By Barbara Soderlin

The Jimmy John’s on Haines Avenue is having its grand opening this Saturday, Oct. 3, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. they’ll be offering their six varieties of 8-inch sub sandwiches for just $1.50.

That’s the Pepe, the Big John, the Totally Tuna, the Turkey Tom, the Vito and the Vegetarian, for just $1.50.

My faves are numbers 2, 4 and 6, but the ultimate would be if they would do a Turkey Tom with the avocado spread from the Vegetarian. Mmmmm… see you there.

Customers will also have the chance to win an iPod touch, party platters and Jimmy John’s gear.

By Barbara Soderlin

If you missed it in our calendar in the paper, there’s an interesting conference coming up next week about opportunities for small businesses through the Recovery Act. Topics include new lines of financing and government contracting opportunities.

By Barbara Soderlin

I’m curious about what effect President Obama’s new tariffs on Chinese-made tires are having on local consumers. I called over to TMA’s east side location and manager Scott Robinson said he hasn’t seen the price increase hit his shop yet. He says he’s sure the prices will rise in the next three weeks or so, just not sure exactly when.

“We recommend this is probably a real good time to buy tires,” he said.

Any tire shoppers or tire dealers out there see a change yet?

By Barbara Soderlin

Ramsey Kendall has turned one of the five car wash bays at Classic Car Wash over to the dogs. The new dog wash room at 3306 West Chicago is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day and is the perfect place to wash Rover when you don’t want a stinky dog splashing around in your bathroom.

It opened just in time for hunting season. Kendall knows how dogs have a tendancy to roll in just about any disgusting thing when you take them hunting and fishing. The dog wash has a sink sized for big or small dogs with a flexible spray handle. It costs $5 for 10 minutes and you can pay for extra minutes. It takes bills, dollar coins, quarters and car wash tokens, which are available by credit card on site.

He said it’s the only car wash/dog wash combo in town. The best part is the list of options: wash, rinse, condition, blow dry, flea and tick retardant, and a de-skunker.

By Barbara Soderlin

Golfer and engineer Jeff Salter is pursuing another of his passions, wine, when he and some partners open The Wine Rack in two weeks in the Stoney Creek Plaza South strip mall, at 5734 Sheridan Lake Road Suite 202.

It’s the same mall that’s home to Buffalo Wings & Rings and the Uncork’d Wine Bar and Tapas Restaurant. Hopefully people who live down here, around the corner of Catron Boulevard and Sheridan Lake Road, love to eat and to drink wine.

Salter says the place will be upscale with a warm, welcoming feeling, like you might feel walking into the wine cellar in your basement. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a wine cellar in my basement. I mostly have dust and boxes of expensive college textbooks I’ll never read again. So I will have to visit The Wine Rack to get that feeling. Mostly I’m looking forward to what he described as a huge walk-in beer cooler.

The shop will also carry liquor and sell fancy olive oils from a place called The Olive Press in California’s wine country. Yum.

The store will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Reach them at 716-0896.

By Barbara Soderlin

I’ve been watching for a few days as workers hauled wall paneling, drop-ceiling framing and other building materials out of the Landmark Restaurant in the Alex Johnson, corner of Sixth and St. Joe. A lot of dust and noise has been pouring out of those doors lately. Today, the Dumpster on the corner is full, and the work seems to have stopped. I pressed my face against the glass to see what was inside and the place is fairly well gutted and seems ready for something new and fresh.

The Landmark was probably considered a nice place when it opened but it was really, really outdated when the hotel’s ownership changed hands a year or two ago. Hopefully what’s next will appeal to locals and busloads of tourists alike. One source heard a franchise coffee house is moving in. It would be interesting to see what would happen if there were so many coffee houses in a block or two.

By Barbara Soderlin

The Mount Rushmore Road Group, made up of businesses and homeowners along the Mount Rushmore Road corridor, will hold a meeting Oct. 20 to formally incorporate as a non-profit organization. The designation, along with a business plan they’re writing, will allow them to apply for grants to further their goals of beautifying the corridor.

Businesses interested in joining or participating can call group president Debra Jensen at Black Hills Bagels. There are 61 members and new members have their dues suspended for the first year. The group’s upcoming activities include a nutcracker display fundraiser and a Christmas event at Wilson Park.

It will be interesting to see what this group is able to accomplish in the next few years. Already they have brought interest and advocacy to the commercial corridor, not to mention a colorful summer flower program. I don’t know if this is a bias, but I should admit that since I live near this road, I’m glad to see a group working to improve it. It’s not terribly unattractive, but it could use some improvement. I like what I’ve seen in their plans so far as far as a boulevard and sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements.

Still, no one knows yet exactly what direction the group’s work will take. The projects they propose and how they are funded remain to be seen. But if the efforts are successful, perhaps it could be a model for some other commercial corridors in town.

By Barbara Soderlin

Here’s an interesting story from this morning’s New York Times, about factor workers in Columbus, Neb. who are waiting in limbo to hear from their employer if they will be hired back at a plant that makes wind turbines. It reminded me of how this has been a year of uncertainty for many of our local workers.

The story says:

“That limbo is arguably the quintessential American experience of the moment. When the Great Recession is dissected into its component parts, this might be remembered as the Waiting Phase. It’s not as scary as the Plummeting Phase of last year, or as event-filled as the To-the-Ramparts Phase of several months ago, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

“A real recovery, we have heard time and again, won’t begin in earnest until the jobless rate, now at a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, starts to fall. But what will it take for the rehiring to start? What do companies like Katana need to see before they call back people like Charles Salak?

“What, in other words, are we waiting for?”

By Barbara Soderlin

The mortgage industry’s woes are a  collections firm’s gains.

Green Tree Servicing’s Rapid City center, the company’s largest, is looking to add 20 to 25 workers to its staff of about 400.
The company is growing because it has acquired service rights to new pools of loans for both manufactured and standard housing mortgages, said vice president Bill Ashley.
“The company has made a decision to put a significant portion of those jobs in Rapid City,” Ashley said. “They like the work force. They like the work ethic.”
The service center has been in Rapid City 13 years. 
Mortgage loan originators took on too much liability and have faltered as homeowners defaulted.
“It’s been an opportunity for us to grow and take servicing from some of the companies that aren’t doing so well,” Ashley said.
People interested in applying should visit www.gt-cs.com and click on “careers,” then “openings.”
The company is hiring for two new teams of late-stage collections – accounts more than 30 days delinquent. Also, they’re hiring for about five customer service positions, human resources director Keryn Rowland said.
She said applicants should have above-average communication skills, basic financial knowledge, problem-solving abilities and a demonstrated work history.
She wouldn’t discuss wages but said pay is competitive and there is an opportunity for performance bonuses.

By Barbara Soderlin

Is it Friday already? Here’s our weekly chance to discuss whatever’s on your mind. You’ve all given me lots of things to check on — the Goodwill building progress, a new wine store coming in by the tapas place, my list is growing and I’m trying to catch up! But I don’t mind if it gets longer. What’s going on?