Some of you may have seen the story in the Journal this morning about the new Korean restaurant in Rapid City. It’s always nice to see a diverse group of ethnic restaurants throughout Rapid (was disappointed the Russian restaurant on the North side had to close after less than a year). We wish this new Korean grill and sushi bar all the best.

Hana Korean Grill and Sushi Bar is a new restaurant with an appropriate name: “hana” means “beginning” in Korean. That’s according to Kaz Campillo, who owns Oriental Market grocery store and gift shop at 2330 W. Main St. Her partner, Grace Kwak, is opening the restaurant next door at 2328 W. Main. “She’s from Korea, and she was a sushi chef,” Campillo said. The restaurant will feature Korean-style grilled meats, a full-scale sushi bar, Japanese and Korean cuisine, according to Campillo, who is a native of Japan. If you go, wear clean socks: Hana features a Japanese-style sitting area where diners remove their shoes. The restaurant has been open since last week with limited hours, but Campillo said they expect to start serving lunch soon, possibly as early as this week. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends after the restaurant gets up to speed. The building’s former tenant, chiropractor Dr. Kendall Anderson, has moved to a new office at 3618 Canyon Lake Drive.

Alternative Fuel Coffee House has expanded, meaning musicians will no longer be drowned out by the sound of a nearby blender – “though I guess that’s true coffeehouse setting,” said owner Michelle Pulling.
The coffeehouse, which opened in November 2006, has now grown to include the storefront next door. The original part will still house the coffee bar and provide a quieter setting for patrons, who can sip their lattes in front of a new fireplace.
The expansion includes a new stage, more tables and two meeting rooms, Pulling said. Alternative Fuel will now have live music from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Share some thoughts about your favorite coffee shop in the Black Hills.

Heidi is working on a story that a Subway franchise will be opened on the Pine Ridge reservation. Not only is it significant in that it’s a chain restaurant on the reservation, but it’s a fast-food chain which touts its healthy food choices. This will be welcome news for those living on Pine Ridge, giving them a healthier alternative to some of their current, limited options for fast food.

Those of you on the west side of town will now have to drive a little farther to get your Thickburger.

They closed the Hardee’s at 2300 W. Main St. on Saturday, said Danielle Dahlenburg, who manages the Haines Avenue Hardee’s. There are several other fast food restaurants within a block of the West Main location and Hardee’s — which had been there for over 10 years — could no longer compete. The signs were taken down this morning (Tuesday).

All of the local Hardee’s restaurants are owned by the same franchise company, Dahlenburg said. The three other locations (Haines Avenue, Fifth Street, and East North) will remain open.

For those of you who have noted the sign, yes, sadly, BJ’s Grinders on Main Street has closed. There will be more details in Monday’s edition of Talking Business in the Black Hills Business Journal.

There may be no better feeling than having a mechanic you can trust, someone who will look at your car and only fix what needs fix, and charge a fair price for their services.

Took our car to a local muffler shop today, knowing that the lip of the catalytic converter had rusted  through and disconnected from the exhaust. The shop could have charged us for a whole new converter plus labor.

Instead they welded the coverter back to the pipe. And charged us nothing.

That is a great experience. We’ve all been to places for an oil change and have been told that the car needs $500 of repairs or it will explode before you get it home … so it’s great when an auto mechanic only does what’s needed (and free to boot).

Which auto mechanics in town do you believe are the most fair and honest?

Sometimes the news breaks right outside your window.

Across the street from the Journal, Video Blue is stripping off half its operation … so to speak. The white half of the building (east side) has torn off its signs and will soon be taken over by Who’s Hobby.

Who’s Hobby is moving many of its games (”Magic”, “Pokemon”) to the new location, and hopes to create in-house gaming events to attract competitors to play in their store.

The west side building front is remaining Video Blue (or Lingerie - Shoes - Boots if you just read their awning) for the time being.

More information about what the popular downtown hobby store plans to do with their new storefront in Thursday’s Rapid City Journal.

Some of us recall when — as teens — we may have heard of a store in town that would sell beer to minors, information which was shared throughout the high school hallways. It may have been that there was one employee at the store who would sell … or they didn’t check fake ID’s that closely … or they didn’t check at all … but it was information which was quickly passed around at school.

So when you see today’s story on compliance failures, what do you think? Even after all these years, should it still be going on, or are the penalties for selling to minors not stiff enough? All of us would agree that anything which can be done to reduce underage drinking is a good thing. So are we doing enough?

Today’s story:

Two Rapid City businesses failed an alcohol compliance check conducted Friday by the Rapid City Police Department.

Big D Oil on East North Street and Sooper Dooper Liquor on East St. Patrick Street both sold alcohol to underage police informants, according to a news release from the Rapid City Police Department.

Tanya King, a 35-year-old employee of Big D Oil, and 46-year-old Jane Dare, an employee of Sooper Dooper Liquor, were issued citations for selling to minors, the release said. Furnishing alcohol to a minor is a Class 2 misdemeanor that carries a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

A total of 19 establishments were checked ,and 17 were in compliance, according to the release.

Since Jan. 1, a total of 14 businesses have failed compliance checks performed by the Rapid City Police Department.

Wal-Mart has called for a pinch-hitter from the dugout.

THF Realty has been called in to help pull the Dakota Canyon Market Place project out of the mud. THF, based out of St. Louis, has worked with Wal-Mart on hundreds of developments.

The story from Scott Aust states that THF was hired due to the complexity of the proposal, pointing out that 1.2 million cubic yards of fill dirt may be required to develop the property. But that may not be the dirt that needs to be managed the most.

There has been opposition to the project, much of it coming from the neighboring Enchanted Hills subdivision. It’s certainly not Wal-Mart’s first encounter with opposition to their building projects, and not the first THF has faced either.

And THF seemed optimistic, pointing out that this project could get done in less than two years. There is incentive for the St. Louis company to make this work: They will own and operate Dakota Canyon if it is built. Additional incentive may be that Wal-Mart called THF in from the bullpen, no doubt with the expectation that THF strike out the side and end the inning.

No pressure, right?

When the blizzard hit Friday morning, it was extremely surprising to see the OPEN light on at Talley’s Restaurant downtown. The roads were terrible, the wind was whipping, visibility was miserable, and there was Kathy and her dedicated staff, serving coffee and breakfast to those who had to be downtown.

Were there any other businesses which were open Friday morning that surprised you? Or for that matter, were there any which were closed, which you expected to be open?