High end portraiture studio opens in Idaho Falls

Looking like he belongs in The

New Yorker, here's Damond Watkins

posing for Studio M. Not 

everyone

can pull off this classic look.

Mark Richardson and Mark Hargis are betting that in the age of selfie proliferation there are still some people willing to pay for a quality portrait photograph. The two have opened Studio M, a new large format studio in Idaho Falls at 255 B Street, Suite 207.

“Our speciality is large format portraits that capture a person's personality or show them in a unique and interesting way,” Richardson said. “We believe that in the day of cell phone cameras and selfies, people are starting to see the value in true professional and traditional large format portrait prints that can become a focal point in the home and a treasured heirloom.”

Sessions are by appointment only. The sitting fee is $500, with a complimentary 11-by-14 print and a selection of images from the session optimized for social media. High resolution digital files are available for purchase online after the session.

“We create portraits, rather than images, that accurately portray our clientele -- whether individual or family. We feel that quality portraiture deserves to printed on a large scale and incorporated into the most intimate spaces of our lives," Richardson said.

For those seeking an even more rare and unique photographic experience, Studio M offers large format sheet film as a medium. There will always be a classic look to a portrait made on large format film, and film still remains the medium of choice among experienced portrait photographers. Pricing starts at $1,000 for a portrait session, whether family or individual. Digital files and fine art museum-quality prints are an additional cost.

For more information, visit the Web page at https://www.studiom.photos/. For a look at the studio does, they’re also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/studio_m_photo/.

C-A-L Ranch Stores plans grand opening for new store July 21

C-A-L Ranch Stores, a company with roots in the Idaho Falls area that go back more for more than 60 years, will be holding a grand opening next week for its new store, just north of Wal-mart on Hitt Road. The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place July 21 at 11 a.m.

The new store, is C-A-L Ranch’s flagship store, offers 70,000 square feet of retail space, more than double the size of its longtime store on Anderson Street. In addition to the new retail facility, C-A-L Ranch is constructing a 30,000-square foot office space on Curlew Drive that will serve as corporate headquarters for the entire 25-store company. The store was built by Tom Stuart Construction and the office, to be completed later this year, is being built by Guardian Homes.

After the ribbon cutting, there will be drawings, door prizes, games, and savings throughout the store. Hot dogs for 25 cents will be available on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with proceeds benefiting Bonneville County 4-H.

The ranch and home retail company was founded in 1959 by Clinton Murphy and his sons Allen and L. Wayne Murphy. After crossing Montana in search of a suitable place for a store, the family decided to turn south and try their luck in Texas. On their way there, they stopped in Idaho Falls and recognized it would be a good place to root their business.

After a year, the company outgrew its 1,800-square foot building on the corner of Curtis and West 18th Street and relocated to a building in front of the stockyards on Yellowstone Highway. Twelve years later, it moved to Anderson Street, its home until now.

The new store features hundreds of products ranging from ranch and farm supplies to home décor and western apparel. Currently, C-A-L Ranch has 25 stores across Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

For nearly 60 years,the company has remained locally owned and operated. Longtime Idaho Falls resident and C-A-L Ranch employee Jerry Ward and his family currently own the company and continue to build its reputation as one of the region’s leading ranch, home and farm stores, with excellent selection and world-class customer service.

EIRMC relocates, renames Women's Imaging center

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center’s Imaging Center has a new name and a new home. Formerly at 1070 John Adams Parkway, Eastern Idaho Women’s Imaging is now at 2860 Channing Way, Suite 121 (the Medical Office Building west of the hospital’s emergency room.)

Eastern Idaho Women’s Imaging offers 3D and 2D mammography, breast and abdominal ultrasounds, stereotactic breast biopsies and bone density testing. The new facility is easily accessible without entering the main hospital and offers spacious, updated rooms, increased privacy, and a spa-like feel for patients.

In addition to state-of-the-art services, it offers an all-female staff with advanced certifications, and Saturday and weekday evening appointments are available.

There will be an open house Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. The staff will be on hand to give tours and answer questions, and light refreshments will be served.

Culver's, Eagle Rock Indian Motorcycle, now open

Brian Tomasko, seated on his new Chief Vintage, with Eagle Rock Indian dealership owner Todd Williams.

Two projects in or near the Taylor Crossing on the River project have opened in the past week: the eagerly anticipated Culver’s, at 946 Pancheri Drive, and Eagle Rock Indian Motorcycle, at 845 Milligan Road.

Culver’s is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. If you go to their web page, https://www.culvers.com/restaurants/idaho-falls-id-pancheri-dr, you will see that today’s flavor is Brownie Thunder and tomorrow’s is German Chocolate Fudge.

Today's flavor at Culver's:
Brownie Thunder

This is the fourth Culver’s in Idaho. The first was opened in Twin Falls in 2014, by Eugene Smith, a fourth-generation Wisconsin dairy farmer who left agriculture and moved west to open a franchise. As an alumnus of Ricks College, where he studied dairy farming, Smith had some experience with eastern Idaho.

The chain dates back to 1984, when George Culver, his wife, Ruth, son Craig, and daughter-in-law Lea, opened the first Culver’s Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin. Franchising began in 1987, and after a shaky start the chain expanded into Milwaukee and Madison. By the end of 2011, there were 445 Culver’s restaurants in 19 states.

Eagle Rock Indian opened on Friday and sold its first bike the same day, a Vintage Chief to Brian Tomasko. I have reposted the photo from their Facebook page, and it is gorgeous.

Indian is a company that dates back to 1901, when it was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts. In the 20th century it was a longtime competitor with Harley-Davidson in the U.S. motorcycle market. Chiefs, Scouts, and Junior Scouts were all used in World War II, but none could unseat the Harley-Davidson WLA as the motorcycle mainly used by the U.S. Army. The company went bankrupt in 1953.

In the years that followed, however, Indian’s legend was valuable enough for companies to want to revive the name. The latest iteration was formed in 2006, in Kings Mountain, N.C., where it manufactured Indian Chief motorcycles in limited numbers, with a focus on exclusivity rather than performance. In 2011, Polaris Industries, parent company of Victory Motorcycles, announced its intention to acquire Indian. The company’s production facilities were moved to Spirit Lake, Iowa, and in March 2013, Indian unveiled its new 111 cubic inches (1.82 L) "Thunder Stroke" engine and began to sell the newly designed motorcycles based on it.

For more information, visit http://eaglerockindianmotorcycle.com. The Idaho Falls showroom is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. They’d probably appreciate it if you ate your ice cream outside.

Pachanga's in transition, hopes to open on A Street by month's end

The new signage at Pachanga's, with the Willard Arts Center reflected in the window.

If you were downtown Saturday night it was your last chance to eat at Pachanga's at its longtime location at the corner of Park Avenue and B Street. The restaurant is packing up and moving to 439 A Street, formerly the site of Black Rock Fine Wines and Craft Beer and, before that, Vino Rosso.

On Saturday, much work
inside remained to be done.

Pachanga's owner Antonio Meza of Pachangas applied to the Idaho Falls Building Department on March 8 for a building permit to remodel the property. Now that the push is on, the hope is for the new restaurant will be open in a week, two at the most.

Pachanga's started on Capital Avenue across from the Bonneville County Courthouse, but after its business outgrew that location it moved to the Earl Building. Meza said things were set in motion early this year when his landlord, Thomas Development, told him they had a new tenant interested in their space.

He then learned that Jerry and Jeannie Frazzell were looking for a buyer for their property, which had been remodeled as Black Rock Fine Wines and Craft Beer in 2015. Black Rock's lease was up at the end of March, which put owner Chuck Chute in a scramble pattern, but by the end of March he had moved his operation to 343 Park Avenue, next door to the Samoa Club.

There is a Thonton Oliver Keller sign in the window at Park and B.