September 2014 – Dustin Monke

Prairie Hills Mall to add popular food chains

Qdoba, Jimmy John’s and City Brew Coffee on the list

Two popular fast-food restaurants and a coffee shop are making plans to locate in the building being constructed in the Prairie Hills Mall east parking lot.

The mall announced the addition of Qdoba Mexican Grill, Jimmy John’s and City Brew Coffee Co. on Wednesday in a news release.

“This is a very exciting project for Prairie Hills Mall,” Peggy O’Brien, Prairie Hills Mall’s manager, said in the release. “Our construction of the new outbuilding allows Prairie Hills Mall to continue our ongoing dedication to Dickinson and the surrounding communities by welcoming tenants who share our commitment to quality.”

Qdoba is a popular food chain that serves Mexican-style food. Jimmy John’s is a sandwich restaurant that is also known for specializing in delivery.

City Brew is a Montana-based company founded in 1998 that has 17 locations in Montana and two in Wyoming. Dickinson will be the company’s first North Dakota store. It’s Dickinson location will feature a drive-thru. “City Brew Coffee Company is honored to be part of the growing community of Dickinson,” Jared Smith of City Brew stated in the release.

Apartment fire displaces 2 tenants

Jesse Samsa broke down in tears as he watched firefighters inspect the apartment building he had lived in for the past three months.

As he looked at his section of the white building at 1143 Sims, now black and charred beyond repair, the Pennsylvania native living and working in Dickinson could only muster up three words.

“Pain and hurt.”
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Kmart out, Cash Wise in: Big-box store to be replaced by supermarket after 36 years in mall

The first big-box store in Dickinson is closing its doors at the end of the year and a new supermarket is taking its place.

Representatives for Kmart and the Prairie Hills Mall announced Tuesday that the store will close in early December after 36 years. About an hour later, Coburn’s Inc., owner of Cash Wise Foods and Cash Wise Liquors announced that it plans to move into the space and open the supermarket and liquor store by spring 2015.

“We’ve been working to find the right opportunity to come to Dickinson for some time now and I’m glad everything has come together to allow us to open in the spring,” Chris Coburn, Coburn’s president and CEO, said in a news release.

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Bonanza evidence of city’s biggest problems

0919 bonanza — Buffet and steakhouse Bonanza, which has been a popular restaurant in Dickinson for 35 years, closed its doors this week due to a lack of staff.

Last week, Dickinson lost one of its oldest restaurants. Not because business was bad. Not because the food was inedible. Not because of a fire or some other act of God. No.

The Bonanza steakhouse and buffet that has been serving customers for 35 years was forced to shut its doors for good Monday because it could only find 11 employees. That wasn’t nearly enough for franchise owner Bob Wade to keep the business running.

The closure of Bonanza should be a wake-up call not only to Dickinson business owners, but to those who set the price of housing. It’s the clearest sign we’ve seen so far that the cost of living in Dickinson is so high, even successful businesses can’t make it unless they pay part-time workers more than $15 an hour.

It’s time to find a balance and help low- and medium-income workers before more businesses — especially restaurants — raise the white flag and lock their doors permanently.

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Beach tables rezoning for rail expansion

BEACH — Citing the absence of a council member, the Beach City Council tabled a rezoning decision regarding a proposed $7 million railroad expansion for the Beach Grain Cooperative following a public hearing at its regular meeting Monday night.

Beach Mayor Walter Losinski said Tuesday that the council “didn’t want to make a snap judgment” after about 20 people attended Monday’s meeting and others provided letters and comments both for and against the rezoning of 156 acres on the city’s east side from agriculture to commercial. The council’s next meeting is Oct. 6.

“We wouldn’t have done anything without a full council. It’s too big of an issue,” Losinski said. “It impacts more people than just the ag people. It impacts people on both sides. Everybody needed that extra time to wrap their heads around it. A lot of questions need to be asked and answered yet.”
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