Wild Russet Cafe and Grill open on Lindsay Boulevard

Heather Phillipp, who recently opened the Wild Russet Bar and Grill with her partner, Jay Drahota.

While their main focus is on tourists, Heather Phillipp and Jay Drahota would certainly like locals to come check out their latest venture, the Wild Russet Bar and Grill at 850 Lindsay Boulevard, in the Guesthouse Inn.

The two, partners already in D'Railed, learned last winter that the property was unoccupied after the restaurant, Open Season, and bar, the Twilight Lounge, both closed. Phillipp said she had worked there as a teen-ager and remembered the size of the kitchen.

The kitchen needed work, however, and after reviewing the past arrangement, in which the restaurant was up front and the bar was in the back, they decided to integrate the restaurant and bar and let the hotel have the old bar area for its complimentary breakfast area.

The menu is soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers, supplemented by dishes made from 20 different varieties of potatoes. For the sake of visitors, Phillipp and Drahota wanted to give the place an Idaho theme, so there is a large variety of Idaho wines and locally brewed beers and ales. Guests often ask where they can buy souvenirs, so Drahota and Phillipp would like to start a crafts cupboard with Idaho-themed gift items. Anyone with something they think would fit the bill is welcome to call them at 881-5204.

The Wild Russet does catering and room service, and has a ballroom they hope to rent out for parties and events. "We just keep trying to test ourselves," Phillipp said.

Construction, real estate hold steady in first half of 2013

Now that we're halfway through the year (I know, I know … I don't want to deal with it either), let's look at what's going on with construction and real estate. Thanks to the city of Idaho Falls and the Snake River Multiple Listing Service, we have numbers for the first six months of this year as well as numbers from past years.

In a nutshell, construction in the city of Idaho Falls is lagging behind last year, but 2012 was extraordinary due to a few big projects. This year's six-month building permit total -- $38.4 million -- was way ahead of 2011, 2010 and 2009 (years I don't think most business people would care to live through again).

By the way, if you want a magnified view click on any of these graphics.

On the real estate front, the median home price in Bonneville County continued to climb back upwards, as did the number of homes sold.

Source: Snake River Multiple Listing Service

Here's something interesting, though. The median home price in 2008, right before the great collapse, was $160,182. If you bought a house for that amount then, what would it be worth today? The answer, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Housing Price Index Calculator, is $137,715. So we've still got a ways to go.

If you want to use the calculator to check out the relative value of your own house, here's the link: http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=86

Idaho Youth Ranch plans to open new store Aug. 3

Racks of clothing and boxes at the Idaho Youth Ranch's new store on Woodruff Avenue near WinCo Foods, scheduled to open to the public Aug. 3.

The Idaho Youth Ranch is busy getting moved from downtown to a new location on Woodruff Avenue, next door to WinCo Foods, where the Honks store used to be, with a grand opening set for Aug. 3.


The 13,000 square feet at the new location will be more room than they have had downtown on Shoup Avenue, said Jeff Myers, vice president of business enterprises for the Boise-based charity. Myers oversees operations at the 27 thrift stores the Youth Ranch operates statewide.

More importantly, the location is going to be more accessible for both donors and shopers, with better access and parking. Myers said the level of support from donors and supporters in Idaho Falls has always been good.

"Every dollar we make raises funds for kids' programs," he said. "Once we move, we expect the (new) store to double the contribution we get from Idaho Falls."

EIRMC names Niemann new marketing and community relations director

Coleen Niemann

Coleen Niemann has been named director of marketing and community relations at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

She came to work for the Idaho Falls hospital in 2010 as community relations specialist. Prior to that, she was marketing director of an acute care hospital in Phoenix. In January 2012 she went to work in the Salt Lake City divisional office of Hospital Corp. of America, EIRMC's parent company. She returned to Idaho Falls in October.

Niemann is taking over for Cindy Smith-Putnam, who left EIRMC in June, and hopes to carry on the work already started. "Cindy had a huge impact on the hospital and the community and left the department in extraordinary shape," she said. "I plan to concentrate on what we've been doing all along, the level of service, exposure, patient experience and patient satisfaction."

"She will do a great job." Smith-Putnam said. "She's a really smart person. I feel good about leaving things in good hands."

3 Rivers Health Center opens in old Essence of You location

The old Hatch Mansion and grounds on First Street has reopened as a place for massage and naturopathic medicine.

After close to three years of being vacant, the old Hatch mansion at 1421 First Street has new tenants devoted to massage therapy, new age healing, acupuncture, and the like.

The sign outside what used to be Essence of You day spa now says, 3 Rivers Health Center, but that's only part of the picture. The three principals -- Karie Jonak, Joliene Crystal and Jasmine Kinney, hope to soon be hosting weddings and receptions on the grounds and a Green Goddess kitchen open to serve healthy, natural foods ("We don't need another place with fries," said Crystal).

The soft opening at the new location was Monday, and today there was still a lot of unpacking to be done. But everybody under the new roof has been practicing somewhere else (Jonak has had a naturopathic practice on 13th Street for more than a decade), and their clients are already coming in for massages, ionic foot baths, facials, etc.

Considering how long the property has been dormant, it was in very good shape. They have done some painting, regrouting and landscaping, but on the whole it's been a lot less work than a person might have expected.

"It's kind of a niche place," said Jonak. "Not everyone could have moved in the way we did."

A grand opening is planned for July 26 from 2 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 523-3531.

Soup, sandwich restaurant planned for old Hua's on 17th Street

I've had a few people ask what is going on at 1610 E. 17th Street, the old Hua's Mongolian Grill next door to Papa Murphy's. While filling in Tuesday as a last-minute guest speaker at Idaho Falls Exchange Club, I learned that it will be Rusios, a soup and salad restaurant owned and operated by Tony Blakeslee of Idaho Falls.

My efforts to reach Blakeslee have been in vain so far, but on his Facebook page he said he is hiring now for an August opening. "It's like Zupas, meets Kneaders, and is friends with Paradise Bakery," he posted to a friend. "Nothing frozen. All soups are made by scratch; we will bake our own bread."

We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, can anyone tell me how to make a u with an umlaut on my computer?

Distinguished Under 40 winners named

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network has announced the 2013 recipients of its Distinguished Under 40 Award. The ten recipients will be recognized during a formal luncheon at noon  July 30.

These ten individuals are recognized for outstanding career, community and educational accomplishments:

• Amy Hansen - Defining Line Salon, owner
• Andrea Todd – Idaho Falls Arts Council, marketing director 
• Blake Johnson – Cooper Norman, CPA
• Dayne Dingman – Artcore Visual Studio, owner
• Eric Hess – Northwestern Mutual, financial adviser
• McKayla Matlack – Development Workshop, director
• Robert Harris – Holden, Kidwell, Hahn, Crapo P.L.L.C, member attorney
• Cassandra “Sandee” Moore – Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, COO
• Travis Powell - Alpha Graphics, sales manager
• Tyler Kraupp – Kraupp Inc., CEO