Craveworthy, approachable hamburgers, french fries and cheesesteaks are the specialities of the most recent iteration of a restaurant at 10th and Bridge streets in Clarkston.
The Burger Stop is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday featuring menu items cooked in peanut oil, something the owner said is key to the taste of the food.
“It’s one step up,” said Joe DiSarno, the owner. “You can’t beat the flavor.”
Among the items at Burger Stop are hand-cut curly and french fries (both $4 apiece), Philly cheesesteaks ($11) and house specials such as the Double Stop Burger ($13), the most expensive item on the menu.
The Double Stop Burger comes with two quarter-pound Black Angus hamburger patties topped with ham, bacon, Swiss and American cheeses, raw or grilled onions, sweet relish, mayonnaise, pickles, mustard and ketchup. Portions of a house fry, ranch or barbecue sauce cost 50 cents apiece.
A retired Merchant Marine, DiSarno doesn’t have any formal training in cooking.
“I know what I like,” he said. “I know what people like and I give it to them.”
If his version of an entree isn’t the best in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, it’s on him as long as customers tell him where they’ve had better so he can go get some, DiSarno said.
DiSarno has been a restaurant owner intermittently in the area since the 1990s when he was a founder of a Smokey Joe’s Barbecue, a restaurant that was located where Hazel’s Good Eats is now.
This is the third time The Burger Stop has been open. It debuted in 2011 and was open a year.
DiSarno tried a similar format again in the same spot that lasted six months in 2020 before it was impossible to sustain because of the extra rules restaurants were required to follow during the pandemic.
This time, DiSarno believes The Burger Stop will thrive, in no small part because of what he learned about the financial side of the business in its previous runs.
Crews ready last wind turbine blade at Port of Lewiston
The last component at the Port of Lewiston bound for a Canadian wind energy farm was being prepared late last week for departure.
The 270-foot wind turbine blade had been loaded onto a trailer and was waiting in a gravel area. It was one of 80 to 100 that arrived at the Port of Lewiston in 2022 by river barge from the Port of Vancouver, Wash., between May and July last year.
Originally they were all scheduled to be delivered to their final destination, Jenner, Alberta, last fall, said Scott Corbitt, general manager of the Port of Lewiston.
“They had some difficulties in getting their blades through Montana (because of) permitting, weather and construction,” Corbitt said.
The cargo went on more than one route, generally being handled by contracted crews with individuals who reside outside the area, he said.
Some went north on U.S. Highway 95 in Idaho, while others went south on U.S. Highway 95 then east on Interstate 84 toward Montana, he said.
The delay benefited the port. Originally the port anticipated earning $100,000 from a contract with Omega Morgan for its role in handling the components, but that figure is now estimated at more than $500,000, he said.
The port would welcome similar business in the future, but doesn’t have any additional signed contracts at this time, Corbitt said.
“We’re hopeful and ready to take on the next high, wide and heavy load,” he said. “... It supports the port and the river community.”
Family from Spokane takes over Clarkston’s Postal & Copy +
A Spokane family has moved to Lewiston to become the owners of Postal & Copy + in Clarkston.
Vince and Melina Onkoba acquired the business at 601 Third St. from Dave and Kathy Irby, who retired on Aug. 1. Bi-Mart previously was a tenant of the shopping complex where Postal & Copy + is located. The business hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The business prints blueprints and specification books along with designing and producing business cards, Christmas cards, calendars, banners, posters and brochures. It also provides copying, scans, faxing, shredding, shipping and mailbox rental.
“Our primary goal is to maintain the services and the quality of what the community has come to expect from Postal & Copy +,” said Vince Onkoba in an email.
Just before buying the business, he was a physical therapist assistant and she worked remotely as a part-time administrator for a leading California Dachshund breeder.
The Irbys provided them hands-on training last month and will be available for consultation in coming months.
They were seeking a place where they could use their skills in sales, operations management and administration when they found Postal & Copy + searching for retiring business owners on a business-broker website, he said.
“As parents, we desire to have our children learn a good work ethic in a family business, working alongside us,” he said.
Chamber employee joins staff of Twin County United Way
An employee of the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce is joining Twin County United Way.
Blake Harrington, who was interim CEO/president and events and communications manager at the chamber, will start at United Way on Sept. 11, said Kristin Kemak, CEO/president of United Way.
At United Way, Harrington will fill a newly created post, director of operations and programs, Kemak said.
Kemak was CEO/president of the chamber until she left in April for the position at United Way. Linnea Noreen, who has worked for the Seattle and Rainier Valley chambers, was named to Kemak’s job in late August.
Harrington’s position will be filled, but it may not be advertised for about a month while Noreen evaluates if the duties need to be reconfigured to better meet the chamber’s needs, Noreen said.
Wisconsin woman hired to lead Pullman association
PULLMAN — A woman who raised more than $425,000 for a not-for-profit group in Green Bay, Wis., is the new executive director of the Downtown Pullman Association.
Mallory Nash did that work for the Current Young Professionals in Green Bay, where she cultivated ties with two downtown associations, developed almost 100 community partners and hosted more than 40 events each year, according to a news release from the Downtown Pullman Association.
As the executive director of the Pullman group, Nash said in a news release she intends to make the city’s downtown the best “hidden gem” on the Palouse.
“In addition to being an economic driver for its city, a thriving downtown is where people come to connect, experience and engage,” Nash said.
Just before taking the Pullman job, Nash was student engagement and leadership manager for the University of Alaska Southeast’s office of student engagement and leadership.
The association is a not-for-profit group that is dedicated to the vitality of Pullman’s historic downtown and seeks for it to be a place where residents and visitors meet to make lifelong memories.
Judy Kolde is serving as president of the Downtown Pullman Association this year. She is the owner of Sanctuary Yoga, Barre & Dance, a downtown business at 540 E. Main St., that offers classes as well as a vegetarian bistro with breakfast entrees and smoothies.
Clearwater Economic Development Association lands two grants
Improving wellness and early childhood education are the goals of two grants awarded to the Clearwater Economic Development Association.
A total of $100,000 from the Department of Health and Welfare’s Get Healthy Idaho Initiative went to CEDA to help Orofino and Kamiah build healthy and resilient communities, according to a news release from CEDA.
Another $50,000 from the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children is intended to help CEDA convene stakeholders and experts to offer affordable, comprehensive, early-learning opportunities, according to the news release.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
