Like me. Follow me. What gives?

What is it that makes social media feel so desperate sometimes? I mean, I feel sort of silly asking people to become my "followers," even though that's what it takes to give this blog the veneer of legitimacy. Likewise on Facebook, I'm imploring hundreds to "Like" me.

When I think about my old Shoptalk column in the paper, I appreciate now the luxury of landing on 20,000 doorsteps every Monday. I didn't have to ask you to let me into your homes. Moreover, you were paying to have it with your Wheaties. All that is changed now.

I'm happy to report that BizMojo Idaho is on Facebook now, thanks in great part to Jared at Novayx. Without him I'd still be rooting around like a blind hog under an oak tree. Now anything I post here will appear on a corresponding FB page, and anyone who has liked my page will automatically see it. Pretty slick.

Checking the stats Saturday morning, I see we've been viewed 277 times (not counting myself) since Sept. 11, when we "went live." BizMojo Idaho now has 20 followers, whom I feel obligated to not disappoint.

Anyway, please, please, pretty please Like us on Facebook. There will be lots of good things to read this week.

Areva denies Bloomberg report that I.F. plant construction may be frozen

This link goes to my old Post Register colleague Rocky Barker's blog for the Idaho Statesman. I imagine the subject is of local interest:

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2011/09/13/rockybarker/report_suggests_areva_may_freeze_idaho_uranium_plant_investment

Here's another link on this, from Dan Yurman's blog, Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes, which covers political and economic news about nuclear energy and nonproliferation issues:

http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2011/09/questions-about-arevas-committment-to.html 

Chick-fil-A plans Dec. 8 opening for Hitt Road location

Compared to a few years ago, the proliferation of restaurants around here has slowed to a crawl. Nevertheless, I was curious (as I am sure you were) to find out when Chick-fil-A will be opening at the old Fazoli's location, 3003 S. 25th East (Hitt Road).

The company's Web site (www.chick-fil-a.com) reported Nov. 17, the same day it will be opening locations in Baton Rogue, La.; Fort Worth, Texas; Fullerton, Calif.; and Aurora, Colo., but we have since learned from the franchisee that they are shooting for Dec. 8.
Chick-fil-A dates back to 1946, when S. Truett Cathy started a restaurant called Dwarf Grill (later Dwarf House) in Hapeville, Ga. His brainstorm for the chicken sandwich came from the idea of creating a quick way to serve food to workers at a nearby Ford plant (now demolished). He discovered that pressure cooking the chicken in peanut oil allowed for a fast serving time. The sandwich came with two pickles because that was the only condiment he had in the pantry when he created the sandwich.

Cathy (still the company's chairman) started Chick-fil-A in 1967. For years it was found mainly in shopping mall food courts, but since 1986 it has focused more on free standing and drive-through locations.

In 2010 it reported $3.5 billion in sales. As of September this year it had 1,583 locations in 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The Idaho Falls location will be its second in Idaho (the first is in Boise).

New bike shop opens downtown

Dave Wilding has been self-employed at a number of things, like fences and remodeling, but it's bicycles he has always been passionate about. When he decided last year that Idaho Falls needed a bike shop that would cater to people like himself, he started laying plans for what is now Dave's Bike Shop, at 341 West Broadway.

Although from a bottom line standpoint it's all about selling bicycles, there's more to it. "People who are into bikes, they want to visit. They want to know what's going on," he said. "They want to hear about the latest, the greatest, the lightest, the fastest stuff."

Wilding carries two main brands, Felt and Jamis. As for his selection, he carries bikes for little kids, BMX, townies, cruisers, hybrids, mountain bikes and road bikes.
He recognizes the mountain bikes from $200 to $400 are going to be his bread and butter, but wants to carry everything "from low end to high end."

Since opening Sept. 1, he estimates he's been seeing about 20 customers a day. He is looking to get the word out about his repair person, Aaron Arave, who has been fixing bikes for 15 year. "He is the only UBI certified mechanic in town," Wilding said. "We feel very lucky to have him."

If you want to find out more, here's his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DavesBikeShopIdahoFalls. Feel free to like him. Everybody likes to be liked, don't they?

Oswald Service and Repair relocating

New construction in Idaho Falls has been so anemic that anytime a foundation gets poured I want to know what's going on. While hanging out at the Frosty Gator in May, I couldn't help but notice that something was happening where the Dick Sayer car lot had been.

It turned out to be Oswald Service and Repair, a Yellowstone Avenue standby since the early 1950s. For years, the Oswald Sinclair station was one of the few places in Idaho Falls where someone would pump your gas for you. After they stopped pumping gas in 2008, Kevin Oswald, who took over the business from his father, Blaine, chose to focus solely on repair work.

Almost right away they knew they were going to have to operate in a bigger space. The station was built in the 40s, when cars were smaller. "If we had to work on a longbed pickup in the winter, the back would be sticking out with the door open," he said.

Although he would have liked to have stayed at the corner of Constitution and Yellowstone, the lot sits over an underground parking garage, which would have presented a problem with new construction.

Oswald said he was driving to work one morning when he noticed the old Sayer lot was for sale. "A lightbulb went off over my head," he said. "We love downtown and want to stay there. And by relocating a block away we won't be dislocating customers. We have very, very loyal customers."

The new shop, scheduled to open in October, is 3,500 square feet with six bays and doors 12 feet high. "We'll be able to handle longer, taller vehicles," he said. While the garage currently employs four people, including Oswald, they could be adding a fifth, depending on how business goes in the new location.

Picking up where I left off

I suppose there's a bit of presumption on my part getting back into the saddle, but over the past three years enough of you have told me you miss my writing to make me believe my name is still worth something.

My old approach to the weekly business column was three-pronged: pay attention to what's going on around town (new construction, signs, etc.); answer people's questions, no matter how trivial or far-out they seemed; and keep the tone personal and conversational. That approach worked, and I see no reason to do anything different. The timing will be different, however. Instead of once a week in print, our plan is to update BizMojo Idaho all the time -- online, on your iPhones and Droids, on Facebook and Twitter.

This isn't to say that we have given up on print. Not at all. I still believe that print has a comfort element that appeals to people of all ages. I think of my niece's husband, Stu, who lives in New York City and rides the train to work every day. He's a sports fan, and when it comes to reading the scores and the stories from the previous night's games it's not his phone or his laptop he looks at, it's a newspaper. Yeah, one of those.

So you will be seeing BizMojo Idaho in print (we're not sure where yet), not only because we respect your desire to get ink on your fingers but because we are confident our presence in print will spark your interest in finding us online. Then our sponsors will find value in our product to the point where they will give it continued support, and we will go on to establish a reputation as the leading source of timely business news in eastern Idaho.

I would be remiss at this stage not to credit Novayx Group (www.novayx.com) and Jeff Sayer for their support. Novayx offers customized financial services to businesses, and as a new company it has an interest in getting its name and brand out in front of as many people as possible. Jeff has enough imagination to think that I can help him do that, bless his heart.

Just as in the past, I am open anything you might have to tell me or any questions you have.