Ranch House now open, offering fine dining

John and Margie's Ranch House is now open for business and serving up mouth-watering steaks and other stick-to-your-ribs foods.

  True confession time - the new restaurant actually has been open for awhile, but the Mitchells wanted some time to train the staff and "work out the kinks" before making a public announcement.

  But word was getting out, said John Mitchell of Bubba's barbecue fame before he sold that business to open the Ranch house.

  The Mitchells have given the older building at 4340 E. 32nd St. quite a face-lift with a Western motif that includes Native American art, wild animal displays and a huge longhorn over the bar - aptly named the Longhorn Saloon, where happy hour is served from 3 to 6 p.m. daily.

  As for the "fine dining" part of the establishment, it serves up breakfast with menu items ranging from the cowboy's breakfast to lil' bits for the lighter appetite. For lunch, barbecue fans can still get John's pulled pork sandwich. For dinner, you can dive into the Tomahawk rib eye steak and other offerings. And save room for Margie's silk dumpling peach cobbler.

  The Ranch House is open from 6 a.m. (7 a.m. weekends) to 10 p.m. For more information, catering, call 317-3155 or e-mail ranch_house928@yahoo.com.

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  Yuma's newest Starbucks is expected to open any day now, if it hasn't already - the Starbucks Web site says "coming soon." The store is located in the new multitenant building at the southwest corner of 16th Street and Pacific Avenue.

  For the convenience of those in need of a early-morning expresso fix, when it does open for business, the store will be ready for customers by 5 a.m. and has a drive through.

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  According to city of Yuma sources, Jamesways Restaurants Inc. is moving forward with plans for a new Taco Bell restaurant at 2353 S. Avenue B on one of the pads near the Avenue B Albertson's. That project has been in the wings for sometime.
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  Other building activity includes:

  • A certificate of occupancy has been issued for the just completed 40,000-square-foot FedEx ground terminal at 765 S. Avenue 7E in the Yuma Commerce Center. The building houses a new truck-to-truck distribution center for FedEx Freight.

  • A certificate of occupancy has been granted for the clubhouse at Palms Yuma RV Resort, 5400 S. Avenue 7E south of 32nd Street.

  • Plans have been submitted for a 5,500-square-foot expansion to Sarah Farms Dairy processing plant, 2751 E. Palo Verde St., to provide more cold storage.

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  Central Welders Supply Inc., 4251 E. 30th Place in the Curtis Industrial Park, is now open for business. The store sells welding supplies, equipment and gases, said manager Laureen Pettway. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and can be reached at 317-0575.

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  Tagging along with their parents to the Greyhound Swap Meet should be a lot more fun for little ones this winter - and even big kids of all ages. David Gordon and his father, owners of Extreme-Ink Carnival Systems, have set up a little carnival at the swap meet with a slider ride, five inflates, bumper boats, bungee jumping, paintball tent and games.

  The carnival is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays and will be there until spring.

  The Gordons, home-based in Logan, Utah, travel the circuit for the summer and decided this year to set up shop at the Yuma swap meet for the winter for the sake of their employees, not to mention those coming to the swap meet.

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  Southwest Pain Associates, 11551 S. Fortuna Road, Suite C, will offer medical care and pain management services for new and chronic neck, back and joint conditions.

  Scott Norris, D.C., clinic director, welcomes long-time local physician assistant Steve Linde aboard to provide the bulk of medical services, under oversight of Dr. Alaa Babiker. Serious, severe upper back and neck conditions will be handled by Dr. Robert Odell, a board certified pain management specialist out of Las Vegas and Phoenix.

  The medical and chiropractic staff can offer a wide range of services, such as conservative chiropractic care, physio-therapeutic modalities, spinal disc rehabilitation with non-surgical spinal decompression therapy, low level therapeutic laser therapy for painful soft tissue conditions, trigger point injections; laser removal of bothersome moles, warts and skin tags; and pain management interventions such as epidural and facet block cortisone injections.

  With some of the new state-of-the art treatments, "results are achieved through improved healing of the pain generating structures and not just covering the symptoms," said Dr. Norris.

  Southwest Pain Associates is a contracted Medicare provider and also will accept most private insurances.

  Open enrollment is slated through Nov. 30. New patient appointments will be scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information or to schedule a new patient appointment, call 342-5230.

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  Ultimate Fitness Center in Wellton has moved but just down the street a little. The center was started just shy of two years ago by Josie Uriarte at 28525 Los Angeles Ave.

  The gym recently packed up and moved into the former National Bank of Arizona location at 28625 Los Angeles Ave., where it is enjoying the greater visibility and additional space, said manager Danny Colon. With that extra space, the gym is starting to add new classes, such as yoga and tai chi (soon). It also offers weight lifting, a cardiovascular machine and self-defense classes.

  Current hours are 7 to 11:30 a.m. and 2 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. The gym has the same phone number of 785-9406.

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  A reader reported that there is a sign just north of the post office on Fortuna stating that a new branch of 1st Bank of Yuma is coming.

  That is indeed true, said Senior Vice President Kathi Marcus, who added that the bank "is very excited about being out there" and serving the growing Foothills community.

  Construction is expected to start in the next few days at 11600 S. Fortuna Road on what will be the bank's fourth full-service branch in the Yuma area, she said. In the meantime, the bank will be installing a modular building on the site to begin offering banking services, hopefully by December, during construction of the permanent building.

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  Scentsy Wickless Candles offers a new idea for candles - featuring warmers that use a 25 watt bulb to melt the wax slowly, maximizing the fragrance time of the Scentsy bar or brick. That means no flame, soot or wick for a safe way to enjoy more than 80 Scentsy fragrances, said Suzanne Camarena, an independent consultant for the candle company.

  Camarena can do home or basket parties or take individual orders. She can be reached at 257-5754 or check out her Web site at www.scentsy.com/ NoseCandy.

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