Popular steak and seafood restaurant under new ownership after six years of business
Published at
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
MENAN
They moved to eastern Idaho from Tennessee and now own a local restaurant
MENAN – Michael King stumbled upon Teton House when he and his wife, Sandy, came to eastern Idaho three and a half years ago. They became frequent customers and now own the place.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, natives bought the Menan restaurant at 3563 East Menan-Lorenzo Highway in January 2023 from the previous owners. They do not own the Blackfoot location.
RELATED | Biz Buzz: Couple moved here to retire and now own a popular restaurant
The Kings have made a few changes over the last 15 months, and Sandy tells EastIdahoNews.com that business is booming more than ever.
“It’s picked up, but it’s more organized now,” she says. “We’ve expanded some of our space in the kitchen and changed some of the ways that we operate, and that has enabled us to serve more guests than ever before.”
Some of the changes include a larger grill to allow more space for cooking, which creates more fluidity for employees and reduces the wait time for customers. As a result, they’ve been able to take more reservations and serve more patrons.
The bulk of the menu is still intact, with some minor tweaks and updates.
“When it got out that we were purchasing the place, the biggest question we got was, ‘You’re not getting rid of the brussels sprouts, are you?'” Michael says. “This was our favorite place to eat, so we didn’t want to come in (and make sweeping) changes … because it already had a loyal following and good food.”
Michael is proud of their new steak seasoning. It’s a combination of what he describes as “salt, pepper and I’m not telling.”
The Wagyu steak is now the genuine article and comes from Australia.
“With our fish, everything comes in to the port on Tuesdays. We get it on Thursdays. It’s on the menu Thursday evening through the weekend,” he says. “We want to offer the absolute finest we can get.”
The bar includes 140 whiskey selections, 52 tequila options and 47 wines, nine of which come from Italy.
RELATED | East Idaho Eats: Teton House owners love serving ‘great meals’ and large portions
Rather than offering daily specials like the previous owners, the Kings now have seasonal specials that rotate about every six months. These items showcase their culinary style and provide “creative room for regulars … who may want to try something new.”
Michael used to work as a chef in the restaurant industry years ago in Tennessee. Though it’s a lifestyle they enjoy, it wasn’t always conducive to raising a family.
The couple moved to Rigby in 2020 when Michael took a job for a company that does oversight for the Idaho National Laboratory.
“They flew me out here, and I just started driving when I left the airport. I had no idea where I was, and I stumbled across this place and told her about it,” Micheal recalls.
They were eager to try it, but Michael couldn’t remember where it was or what it was called.
“It took a while for us to find it again,” he says.
They started going to Teton House on date nights, and it quickly became their favorite restaurant.
“He was traveling a lot and I asked him if it was time to open another restaurant. Within 24 hours, we found out the place we’d joked about buying someday was for sale. Within 48 hours, we were under contract, and seven weeks later, we owned it,” Sandy explains.
More than a year later, the couple are loving their new life and say they’re “just getting started.”
Sandy says it’s a destination dining establishment that belongs as much to the community as it does to them. Their goal is to continue to make it a place that draws people in.
“It’s a really old building. We don’t want to lose that historicity, but we do want to make sure people are comfortable when they visit,” she says. “We just put in air conditioning, which this building has never seen (in 114 years of existence).”
The business’s new vision statement is “elevate your expectations,” and the couple says that’s what customers can expect going forward.
Teton House is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday with a 10 p.m. closing time Friday and Saturday.
BIZ BITS
Local museum earns prestigious award from Idaho State Historical Society and humanities council
BOISE – The Idaho State Historical Society and Idaho Humanities Council will present the Museum of Idaho with the Sister Alfreda Elsensohn Award later this month.
Given annually by the IHC and ISHS, the Sister Alfreda recognition includes a $10,000 award that goes to the winning museum, historical society, or interpretive organization to continue educational efforts.
The award is named for Sister Alfreda Elsensohn, who founded the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude in the 1930s. Sister Alfreda, one of Idaho’s outstanding historians, sought to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts from Idaho County and the surrounding area to better educate the public.
ISHS and IHC will present the award to Jeff Carr, executive director of MOI, and the staff on April 26 at 2 p.m. The award ceremony is open to the public.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
This company is known for its honey baked ham but did you know it serves sandwiches too?
He started cutting teammates’ hair as a college athlete and now owns a barbershop in eastern Idaho
If you have a Biz Buzz item you want to share, send it to rett@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.
Biz Buzz is brought to you by Idaho Central Credit Union, the premier credit union in Idaho. Its mission is "Helping members achieve financial success."