‘Hottest’ prospect set to visit Great Falls

The hottest prospect on the "hot list" at the Great Falls Development Authority appears to be getting even hotter.

The chief executive officer of a Midwest company that does medical claims processing and other things is set to visit Great Falls in April, says John Kramer, president of the development authority.

By James E. Larcombe
Tribune Business Editor

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040328/localnews/163735.html

The trip is expected to play a big role in whether the company decides to develop a location in Great Falls. The payoff? Up to 300 jobs with pay starting at close to $10 per hour. Also involved could be a 15,000- to 30,000-square-foot building, officials said.

"The way it looks right now, we are going to be extremely competitive in our proposal to this company," Kramer told GFDA board members last week. "It looks very good. This is a class-act company."

There are seven "hot" prospects on the GFDA list, which includes 111 names, most of which are rated "active" or "pending," by authority staffers.

Roma’s rumors

Jim Purdy, one of the Great Falls guys working on a Tony Roma’s restaurant in Great Falls, says he’s feeling the grind of the local rumor mill. Roma and partner Ken Hatzenbeller announced plans to build the restaurant at the Great Falls Marketplace last month.

"I’ve heard we don’t own the land," Purdy said last week. "I’ve heard that all these other restaurants are coming to town to compete with us."

While he’s checked out some of the competition rumors, nothing appears imminent, Purdy said, declining to offer any of the rumored names.

Purdy said work on Tony Roma’s is on schedule and construction should begin in August. The partners have delivered a detailed package of documents to the Macerich Co. to finalize the land deal. The two also are talking to various holders of liquor licenses but don’t have a deal yet.

"There are three or four liquor licenses floating around out there," he said. "Everything is going fine."

Buyers for Noon’s

Between 15 and 20 folks with an interest in future ownership of area Noon’s convenience stores showed up at a how-to-bid seminar last week in Great Falls.

"There seems to be some interest in the stores," noted Cecil Holcombe, a broker with America West Realty, who is helping Missoula-based Noon’s with the sale of 15 stores and other property.

The sale involves stores in Great Falls, Havre, Shelby, Fort Benton, Lewistown, Helena and Kalispell. They are being offered on an individual and group basis.

According to a sales brochure, the Noon’s store at 3200 10th Ave. S., in Great Falls may be the gem of the bunch in terms of sales volume. The store reported merchandise sales of $872,090 in 2003, and sales of 591,291 gallons of gasoline.

The Fort Benton store had the lowest sales in 2003, at $493,379. Its gasoline sales totaled 301,584 gallons, the second lowest total of stores offered for sale, according to the brochure.

Bids on the stores are due April 13.

James E. Larcombe is the Tribune business editor. He may be reached at (406) 791-1463 or e-mail him at [email protected]