Biz Buzz: Popular restaurant relocating after 9 years of business
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Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BRIEF
IDAHO FALLS
Diablas Kitchen opening inside old Westbank location
IDAHO FALLS – After nine years of business in downtown Idaho Falls, Diablas Kitchen is moving into the old Westbank property next to the Rodeway Inn at 525 River Parkway.
Restaurant owner Deana Brower tells EastIdahoNews.com she’s planning to open at the new location Saturday, June 20.
“We’ll open up to the public, and we’ll have our menu available. We’re going to do a big party grand opening later on in the season because we want to make sure we can have more than the state is saying at the moment,” Brower says.
A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for June 19 at noon.
Brower says the new location more than quadruples her current space at 368 A Street, which closed Sunday. The new building has roughly 6,000 square feet of space compared to about 900 square feet previously.
The search for more space began several years ago. In addition to running the restaurant, Brower provides catering services, and she says the current space limits the amount of time she can devote to each aspect of the business. The building on River Parkway proved to be the most ideally suited for future growth, Brower says.
“We looked at a couple of other spaces in downtown that were bigger, but it felt like putting a Band-Aid on something that needed major surgery,” says Brower. “I didn’t want to move and be stunted again…and (the building on River Parkway) gave us an opportunity for even more growth.”
Moving forward, the restaurant will be open seven days a week and include a bigger bar area. There will also be a seasonal menu to provide more consistency for customers.
“We’ve rotated our menu pretty much weekly for the entire time I’ve been open,” says Brower. “Even though we’ve had popular items, we’ve never had a consistent menu that was always there. We wanted our customers to have the ability to come in and order something they recognize.”
RELATED | East Idaho Eats: Diablas Kitchen offers ‘clean comfort food’
Browers describes the menu at Diablas Kitchen as clean comfort food made from scratch daily. Misty’s chicken salad and the pork verde burrito are some of the commonly requested items. A full menu will be released in the coming weeks.
Catering director Joel Henry says another appealing aspect of the River Parkway building is its location, which capitalizes on the falls, the city’s most iconic feature.
ANDX Entertainment, which recently took over the Motor Vu Drive-in, got the ball rolling on this move in March when they approached Henry.
ANDX founder Andy Johnson says he was looking to expand their event services by including a catering venue. Another restaurant owner turned him down initially but recommended Henry.
Both businesses saw a mutual benefit in helping each other serve their clients, Johnson says, and that led to the creation of West Bank Management LLC.
The two organizations will continue to operate as two separate businesses, but Johnson says the LLC is the overlapping element that allows them to partner for specific events.
“We feel like we can really do something when it comes to the A/V side,” ANDX Sales Director DJ Combe says. “We can provide an all-around great experience, and we feel the same way about Diablas. Their food is great … and we just want to get us all under one roof to maximize on all of our strengths.”
RELATED | Local business aims to start a new tradition and ‘Deck the Falls’ this Christmas season
ANDX used the space where Diablas is moving for “Deck the Falls” in December. Johnson is planning to bring the event back again this year, and the company will be moving to 500 N. Utah Ave. next to Chili’s restaurant ahead of the Diablas ribbon-cutting.
Brower says she’s grateful for all the support through the years, and she is looking forward to serving customers in the new location.
“I’m excited. We’re ready for this change,” Brower says. “We’ve been working on this a long time and it’s nice to see that when you put in hard work, things come to fruition.”
Diablas’ hours will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday for lunch, and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. Brunch will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Visit the website or Facebook page for more information.
BIZ BITS
Hospice of Eastern Idaho wins customer experience award
IDAHO FALLS – Hospice of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls is proud to announce they are the recipient of Pinnacle Quality Insight’s 2020 Customer Experience Award. Qualifying for the award in the categories of Hospice Team Communication, Treating Family Member with Respect, Getting Emotional and Religious Support, and Getting Hospice Care Training. Hospice of Eastern Idaho displays a continued dedication to providing Best in Class senior healthcare services.
By qualifying for the Pinnacle Customer Experience Award, Hospice of Eastern Idaho has satisfied the rigorous demand of scoring in the top 15% of the nation across a 12-month average. Clients have the opportunity to achieve this Best in Class distinction on a monthly basis in many categories designed to accurately reflect each patient’s experience.
New sandwich shop opening in Rexburg
REXBURG – The Rexburg Chamber of Commerce is inviting you to the ribbon-cutting and grand opening for Port of Subs, a new restaurant in Rexburg. The ribbon-cutting is happening Thursday, July 2, at 11 a.m. The grand opening will occur between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. July 2, 3 and 4. Those who attend can get sub for $2. There will be lots of giveaways as well. Port of Subs is at 121 E. Main Street.
Annual meeting for local utility will be held virtually
ASHTON – Fall River Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting for owner-members will be held Saturday, June 13, at 1 p.m. Out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19, Fall River’s board decided to conduct the 2020 annual meeting online. This first-ever virtual meeting will include the election results for three positions on the co-op’s board, changes in the bylaws and an advisory vote on a future proposal concerning board candidate voting.
Bryan Case, Fall River Electric’s CEO and general manager, along with board President Doug Schmier and accountant Mike Burton will provide members with vital information. Over 30 scholarships to children of members of Fall River who intend to continue their education beyond high school will also be presented. Click here to view this year’s meeting.
SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
ROBERTS
Local couple opens school to teach students the art of farriery
ROBERTS – Every day, Riley and Ashtyn Mickelsen cowboy up and teach students how to become farriers at the Idaho Horseshoeing School.
At this point, you may be asking, “What’s a farrier?”
“A farrier is a blacksmith, meaning we work with hot metal … but a blacksmith is not a farrier because a farrier does all the blacksmithing for a horse (specifically),” Riley tells EastIdahoNews.com.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY.
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