Biz Buzz: Two pizza restaurants opening in eastern Idaho soon
Published at | Updated at
Do you want to know what’s happening on the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BRIEF
AMMON & IDAHO FALLS
Blaze Pizza offering free pizza during grand opening;Lucy’s opening with expanded menu
Sandcreek Commons in Ammon and The Broadway project in downtown Idaho Falls have been a work in progress the last several years, bringing a lot of business growth to the area. Two new pizza restaurants are opening in each location this month. One is Blaze Pizza, and the other is Lucy’s New York Style Pizzeria.
Blaze Pizza
AMMON – The long-awaited Blaze Pizza is finally opening their doors this week. The restaurant will have a soft opening Thursday and will be offering free pizza to the public Friday during its grand opening.
The restaurant had been planning to open on Pi Day (March 14), but Patrick Fenderson, a developing partner for the business, tells EastIdahoNews.com delays in construction and other details pushed the opening back a few weeks.
He says Ammon was selected to be Idaho’s sixth location because of all the growth in the area.
“You look around, and it’s growing. There’s something going on here in Ammon. You’ve got about every restaurant concept there is,” says Fenderson.
The 3,000-square-foot restaurant has been in the works for about a year.
Blaze Pizza is a build-your-own pizza concept that includes a menu of seven signature pizzas made fresh in front of you by a chef.
“You can add any toppings you like, make whatever pizza you like, and it all costs the same. We’re intended to be fast enough for lunch. From beginning to end, you’ll have a pizza in your hand in less than 10 minutes,” Rachelle Fenderson, the franchisee, told us in January.
RELATED: Yes, Blaze Pizza is still coming to east Idaho
Blaze uses the cleanest, freshest ingredients available, according to Patrick, with dough made in-house daily inside their dough room. He says that’s one thing that sets them apart from other pizza restaurants.
There are no preservatives or additives in the pizza, Patrick says, and all their drinks and sodas are made with 100 percent cane sugar.
“It’s made pizza doable for lunch,” Patrick says. “If you have taste buds, you’re going to figure out real quick the freshness of everything.”
The menu also includes salads. The price of a menu item ranges from $5 to $8.
Patrick says they’re hoping to open another location on Yellowstone and Alameda near Winco in Pocatello later this year or early next year. Rexburg and Logan, Utah, are also being considered for a location.
“The (Pocatello store) was actually supposed to go in before this one,” says Patrick. “But that didn’t happen, so hopefully (we’ll open there this fall or early next year).”
Blaze Pizza in Ammon is at 2698 East Sunnyside Road Suite BC-1 next to Costa Vida. It will be open seven days a week 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Just come in and check us out. If you can’t make it in here on free pizza day, then slide in here anytime. It’s doable for lunch. It’s so quick, and the taste will bring you back,” says Patrick.
With 400 locations nationwide since it was formed in 2012, Blaze Pizza is the fastest-growing business franchise ever, Patrick says. The first Idaho location was built in Meridian in 2014, and others followed soon after in Boise, Nampa and Twin Falls.
Lucy’s New York Style Pizzeria
IDAHO FALLS – The opening of the new Lucy’s New York Style Pizzeria in downtown Idaho Falls is a week and a half away. Geoff Padigimus, one of the restaurant’s owners, tells EastIdahoNews.com it’s scheduled to open April 15.
“We felt like it was a perfect day, being tax day. Uncle Sam took a slice, so you can come get yours here too,” he says.
There are two Lucy’s locations in town: one on East Anderson and another on 25th East. The East Anderson location will close when the Broadway location opens up.
“The current building is just old. It was built in the 1970s, and though we’ve kept up the maintenance, we just wanted to expand,” Padigimus told us in October.
RELATED: Popular pizza restaurant moving downtown soon
Lucy’s on Broadway will be able to seat 114 people, twice as many as the East Anderson location.
Padigimus says customers can expect the same menu. Lucy’s New York Style Pizzeria offers thin, hand-tossed crust made from scratch, but the new restaurant will include several new items like Nutella Pie, a dessert option. They’re also looking to add new sauces like Alfredo or pesto.
In addition to the menu, the look and feel will be different from previous locations. The 3,200-square-foot restaurant will include themed seating to give people a taste of New York, and the location even provides a marketing perk.
“It’s on Broadway, so we’ll be able to offer New York style pizza on Broadway, which is a cool, nostalgic thing,” Padigimus says. “We’re excited for the development of Idaho Falls and to be a part of the history of it in downtown. We’re really excited about this spot for that reason.”
Lucy’s New York Style Pizzeria is at 560 West Broadway. The hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. It will close at 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
There is another Lucy’s restaurant in Roberts and Orem, Utah. Padigimus says they’re looking to expand in the Pocatello, Boise and Logan areas.
BIZ BITS
Zoo Idaho opening for the season with free admission for kids
POCATELLO – Zoo Idaho’s gates will open April 6 for the 2019 season. Thanks to SEI Credit Union, opening day kicks off with free admission for children ages 3 to 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free entry is part of the credit union’s celebration of National Credit Union Youth Month. During that time, the credit union will also provide snacks, juice, t-shirts, and other goodies while supplies last. For more information on Zoo Idaho, visit the zoo’s website or like the zoo’s Facebook page.
Local organization inviting former INL workers to free lunch and museum tour
IDAHO FALLS – Nuclear Care Partners, an organization that provides benefits guidance and in-home care to former atomic workers, invites former atomic and Idaho National Lab workers to visit the Museum of Idaho to tour the museum, meet local health care vendors, and enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Attendees will receive free entry to the museum and are invited to take a tour of the “Archimedes: Science and Innovations” exhibit.
RELATED: Eureka! Museum of Idaho exhibits Archimedes’ innovations
The event will take place Friday, April 12. Former workers should RSVP to reserve their tickets by Monday, April 8, by calling (208) 715-3025.
TECH TALK
AMMON
Fresh off a regional win, local robotics team gears up for world competition
AMMON – A group of 17 students from Technical Careers High School in Ammon was declared the regional winner of a national robotics competition in Nampa on Saturday, and now they’re gearing up for the world tournament in Texas later this month.
Twenty-seven teams of high school students from around the country had six weeks to design and build an original 100-pound robot to compete in the competition.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY.
BIZ BUGS
WATCH OUT FOR THE LATEST TECH SCAM
If you see a pop-up on your computer claiming your IP address has been compromised, it’s a scam
The following is a news release from the Better Business Bureau.
IDAHO FALLS – It can be alarming when working on your computer and a box pops up claiming your IP address has been compromised. The Better Business Bureau has seen an increasing number of these cons.
The pop-up will ask you to call a number to resolve the issue. When you call, a “technician” will tell you your IP address is being used by shady individuals. In some reports, scammers claim child pornography websites are using your IP address, and you could be held responsible for their actions. In a second version of the scam, you simply receive a call out of the blue from someone making similar claims.
In both cases, scammers say they work for a reputable company and can fix the problem, but you’ll need to pay a fee and give them remote access to your computer first. These claims are false. If you believe them, scammers will make off with your money and gain access to any personal information stored on your computer.
And the costs are huge. Microsoft has estimated tech support scams bilk 3.3 million people a year, at an annual cost of $1.5 billion — an average loss of more than $450 per victim. And those numbers are probably on the low side, since many victims never realize they’ve been conned. To avoid becoming one of them, follow some basic precautions.
BBB suggests the best way to avoid being a victim of this scam is first, never giving control of your computer to a third party unless you know it is the representative of a computer support team you contacted. Legitimate tech support companies don’t call out of the blue.
Look out for warning screens as well. Nearly half of tech support scams begin with an alert on the victim’s computer screen. This pop up will have a phone number to call for help. Instead of calling, shut down your computer and restart it. This can help avoid viruses or people getting remote access to your computer.
If you believe that you may be a victim of this tricky scam, here are a few things the BBB suggests you do:
- Contact your bank immediately.
- Take your computer to a trusted local business and have it checked out.
- Remove any software that authorized remote access to your computer.
- Change the passwords you use to access your bank and other sensitive sites.
If you have been a victim of a tech support scam, help other consumers avoid falling into the same trap by filling out a report at BBB.org/ScamTracker.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
WATCH: SelectHealth CEO Patricia Richards speaks to Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce
Idaho Falls earns top 25 small cities for business in America ranking
Arctic Circle opening in St. Anthony
If you have a Biz Buzz item you want to share, send it to rett.nelson@eastidahonews.com. Remember to use “Biz Buzz” in the subject line. Also, don’t forget to sign up for the free Biz Buzz email newsletter.