Kiger's Notebook

New barbecue place to open on ...?

Here's some from my update on Bob's Smoke Stack Ribs. Check out the print edition to see the whole thing.

Bob Lewis started sending up smoke signals started going up this week.

He is planning to stoke up fire at his new Rochester version of Bob's Smoke Stack Ribs at 2280 Superior Drive N.W. on May 7.

"It looks really good. We're almost ready to go," he says. "It is going to be a cool scene."

He is ready to start cooking, while overlooking Superior Drive.

Soon Lewis, who Minnesota Monthly magazine calls "the best barbecue artist in the state," will start serving up barbecue to up to customers in the former home of Catch 22 Bar & Grill.

While the Med City will soon have more access to his food, Lewis says the folks in Elgin don't need to worry about their Bob's Smoke Stack Ribs diner. He opened that one back in 2007.

Two Roch. real estate sales for eateries = $2.12M

Sales of two Rochester buildings slated to be revamped as new restaurants - the northwest Newt's and Fresh Grill Buffet - have officially been posted on Olmsted County Property Records website.

• The Wallin's West building at 5231 U.S.52 Frontage Road Northwest was purchased for the new Newt's project for $1.35 million on April 5.

This is Creative Cuisine Corp.'s project to create another Newt's as a sibling to the downtown icon. Dave and Mark Curry along with their sister, Denise Villeneuve are spearheading this plan.

It is estimated that the new place could open around mid-May.

• Home Federal Savings Bank sold the former Gorilla's Sports Bar building at 2775 43 St. N.W. for a listed sale price of $1.06 million that was adjusted to $770,000 on April 7, according to county documents.

This is a project to transform the building into a new American family-style buffet restauarant to be called The Fresh Grill Buffet.

Jerry and Dean Nelson first opened that building as a Golden Corral buffet in 2001.  The project is in the early stages, so expect more details as it develops.

In 2007, the Nelsons dropped the franchise and created Gorilla's Buffet and Amusements.

They switched focus again in 2008 to become Gorilla's Sports Bar and Grill, which closed in early 2010.

The building then returned to the ownership of Home Federal Savings Bank.

Things brighten @ Sun Place Tanning

It looks like the sun is coming out again for Sun Place Tanning in the Med City.
 
Two Sun Place salons abruptly went dark in late March.

Now construction is under way at the Crossroads Shopping Center location and a banner went up last week stating, "Opening Soon Under New Ownership."

 

Lots of buzz, activity @ Biz After Hours Extra 2011

It was a big night for the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce last night.

Big crowds turned out for its annual super-sized Business After Hours event, the Extra business expo.

By the way, if you noticed some of these pics are much better than what I usually post, that's because Brian Olson of the Chamber used his fancy new camera to snap some of them.

Thanks, Brian.

Anyway, I got to talk to lots of folks and see even more last night in the Kahler Grand Hotel's upgraded Heritage Hall rooms.

If what I was hearing  is any indication, it seems the mood out there is pretty positive as roll into this frosty spring.

Maybe the area business scene is thawing out faster than the weather.

I'm no good at forecasting. I'll leave that up to the experts like Randy Brock.

But I will be out and about keeping an eye on what's going.

Keep me updated, people.

Postive numbers Home Fed Bank

This seems like a good way to start the year for Home Federal.

Here's some from a quick piece I put together about Rochester-based Home Federal Bank's first quarter earnings report.

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A battered Rochester bank is showing a move toward recovery with positive numbers in its latest earnings report.

Home Federal Savings Bank reported a net income of  $250,000 for the first quarter of  2011 compared to a $1.8 million loss during the same quarter in 2010.

The bank, which lost $29 million last year, showed improvement across the board in this first report of 2011, is under the umbrella of the publicly-owned holding company.

“We will continue to focus our efforts on reducing non-performing assets, reducing loan concentrations, increasing our core deposit relationships and reducing expenses," stated Home Federal's president Brad Krehbiel in the report. "We believe that, over time, our focus on these areas will be effective in generating improved financial results.”

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This uptick toward healthy numbers follows Home Federal's signing a supervisory agreement with the Office of Thrift Supervision, the federal agency that regulates savings banks.

Winery moving into Roch.

When it comes to making wine, timing is everything.

Steve and Bonita Patton say now is the time for their Post Town Winery to step it up to the next level.

The Pattons are growing about 2,000 grape vines on four acres near Byron's Oxbow Park. Since regulations wouldn't allow them to build near their vineyard, the couple have been making a variety of wines at a facility in Byron.

However, that site was not large enough to accommodate retail sales or a wine area.

Now Post Town is uncorking the next stage.

The company closed on the purchase of a business condo in the Plaza 14 commercial center at 4481 North Frontage Road N.W. in Rochester.

"This is step two in building up our business," says Bonita Patton.

Once the new facility is up and running this summer, it will give Post Town the room to more than double wine production to more than 2,000 cases a season, says Steve Patton.

When the new Rochester site opens, the Patton will introduce a new dark wine called Marquette, described as similar to a Pinot Noir wine.

Expect Post Town's new site to be open for tastings and wine sales at least part of most weekends this summer.

Once the details are worked out, the company will post a schedule on its website.

Mike Haley of Braasch Commercial Real Estate handled the deal to place Post Town Winery in the Rochester space.

Asian Fusion opening today?

The ever-alert Vicki Snyder tells me that a giant sign on a bovine (Yeah, I'm looking at you Snappy Bull) says that Far East Fusion is opening in northwest Rochester today.

This is Tien "Tinn" Danh's new place at 4180 18th Ave. N.W. in front of Cedarwood Plaza.

The Fusion part of the Far East Fusion means the menu will include dishes from the cuisines from China, Vietnam and Thailand.

Thanks for the tip, Vicki.

Mega biz networking

  Here's a quick reminder as you look at your calendar for the week.

Business After Hours Extra!, the annual super-sized version of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce's monthly business networking events, is coming up yet this week. 

Hopefully, the snow will be out of the way by then.

Here are the details:

Rochester's business community's annual super-sized networking event and expo is coming up Thursday.

The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring its Business After Hours Extra! bash from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Kahler Grand Hotel in downtown Rochester.

This event, which is open to the general public, generally draws a crowd of about 400 people, according to Brian Olson, the chamber's communications director.

The expanded version of the chamber's monthly business gatherings will set up in the Kahler's newly revamped Heritage Hall conference center in the hotel's subway.

More than 75 area businesses and non-profits will have displays at this year's event.

A cash bar and appetizers will be available.

More on Kemps/DFA sale - the milk shake-up

Here's some from my follow-up to the Kemps/Dairy Farmers of America story that I broke in Wednesday's PB.

Guess that makes this an ice cream scoop. Heh.

I know that sounds like I'm tooting my horn. You know why? Because I am.

I took a risk based on my strong local sources to break a story. On Thursday, other media followed the path that I had cut. Actually, the ever attentive Twin Cities Business Journal did pick it up Wednesday afternoon and got confirmation on it.

And Christa Meland of the Twin Cities Business magazine was the first reporter I saw to get an official confirmation. She reported that on the magazine's blog Wednesday night.

Tooting is now over. On to part of today's article. The full piece, which includes comments from an employee is in today's print editon:

By the end of the year, a Minnesota dairy giant will have a new owner.

Kemps LLC, which is based in St. Paul and has milk and ice cream facilities in Rochester, has confirmed that Dairy Farmers of America is in the process of acquiring the 97-year-old dairy processor. The Post-Bulletin broke the story on Wednesday.

DFA is a farmer-owned milk marketing cooperative based in Kansas City, Mo., with nearly 16,000 members and 3,000 employees. HP Hood LLC of Lynnfield, Mass., owns Kemps. The acquisition is expected to become official by the end of the year.

A written announcement from Kemps says, "We will be working through the transfer process over the upcoming weeks."

While it did confirm the acquisition has begun, company officials said that federal regulations restrict any of the groups releasing more details about the deal.

"The business transition is in regulatory approval stage, so we are not able to provide any interviews or additional information," said Kemps spokeswoman Rachel Kyllo.

Employees at the two Rochester plants — the ice cream facility at 401 N. Broadway and the milk facility at 700 First Ave. S.E. — were briefed on the deal today. The milk processing facility has 135 employees and about 170 work at the ice cream plant.

Another dimension on the really big screen

This is an interesting addition coming the heels of Paragon Theaters' relaunch of the Chateau.

I guess the movie wars are underway.

Adding a new dimension to the largest movie screen in Rochester, Galaxy 14 Cine is upgrading its 25-foot-high, 60-foot-wide Mega Screen to use cutting-edge digital projection technology to show 3D movies.

Wehrenberg Theaters says when its new NEC 4K digital projector shows the animated 3D movie "Rio" on Friday, it will be the first time this technology has been used in the U.S.

This projector is designed specifically for giant screens to create a 3D experience as crisp as on any smaller screen.

Galaxy 14 is located in the Shoppes on Maine complex on South Broadway.

“This is something brand new to Rochester and its neighboring communities. Our guests have never experienced anything like this before," says Wehrenberg's CEO Ron Krueger.