Kneaders in Ammon opening Friday morning

Staff at Kneaders were busy Wednesday getting the restaurant ready for its official opening Friday.

Kneaders in Ammon’s Sandcreek Commons shopping center has been serving customers in the the past few day through a soft opening and special events, but the actual opening is at 7 a.m. Friday. Free French toast — all you can eat — will be served to the first 100 customers (who will also receive t-shirts).

The restaurant is being managed by Bobbi Elliot, previously the food service manager at the Flying J Travel Stop near Interstate 15 Exit 113. The restaurant is 4,214 square feet, with a kitchen and serving area of 2,226 square feet and a seating area of 1,618 square feet. Occupancy for the entire restaurant is 143.

Kneaders dates back to 1997, when it was founded by Gary and Colleen Worthington. It specializes in European hearth breads made from scratch on site daily, as well as gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries and breakfast items. It also provides catering services for groups of all sizes, from birthday parties to weddings, and offers a variety of retail products including award-­winning gift baskets and holiday­-themed gifts.

So far, the company has more than 42 locations in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Idaho, where it opened its first store in Meridian. Like many chains, there is a mix of franchise operations and company­ owned stores. The Ammon restaurant is company owned.

Eric Isom, chief development officer of Ball Ventures, the co­-developer of Sand Creek
Commons, said that when courting tenants for their projects they have sought a lot of input from locals. Because so many people travel from eastern Idaho to Utah, there has been a lot of interest in Kneaders. “It’s been one of the most common requests in the last two or three years,” he said.

EIRMC launches canned food drive to mark 30th anniversary

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is celebrating its 30-year anniversary this fall. The hospital opened its doors on Dec. 22, 1986.

One of the ways it plans to observe the occasion is with a canned food drive. The goal is to collect 30,000 cans to benefit 11 food banks in the region EIRMC serves. The hospital sees patients from all over eastern Idaho, from Driggs to Blackfoot, including Idaho Falls.

“We are thrilled and honored to participate in EIRMC’s celebration of three decades of caring for our community,” said Bud Langerak, executive director of the Community Food Basket in Idaho Falls. “The coinciding food drive will help several food pantries serve our friends and neighbors with food insecurity. I encourage our communities to support this great event with food donations at EIRMC and the free online donation process.”

Community members can help with the food drive in two ways. They can drop off cans of food in the EIRMC main lobby or cafeteria at any time. Or they can deliver canned foods to the participating food banks and tell them it is for the EIRMC food drive.

Second, community members can visit EIRMC30Years.com to “virtually donate” to the food drive. Visitors can submit their email each day and EIRMC will donate on their behalf.

The EIRMC30Years.com website includes a count of the total cans donated so far, which is updated weekly. On the website, visitors will also find historical photos, stories from longtime employees, EIRMC history, and other information about the 30 year anniversary.

The canned food drive is scheduled to run through the end of December.

Here is a complete list of food banks: Community Dinner Table (Blackfoot Community Pantry), Community Food Basket (Idaho Falls), Cornerstone Pentecostal Food Bank, Family Crisis Center (Rexburg), Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen, Jefferson County Food Bank, North Bingham County Community Food Bank, North Fremont Food Pantry, Salvation Army (Idaho Falls), St. Vincent de Paul, and Teton Valley Food Bank.

Pinecrest Event Center opens Friday

A seating area in the new Pinecrest Event Center, which opens Friday.

Pinecrest Event Center, 505 E. Anderson Street, is opening for its first event this weekend. This is the space that used to be Lamont’s in the Country Club Mall. With more than 25,800 square feet, including a 19,500 reception hall, it is equipped to handle banquets up to 1,600 or a theater setting of up to 2,100 people.

Business owners Jay and Cathy Dye saw a need for a place that could handle large parties, banquets and receptions, trade shows and special events. For the past two holiday seasons, the only sizable option in Idaho Falls has been the Shilo Inn.

The calendar has been filling up. Following the Home Improvement and Remodeling Expo this weekend, events include the Habitat for Humanity Hoedown (Sept. 30), the Pink Dance Party Zumbathon benefit for the Rex and Tiffany Redden Foundation (Oct. 1), the 10th Annual Policeman’s Ball (Oct. 7), and the Idaho Falls Gem and Mineral Rock and Jewelry Sale (Oct. 8). In November the Idaho Falls Ski Club Sale and Fest will be there, as will the 42nd Annual Festival of Trees.

For more information, call (208) 227-8088, or check out the Web page, pinecresteventcenter.net/.

I.F. Advertising Federation holding annual kickoff Thursday

The Idaho Falls Ad Federation will be starting its 2016-17 season with its annual Season Kick-off and Recruitment Party Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at Snow Eagle Brewery, 455 River Parkway.

IFAF is a non-profit, volunteer trade organization made up of members in the marketing, advertising, design, web, social media and public relations industries. Its avowed purpose is to promote professional development among its membership and foster creativity through education. It hosts a monthly “Lunch and Learn” session, where guest speakers share expertise and offer inspiration.

Thursday's mixer is a way to meet creatives, designers, and media representatives while enjoying food and drinks. Memberships will be on sale.

For more information about AdFed, visit the organization's Web site: https://ifadfed.wordpress.com/

Van Ashton of Idaho Falls Power honored for energy efficiency work

Van Ashton

Van Ashton of Idaho Falls Power has been recognized by the Northwest Public Power Association for his career in the public power industry and his work at advancing energy efficiency.

It is estimated that Ashton’s leadership has resulted in 70 million kilowatt-hours of energy savings over his career. Ashton accepted the Jim Brands Award Tuesday at the NWPPA’s Communications and Energy Innovations Conference in Missoula, Mont.

In 1983 the average winter consumption for electrically heated homes in Idaho Falls was 2,645 kilowatt-hours. Today, it is 1,676 kilowatt-hours.

Ashton was hired in 1981 as IFP’s first customer service representative. He was a strong advocate among Idaho’s public power utilities to develop and implement energy efficiency measures within the Idaho Energy Authority (IDEA).

"Van's legacy at Idaho Falls Power will be the tremendous success of the energy efficiency programs that he developed and implemented," said Jackie Flowers, Idaho Falls Power's general manager. "The savings realized through those programs have helped us extend the capacity of our local power assets and weather some rocky times in the industry."

At IFP, Ashton led the creation of weatherization programs for residential and commercial customers. Between 1982 and 1989, an average of 1.3 million kilowatt-hours were saved annually through the conservation department. In 2008, IFP launched an advertising campaign called Switch to Energy Efficiency that has resulted in big increases in participation in the utility’s energy-efficiency programs. Since 2009, an average of 5.7 million kilowatt-hours have been saved annually through these programs.

In 2010, IFP began working with the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project. Ashton turned his attention to customer participation and testing, coordinating the installation of Demand Response technology in the homes of 1,200 volunteers. The technology proved capable of bolstering the utility’s energy efficiency and conservation measures and will soon be incorporated into the Energy Services program.

“Van has worked extremely hard to be an advocate for his utility, as well as neighboring utilities, in all of his dealings with BPA," said Mary Beth Evans, Bonneville Power Administration's  Energy Efficiency representative. "He is viewed by his peers as a leader in his industry and is looked up to by many. Van has a vast historical knowledge in the utility industry, and he is able to communicate that knowledge effectively with others.”