By Barbara Soderlin

My very nice sister-in-law took us out for my birthday last week and when she asked where we wanted to go, I thought we should check out the new On the Border. It’s not that often we get a big new restaurant around here, so if you’re into restaurants, you’ve probably been there already, but I hadn’t had a chance yet. It was really nice inside and has a fantastic patio with a sweeping view of the Hills.

The first thing that struck me when we drove up, though, was the enormous sign. Maybe the city needs to tighten its sign ordinances, I thought. Talking to the property developer today, though, he said they’re working to get two other restaurants at the same site, and it looks like they’d all share the same sign. It sounded like they’re still recruiting for the restaurants and nothing’s firm, but it’s exciting to think of two more coming.

What do you think we’ll get? Hopefully whatever it is, they’ll give me a free dessert for my birthday, like On the Border did. (Cinnamon empanadas filled with chocolate… yum.) They even sang to me. And they even believed I was 21! I did set the record straight before we left though.

Hi again everyone… just wanted to let you know why some of your comments didn’t make it through. I’m generally not going to allow negative criticism of a business that isn’t making news on its own. If you want to discuss restaurant service please keep it anonymous, postive, or at least constructive. If you had bad service, let the manager know. At one new restaurant I tried recently, my food came really late and they comped the meal. I could tell it wasn’t the waitress’ fault. With me being polite about it, she got it comped without me even having to ask.

And if someone wanted to start their own restaurant criticism site, I bet it would be very popular!

– Barbara

By Barbara Soderlin
I’m looking forward to next Wednesday when I’m going to interview Ben Snow, who was recently hired as president of the Rapid City Economic Development Partnership. They’re the ones who try to recruit new businesses to the area, and to help existing ones stay in business.
On the phone he sounded enthusiastic. He’s a younger guy (41… that’s younger, right?) moving his family here from the Denver area. I wonder if the current economy would make it more difficult to recruit businesses, or easier, especially if our work force has a lot to offer to a business looking to cut costs.
Let me know if there are any specific questions you’d like me to ask him and I’ll try to work them in.

Here’s the brief that’ll be in tomorrow’s paper:
The Rapid City Economic Development Partnership has hired a new president.
Ben Snow, 41, comes to Rapid City from Parker, Colo., a suburb of Denver.
“I just love it up here,” Snow said. “I love being in a ‘small-city USA’ environment.”
Former president Bob DeMersseman retired at the end of last year.
The partnership’s goal is to bring “primary jobs” to the area, those defined as jobs that bring new wealth into the community, such as manufacturing, according to its Web site.
In addition, it works to expand and retain existing companies and serve as a resource for economic information for the region.
Snow said he will work “to attract companies to move to Rapid City and move to the Black Hills.”
This area is about the same size of market as Parker, Snow said, but the dynamics are different, with Rapid City being “the center of economic gravity” for western South Dakota.
Originally from the Phoenix area, Snow went to school at Arizona State University and worked in commercial real estate, project management and other development fields before joining the Parker Economic Development Council, where he was chief executive.
Snow brings with him to Rapid City his wife, Kimberlee, and their four children, two teenage girls and two younger boys.

The Children’s Place, a retailer of children’s merchandise, will open a location in the Rushmore Mall in November, according to a e-mailed press release from the mall.

The 4,478-square-foot store will be located near The Buckle.

The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. owns and operates 936 The Children’s Place stores, including three in South Dakota.

A steakhouse could be on its way to the new Comfort Suites at the Elk Vale Road exit on Interstate 90.

So says Diane Heinis, managing partner of the company that owns the $10 million, 92-room hotel. Oh, that’s set to open sometime between Aug. 1-7.

What steakhouse would you like to see headed to Exit 61?

The Tractor Supply Company store on East Mall Drive near Cabela’s will open Aug. 1.

The store will employ 16. It’s one of two new businesses near Cabela’s since the outdoors retailer opened in August 2008.

Dakota Discount RVs moved across the street from Cabelas from a location on Highway 44 in late 2008.

So there we have it. Two new businesses by Cabela’s. Neither are exactly mainstream retail stores.

What could be next out there?

It’s a new business for a historic building. And what better to sell at a historic building than consigned furniture and décor items.

Elli Thurston Lang just opened the Marketplace on 7th resale furniture shop today.

The Marketplace on 7th is in the lower level at 320 7th St, below Victoria’s Garden. Lang and her father, local architect Fred Thurston, own the building.

Between her father’s work and her training in marketing and more learning at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the shop felt like the next logical step based on her influences and training.

“I’ve kind of grown up in it,” she said.

Furniture at the shop is set up in vignettes, to showcase the furniture in different settings.

“We’ve got assortments: Living room, dining room, bedroom, garden, seasonal, some structural elements,” Lang said.

The building was built in 1920 as the Rapid City Fruit and Produce building. And while its now home to new businesses, the original construction shows through, in some very charming ways.

“You can see a lot of history of that in the basement of the building,” she said.

Lang will also sell some vintage linens, although she leans more toward retro items from the ‘50s and the arts and crafts style. And she won’t just sell furniture. Accessories such as lamps and rugs are also up for sale.

Lang will accept consignments on Monday (from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and on Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment. Consignment terms are 50/50, Lang said.

The shop is open from Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact The Marketplace on 7th at 605-342-8160.

I was scouring the Internet today, and came across this Rushmore Crossing proposed merchandising plan, on the McDonald Properties Web site. It looks relatively old, at least compared to the Katz & Associates map released this March.

The maps don’t align perfectly, but I was interested to see the restaurants that appeared to in the works to sign a letter of intent.

- Qdoba Mexican Grill
- CiCi’s Pizza Buffet (although the Katz map puts Mens Wearhouse there)
- Shari’s Restaurant
- Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery

I was particularly intrigued by the last two. I’ve never heard of them before.

Anyway, take a look and see what you think.

(Image: www.jonessign.com)

Z-Coil shoes are coming to Rapid City, and with it, a lot of pain relief, says franchise owner Rich and Laura Larson.

The Larsons used the special shoes with springs for heels before they started selling them. And while they first opened a part-time storefront in Deadwood five years ago, they moved to a year-round location in Spearfish two years ago.

But the shoes kept selling. The Larsons, from Sioux Falls, sold 300 of the shoes during the stock show in Rapid City this spring.

Some buyers said they had eyed the shoes, but didn’t want to drive to Spearfish to buy them.

“That kind of opened up our eyes and we said, at that point in time, ‘we’re not doing what we should be doing if people aren’t coming because they think that’s too far,’” Rich Larson said.

The Larsons hired five employees for the new store, including Kathy Johnson, formerly the co-owner of Tally’s Restaurant in downtown Rapid City. Johnson, a wearer of Z-Coil shoes, was a great person to manage the new store, Larson said.

“We’re excited about the staff we found,” he said.

The new store will open Aug. 2 at 1320 Mount Rushmore Rd., next to the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy.

(Photo: www.zcoil.com)

Iron Age International, a new motorcycle fabrication business, just broke ground in the Sturgis Industrial Park.

Jimmy Powell and Stephanie Martin established their company in Dickinson, Texas in 2000.

Last year they relocated their specialized high-end welding and fabrication plant to Sturgis, home of the world famous motorcycle rally.

This business has been housed in leased space until plans were finalized for their new building now under construction.

Iron Age is a major supplier to Competition Distributing and other customers. Lonnie Isam, owner of Competition Distributing, also relocated from Texas. Competition Distributing is located at 2106 Lazelle in Sturgis.

I haven’t made any calls on this,  yet. But this could mean Rapid City’s downtown could get some sort of grocery store with malt liquor sales.

The address is the same as the Body Builder Christian Bookstore that is going out of business.

Here’s the off-sale malt beverage license application before on tonight’s city council agenda:

Matthew J. Batchelder DBA Windsor Block Grocery Co., 610 7^th Street for a Package (off-sale) Malt Beverage License

Having some sort of grocery/drug store within walking distance could make life a lot easier for those living downtown.

What do you think?