Geraldine’s opens location in Pocatello. It will have scones
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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 BUZZ
POCATELLO
New location for local restaurant offers ice cream and scones
POCATELLO — Geraldine’s Bake Shoppe and Deli, a long-standing establishment of Chubbuck, has opened a location in Pocatello.
The building that previously held Reed’s Waffles and Ice Cream now houses Geraldine’s new location. It opened its doors on March 28 and the owner has been trying to get the word out.
Danielle Cooper, owner of the Chubbuck and Pocatello Geraldine’s Bake Shoppe and Deli, got to talking to her customers and found how many come to them from Pocatello.
(Cooper does not own the Ammon Geraldine’s.)
Then, when the location became available closer to those customers, “it just kind of happened,” Cooper said. She said she’s even noticed that people living in Highland have been coming to the Pocatello location because it’s easier for them to get there.
The new building, located at 1301 South 5th Avenue, has the advantage of having been previously used for food service.
“Luckily for us, the building was pretty set up already,” said Stephanie Wheatley, Manager.
Cooper said getting the new location ready for the opening, “it’s just all fallen into place.” The only thing the new location is waiting on is getting signage put up, which should be ready by Monday.
Besides that, the most significant challenge is getting the word out to customers. To do that, Cooper said they’ve relied on their younger employees, who she said are good at marketing through social media apps.
So far, they’ve brought on three new employees, but they’ve been sharing workers between the two locations. Wheatley said that they like to train people at the Chubbuck location before having them work at the Pocatello one.
Cooper said the Pocatello location will have “access to the students and all those customers over there. It’s another chance to get our products out there in the people’s hands.”
This new Geraldine’s offers nearly everything the Chubbuck store does besides salads, which Wheatley said would eventually move over as well. Geraldine’s offers a variety of different baked goods, sandwiches, soups and salads.
The new location also offers ice cream and scones.
“That building has just been known as having ice cream. It was Subway a long time ago, and then they had the Reeds building over there,” Wheatley said. “So we decided to go ahead and carry ice cream so that it will draw business in.”
While Cooper said that the recent spring snowstorm the area experienced didn’t do them any good, it was busy the first three days when they opened, so she’s confident that the store will fill up again when more of the snow melts.
“We opened last Tuesday, and people seemed really excited about it on social media. You know, they’re spreading the word and letting people know we’re here,” Cooper said.
BIZ BITS
Wackerli Subaru donating over $21K to Snake River Animal Shelter
The following is a news release from Snake River Animal Shelter:
Idaho Falls — Each year, Subaru donates $250 to a nonprofit for each new vehicle purchased during their nationwide “Share the Love” event. Over the last 15 years, Subaru and its participating retailers have donated more than $250 million to charity, with customers choosing between different organizations.
Wackerli Subaru in Idaho Falls is committed to supporting hometown charities during the nationwide “Share the Love” event and has donated over $171,228 to local charities over the past years.
“Wackerli Subaru has been dedicated to help, volunteer, and grow our hometown charities through Subaru’s LOVE Pillars and we LOVE having the opportunity to help make a difference in our community!”
In 2022, Wackerli Subaru in Idaho Falls and its customers have chosen to donate to the Snake River Animal Shelter. This year, they are donating $21,263 to support the care of homeless animals in need. This donation could not have come at a better time, explains Michelle Ziel-Dingman, Executive Director of Snake River Animal Shelter.
“Wackerli Subaru’s commitment to helping our no-kill rescue save over 1,000 animals per year is unmatched. We have recently seen an unprecedented (number) of animals who need rehomed or have been abandoned. Thanks to Wackerli and their customers’ generosity, we will continue to have the funds to provide a warm, safe place for those animals as they begin their journeys to new homes,” said Ziel-Dingman.
The Snake River Animal Shelter (SRAS) is the only non-profit animal sheltering facility serving all of East Idaho. Its aim is to improve and save animal lives by promoting quality care and compassion through adoption and humane education in the region. Since 2015, Snake River Animal Shelter has helped more than 7,000 animals find new homes and provided crucial veterinary medical care for hundreds of dogs that may have been euthanized otherwise.
The community is invited to attend a check presentation ceremony on April 7 at 11 a.m. at Wackerli Subaru at 1050 N. Woodruff Avenue in Idaho Falls. Adoptable animals will be in attendance at the ceremony.
For more information about Snake River Animal Shelter and to view its available dogs, visit their website.
Click here to learn more about Subaru’s “Share the Love” event or visit Wackerli Auto Center in Idaho Falls.
Rigby HS business club set for trip to California, national competition
RIGBY — A group of future business owners will trek from Rigby to Anaheim this month, where they will represent eastern Idaho on a national stage.
The Rigby High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) club will compete in fields from entrepreneurialism, administrative research, global marketing and more. They earned the right to represent their town and community on this massive scale after being one of the top groups in February’s state competition.
Senior Max Mecham, one of the club’s eight members, said his team is “very excited” to represent Rigby.
Junior Ashlyn Stucki, one of two members who will pitch business plans in the entrepreneurial portion of the competition, is already a small-business owner. Stucki said her parents are business owners, so she has always been interested. But she recently launched an embroidery business of her own.
“I’ve always, kind of, wanted to learn more about (business), especially when I was a freshman — I’ve just stuck with it,” she said.
Read more of this story here.
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