Here's today's article from the IBR:
Couple opens events center to ease crowding
by Rick Carpenter
A new restaurant overlooking the Snake River in Twin Falls anchors a new events center that will fill the needs of a city which had limited space for events with more than 225 guests.
Dan and Sonja Willie saw the problem when they were helping organize a fundraiser for a golf tournament for the local Boys and Girls Club. The event had overflowed other facilities in town and they had to apply for a liquor license each time they wanted to host an event.
So, they did what any good entrepreneur would do. They built their own facility: a 21,800-square-foot, $7.3 million restaurant and events center.
Canyon Crest Dining and Events Center, perched on the south rim of the Snake River Gorge, overlooks two golf courses, the Perrine Bridge (a base jumper’s mecca) and spectacular views of the area.
The new restaurant even features a rotating table for eight people. But don’t try to reserve it for Wednesday at 5 p.m. That’s when a group of businessmen who have been meeting for more years than they can remember have it booked. They suggested and helped pay for the rotating table because there would always be at least one member who would be upset that he had his back to the crowd. Now, with the table, they all get a shot at viewing the entire lounge.
R. Todd Blass, one of the regular businessmen who previously met at another restaurant, said the old restaurant (he wouldn’t name it) wouldn’t reserve their favorite table, even though they met there every week at the same time. They started joking with Dan Willie about making a rotating restaurant and they eventually settled on the rotating table. And the businessmen paid half of the estimated $18,000 for the table which is actually the same platform technology used for car dealerships which spin cars in showrooms.
The 11-foot rotating table even has gears so the owner can speed it up to a maximum speed of one rotation in four minutes or slow it down to a snail’s pace.
“This is our Space Needle of Twin Falls,” Dan Willie said.
And as if the rotating table isn’t novelty enough, the restaurant features a player grand piano for the times they do not have live entertainment.
Canyon Crest Dining features casual fine dining with steak and seafood. It seats 100 in the lounge, another 144 in the restaurant and 104 on the deck. In addition, it has an upstairs private meeting room for 20 people with an outdoor deck.
But more impressive is the events center portion of the facility which can comfortably host 400 people with roundtables for eight people each. More than 100 events have booked the facility between now and the end of the year. And entertainer Danny Marona – named Entertainer of the Year 10 years in a row in Nevada – has already agreed to perform there on New Year’s Eve.
Jan Rogers, executive director of the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, said prior to the opening of Canyon Crest, the area was limited to about 225 people at a sit-down dinner.
Steve Di Lucca, a commercial real estate agent for Westerra Real Estate Group in Twin Falls, is so sold on the area his company is building two 50,000-square-foot buildings and investing $17 million in a condo development just west of Canyon Crest. It will house the Magic Valley Arts Council, and each building will have mixed-use office space on the first floor, professional offices on the second and third floors and residences on the fourth and fifth floors. He said the restaurant and the events center are within walking distance.
There is also a new St. Luke’s Hospital going up in the area as is a new high school and four new hotels including an AmeriTel and a Hilton within walking distance of Canyon Crest.
The Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce gave the new facility its first major test on April 17, three days after opening. More than 350 people got to see the facility for the first time. With its breathtaking views, it’s no surprise 10 weddings have been booked on the lookout, with a view of the gorge.
The Willies own and operate Travelers’ Oasis Truck Plaza, Flags West Truck Stop and 13 Stop ‘N Go convenience stores in Magic Valley.
Source:
http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive...-ease-crowding