Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
RIGBY
New commercial development under construction in Rigby, and here are some of the tenants
RIGBY — Construction on a new commercial development in Rigby is winding down several months after it began, and several tenants plan to move into the building this fall.
Northern States Development began construction in March on a two-story building called The Hub at 100 West Main Street where Me N’ Stan’s once stood. Project Manager Boe Gilstrap has been involved with this project since 2020. He tells EastIdahoNews.com the 12,000-square-foot building will finally be complete in September.
Eventually, the building will have 11 tenants, three of which have been finalized. Rigby’s Patty Shack, owned by Nick and Jenna Sylvester, will occupy a ground-level space on the northeast side of the building.
Vern Muir, the superintendent of construction, describes the restaurant as a mom-and-pop hamburger joint that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
City officials say a sit-down, mom-and-pop family diner has been the most requested feature in Rigby for many years. Gilstrap is thrilled to be providing that for the community.
“Nick and Jenna are very good people,” Gilstrap says. “Their kids played sports at Rigby High School, so they’re local. They’re looking forward to doing events for the community. I really hope the community supports them.”
EastIdahoNews.com reporter Brittni Johnson contacted the Sylvesters and is doing a separate story about Rigby’s Patty Shack. It will be published soon.
Lucy’s New York Style Pizza
Meanwhile, another locally-owned restaurant is also moving in. Lucy’s New York Style Pizza will open its seventh location right next door in the southeast corner of the building.
Co-owner Geoff Padigimus hopes to open by Sept. 1, or no later than Oct. 6. Customers can expect the same menu as other locations, with an appearance that combines the feel of the Broadway store in Idaho Falls and the Twin Falls location.
“We are going to have a dine-in feature there, which is something the city was asking for. We’ll have tables that can sit up to 60 people at a time,” Padigimus says. “We feel like there will be more of a demand for slices in the hub of Rigby … and we’ll have beer on tap.”
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Padigimus owns the restaurant with his brother, Brian, and Tim Wright. They all attended Rigby High School and grew up in Roberts, where they also have a Lucy’s Pizza restaurant.
They’ve wanted to open a Rigby store for a while. Geoff says this particular spot was a perfect fit for Lucy’s.
“We just like the feel of Rigby. It’s a good place, and it’s a perfect name for that spot, being The Hub. It’s right in the middle of town, and Rigby is right in the middle of Idaho Falls and Rexburg. We’re pretty excited,” says Geoff.
The Rigby location will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and it will close at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Luxe Beauty Lounge
Luxe Beauty Lounge will open in the southwest corner of the building. On Oct. 1, Owner Amanda Waters will move her location at 426 Farnsworth Way into The Hub.
The salon, which has been in operation at its current location for the last six years, specializes in color and extensions. It recently rebranded into a luxury, high-end salon, and Waters says the Main Street building will allow her to fully rebrand into an upscale establishment.
“What I’ve always dreamed of it being, a luxury, upscale salon — the new space is going to match the experience,” Waters says. “We want our clients to come and feel like they’re being pampered and getting specialized services done. We serve drinks and snacks during their appointments, which are anywhere from three to eight hours.”
Waters opened Teased Salon and Spa in the building right next door about 16 years ago. She bought it from the original owners, who called it Mia Bella. Waters later rebranded and started offering specialized services in the space next to Fixxology on Farnsworth Way.
Waters is thrilled to continue offering customers a luxury experience right next door to her original location.
Waters has wanted to own a salon since junior high school. Her hair was burned in a car accident as a child, and a hairstylist fixed it up before she started the school year.
“From that moment, I was like, ‘I want to make people feel beautiful,’” Waters recalls. “That’s what started me (on this journey).”
Color and extensions are her passion, and that’s why she chose to specialize in that.
Waters says her salon’s unique feature is that it takes stylists fresh out of beauty school and helps them jumpstart their careers through a year-long associate program.
“They are with me, or an educator, learning how to do color and extensions and get confident in it before they’re on their own,” says Waters. “Our clients are able to have two stylists working on them, so it makes them feel like a celebrity.”
Luxe Beauty Lounge is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and closes at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Additional tenants are coming to the top floor, which will be announced as the leases are finalized.
Muir says two electric vehicle charging stations will be installed outside the building once it’s complete. He’s hoping to display a montage of pictures inside the building, highlighting the history at this corner.
A historic street corner
Me N’Stan’s opened at this location in the 1980s and was in operation until 2017. Before that, the building was the home of Walker’s Cafe.
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About 100 years ago, the corner was the home of a three-story building that housed one of the largest department stores in eastern Idaho. The Quality Store, as it was known to locals, was a popular shopping destination for residents of Rigby and surrounding communities because of the wide selection of products that were available.
It caught fire on March 26, 1926.
“It started in the rear and quickly spread from the basement to the roof,” Rigby resident and historian Pat Scott told us in 2019. “It was fanned by 50-mile-an-hour winds, and within 30 minutes, the entire structure was engulfed in flames.”
It wasn’t long before the fire started to spread to the Royal Theater next door to the west. Lines of hose along the roof and walls allowed firefighters to contain the fire and save the theater, but The Quality Store was destroyed.
Fire would strike this same intersection more than 50 years later. On March 13, 1979, the old theater caught fire and burned down the night before a scheduled reopening after a renovation project.
Muir, noting the emergency sprinklers in The Hub, hopes the new building does not have a similar fate.
Knowing the history at this corner and the eight years it’s taken to get something new at this location, Gilstrap is excited to see this project finally come to fruition.
“I’ve been on this project for four and a half years now. It’s been a long process and I’m glad to have a point where we’ve got it put together. I think people are excited about what we’ve done here,” Gilstrap says.
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