joined the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate network. The company will remain under the leadership of owner John Tanner, broker Patricia Davis and partner Brian Thompson, who hope to benefit from the marketing resources the affiliation brings.

In a press release, Tanner was quoted as saying it was important to align the agency, which has been in the community nearly 30 years, with a national brand name. The Better Homes and Gardens network brings digital tools and strategies that Voigt Davis hasn’t had before. “We are certain that the newfound technology proficiency and overall support will bring us to the next level of success,” he said.
 
Headquartered in Madison, N.J., the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate network has roughly 280 franchise agencies in 28 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, with 9,100 sales associates. Voigt Davis is the second franchisee in Idaho.

Vendors sought for 'Boo at the Zoo'

The festive lights last year at "Boo at the Zoo."

Summer will be with us another month, but the days are getting shorter, back to school sales are happening and the Tautphaus Park Zoological Society is once again seeking vendors to participate in “Boo at the Zoo,” Oct. 28, 29 & 30.

Now in its 15th year, “Boo at the Zoo” is a “merry, not scary,” family-friendly Halloween event that attracts more than 10,000 guests. One popular element is the trick-or-treat stations throughout the zoo, sponsored by local businesses and organizations.

The event also features more than 500,000 lights, dozens of inflatable decorations, nightly costume contests, crafts and games. Depending on sponsorship levels, vendor promotions include radio, website, social media and print. Vendors will also be listed in the zoo’s Animal Challenge Newsletter,  which reaches more than 1,300 members.

Vendor fees are $100 for businesses, $50 for non-profits. Booth space is limited, so haste is advised. All proceeds, after expenses, are donated to the Idaho Falls Zoo.

For more information about the event, visit the zoo online — Tauthphaus Park Zoo — or contact Laurie Gravatt at (208) 612-8421 or tpzs@cableone.net.

Panera Bread plans bakery-cafe in Idaho Falls

An artist's rendering of what the remodeled property might look like.

Panera Bread, a national chain of bakery-cafes, has filed paperwork with the city of Idaho Falls indicating it plans to open in part of the vacant CD World building on Hitt Road.

The papers, filed with the Idaho Falls Building Department in late July, represent the first step in the process. The real estate broker, Mark Bottles Real Estate Services of Boise, is still looking for a tenant to lease space on the north end of the 8,970-square foot building, at 2820 S. 25 East.

As of June 30, Panera Bread had 1,926 bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada, operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. and Paradise Bakery & Café names. Going by the company’s Web site, this will be the first Panera Bread between Fort Collins, Colo., and the Boise area. The company’s development strategy calls for franchisees to open a number of units, typically 15 bakery-cafes over a period of 6 years. They must have a proven track record as restaurant operators, net worth of $7.5 million and liquid assets of $3 million.

Panera Bread began on the East Coast in 1981 as Au Bon Pain Co. In 1993, Au Bon Pain purchased Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area. In 1999, all of Au Bon Pain's business units were sold except for Panera Bread, and the company was renamed Panera Bread.

In 2007, Panera Bread purchased a majority stake in Paradise Bakery & Café, a Phoenix-based company with more than 70 locations in 10 states, mainly in the west and southwest). The Company purchased the balance of Paradise in June 2009. Since then, it has reach a market capitalization of $4.5 billion. Panera Bread has been recognized as one of Business Week's "100 Hot Growth Companies" and the Wall Street Journal's Shareholder Scorecard in 2006 named it the top performer in the restaurant category for one-, five- and ten-year returns to shareholders.

Construction Solutions files plans for new headquarters

Construction Solutions Co. has filed plans for a new building in Ammon, at the corner of 14th North and Terrill Drive.

Operating from an office on McNeil Drive, the company has been active in the area for more than three years. “We just thought it was time to move into our own building,” said Jared Turner, who is partners with Eric Wall and Jim Turner in the company.

Turner said business has been growing for the company. They built the new D.L. Evans Bank at Sandcreek Commons in Ammon, and did remodels for Apple Athletic Club and McAffee Security at Snake River Landing. On the restaurant side, they built the Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Idaho Falls, the Noodles and Co. shell on Hitt Road and have been involved with NPC International, which operates over 1,250 Pizza Hut units in 28 states.

They plan to break ground on the new building in the next few weeks and have it done by early 2016. Located on 1.4 acres, it will be 8,050 square feet and divided into four sections. Construction Solutions will use one section for office and another for its shop and lease the other two sections to tenants, Turner said.