Talking Business: Roam'n Around finds home downtown

By Dan Daly, Journal staff writer | Thursday, February 15, 2007

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I'll have more on this later, but I talked yesterday with Bridget Machacek, who has degrees in geography and a serious wanderlust.

And in April, she and her husband Jon Machacek will open a downtown retail store devoted to travel supplies and travel gear. It'll be named Roam'n Around.

They leased the storefront at 616 Main St., a portion of the former Bible and Book Store.

She said Roam'n Around will carry things such as travel books, globes, maps, jewelry, travel accessories and, later on, clothing and shoes. It will also have luggage and backpacks from makers such as Eagle Creek Travel Gear and Swiss Army.

Later, she hopes to host brown bag lunches on travel adventures, orienteering events and computer-assisted foreign language classes.

"We plan to not only open a retail store, but to provide a place for learning about other locations and cultures around the world," she said.

iSold It to open

Jamie Al-Haj knows a thing or two about auctions. Her father was a longtime auctioneer in Nebraska.

She also knows a thing or two about technology. She owns Micro Solutions in Rapid City. (Her husband, Qusi Al-Haj, was her business partner until he became Sen. John Thune's West River director.)

She's combining both backgrounds as a franchisee for iSold It, an eBay sales service.

The store will open next week at 1730 N. Haines Ave. It will share space in the building that houses Micro Solutions.

iSold It isn't owned by eBay, the popular Internet auction site. But eBay is definitely the iSold It outlet for your goods.

It's kind of like an online consignment shop. For a commission, Al-Haj will take your item, research its value, photograph it, post it and handle the details of the bidding, selling and shipping.

Some of the things that sell best on eBay, according to the iSold It brochure, are cameras, antiques and collectibles, sporting goods, musical instruments and consumer electronics.

The California franchise company has 200 stores and 900 franchise contracts. Company officials are talking about having 3,000 stores very soon.

Although others in Rapid City offer eBay services, Al-Haj believes this is the first South Dakota franchise.

For more information, call 718-0646.

Restaurant wish list

And finally, last week's column about the yet-to-be-named restaurant at Interstate 90 and Elk Vale Road generated about 70 reader comments.

And just about everybody, it seems, has some very definite ideas about the restaurant names they'd like to see in Rapid City.

They were throwing out names like Popeye's Chicken, Joe's Crab Shack, Macaroni Grill, On The Border, Hooters, In-N-Out Burger, Macaroni Grill, Waffle House, Famous Dave's, Johnny Carino's, Macaroni Grill, Whataburger, Cheeseburger in Paradise, El Pollo Loco and Macaroni Grill.

Did I mention Macaroni Grill?

I'd never heard of most of these places. (However, I have been to Whataburger.) Maybe I should get out of town more often.

But when I do go somewhere, I tend to gravitate toward locally owned, no-name restaurants. In Denver, for instance, I go to places like Davies Chuck Wagon Diner, Pete's Greek Town Cafe or Pagliacci's Italian Restaurant, instead of IHOP or Olive Garden.

A few people mentioned restaurants that were here once, and they'd like to see them come back: Long John Silver, Village Inn and Casa Del Rey.

A couple of folks named restaurants that are already here, or coming soon. Two people - a little off subject - said that what Rapid City really needs is a Costco.

Talking Business appears Thursdays in the Journal. Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421, by fax at 394-8463 or e-mail dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com