8C - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, December 2, 2015

BusinessBusiness Briefs

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DeaDlines

Cafe offers take-and-goFine Dining Restaurant Group establishments now include Cafe. It is next door to Osteria in Hotel Terra in the space where Terra Cafe used to be. Cafe is a “casual outlet for breakfast and lunch, serving largely Italian-inspired selections in a grab-and-go setting” a press release said. “For breakfast, freshly brewed coffee will be available alongside breakfast sandwiches, burritos and other daily selections. During lunch, pick up a slice of pizza or a panini and a tall boy before returning to the mountain.” Cafe also will be used as private dining space for nighttime Osteria events.

Teton Village clinic reopensThe St. John’s Clinic at Teton Village is open for the season in the Cody House near the Bridger Gondola. Under the direction of Dr. Adam Johnson from the St. John’s Medical Center Emergency Department the clinic handles emergencies as well as ailments common to travelers, such as altitude sickness, dehydration, flu and gastrointestinal distress. Walk-ins are welcome seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information about the clinic call 739-7346 or visit VillageClinic.TetonHospital.org.

State treasurer to speakThe Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce’s Business Over Breakfast on Thursday will feature presentations by state Treasurer Mark Gordon and representatives of Vertical Harvest, the greenhouse going up adjacent to the downtown parking garage. The breakfast will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Wort Hotel. Gordon will talk about the Wyoming economy as it struggles with falling oil and gas prices. He will also discuss Constitutional Amendment A, which will appear on next year’s ballot, and potential updates to how municipalities can make investments that could result in changes for the town of Jackson. Breakfast attendees will also get an update on Vertical Harvest’s business model and how individuals will be able to enjoy fresh produce. RSVPs are requested by 2 p.m. today to Renee Leone, events coordinator, at events@jacksonholechamber.com or 201-2309. Breakfast costs $16 for chamber members and $25 for others.

Techies to talk TypeformThe Tech MeetUp group will get together from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 9 at Spark, 140 E. Broadway. The evening will include pizza and beer, and Andrew Wells from Teton Gravity Research will talk about how TGR built TetonGravity.com/win, a site used for live tour events, in just three weeks. “He will talk about the neat services they used, such as Typeform and Zapier, that enabled them to meet their tight deadline,” said the invitation on MeetUp.com.

Holiday party season beginsSilicon Couloir, a nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship in the Tetons, will host a get-together Monday. The event, 5 to 7 p.m. at Rare Gallery, is free to attend. Visit Silicon Couloir’s MeetUp.com page for details. Spark, a co-working space on East Broadway, will host a holiday party and open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

County unemployment dropsOnly 534 people in the Teton County labor force were unemployed in October, down from 694 in October 2014, according to preliminary figures from the state. The Research and Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services said Teton was one of 15 counties with year-over-year declines in unemployment rates in October. Teton’s rate went from 4.9 percent in October 2014 to 3.7 percent a year later. The Teton County employment figure for October of this year is estimated at 13,831, compared with 13,396 in October 2014. The statewide unemployment rate is 4 percent, compared with 5 percent for the country.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

High Country Outfitters is just one of many businesses that participated in Small Business Saturday, an effort to keep shoppers local and supporting Jackson’s economy. The store’s owner said it was a busy day.

By Frances Moody

Winter is here. The Town Square lights are lit and Jackson Hole Moun-tain Resort’s slopes are open.

To celebrate the holiday season many people shopped at local stores this weekend to take advantage of several businesses’ Black Friday sales.

Chain stores Staples, Kmart and Sports Authority had sales going on all weekend, as did many small business.

Ian McIver, manger for Sports Au-thority, said the store had a buy-one-get-one-free sale on gloves. It also offered a $40 cash rebate with the pur-chase of a GoPro, and Nikon binoculars were half off.

The sporting goods store was busy throughout the weekend, but Friday was the day it received the most traffic. McIver said sales were up 14 percent for Black Friday this year compared to last year. He thinks Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s opening on Friday helped business.

“Our store tends to respond to the resort culture and the weather,” McIver said.

Snow is on the ground and people are eager to ski and snowboard. McIver said the resort’s $6 special for its 50th anniversary gave people the extra push to rent equipment to go skiing.

“The $6 deal they were doing made the rental shop go off, which was great,” he said. “We usually see some periph-eral sales when people come by just to rent skis, because they usually end up buying something before they leave.”

John Frechette, co-owner of the stores Made and Mountain Dandy, said

the resort’s opening also encouraged people to stop by Jackson’s small busi-nesses.

He said winter activities get people excited about Christmas shopping. Both Made and Mountain Dandy were quite busy Friday.

“Black Friday is always a busy day for us,” Frechette said. “It’s certainly not like Walmart or other stores you see on the news. No one got trampled in Gas-light Alley, which was nice.”

Made and Mountain Dandy are part of the Holiday Passport Shopping Event, which kicked off Friday. As part of the kickoff, all items from both stores had 25 percent markdowns Friday.

The two gift shops are two of 12 busi-nesses participating in the Holiday Passport Shopping Event. Stio, Jackson Bootlegger, Paper and Grace, Knit on Pearl and other stores also offered 25

Deals lure shoppers to buy localJackson merchants report brisk sales on day after Thanksgiving.

Firm aims to make vacationing easier

By Richard Anderson

Between changing rules and regulations and the limita-tions of the available stock, housing in Jackson Hole will always be complicated.

But homeowners and vacationers have a new ally in Luxury Properties Jackson Hole.

The firm, which opened in July in the Pearl at Jackson building on Pearl Avenue, specializes in caretaking, vaca-tion rentals and “lifestyle concierge” services.

“We’re going above and beyond the typical concierge services,” said COO Lorie Hamilton Lupp. “We try to take care of everything for homeowners and vacation rental guests — picking up dry cleaning, bringing in a Christmas tree — whatever it takes to make clients’ time here easy.”

Luxury Properties was founded by partners Todd See-ton, Wes Lucas and Dave NeVille, who with his wife, Su-san, leads the NeVille Group, an affiliate of Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates and Cristie’s International Real Estate.

“There weren’t a lot of options for a while in Jackson for the high-end market,” Lupp said. “With the development

growth that we’ve seen and the increased demand for va-cation rentals, and the growth of the second-home market, we saw the opportunity to be a great option.”

And as Jackson Hole’s housing climate and regulations continue to change, Luxury Properties also is in a position to help homeowners and home renters keep pace.

“We are on the ground, and it’s our job to stay abreast,” she said. “It’s tricky for a homeowner who’s not here in Jackson and able to follow along in the conversation. … We help navigate those waters and be the responsible parties. As a business we are bound to observe and follow those regulations.”

While Luxury Properties advertises that its portfolio of homes can accommodate any number of guests from one to 14, it particularly wants to cater to families, and it picks rental clients whose homes are especially suited to accom-modating families.

“Maybe they’ve outgrown the hotels or it’s a multi-gen-erational family,” Lupp said, “families that want to have experiences together, like a milestone anniversary for grandparents. ... We want to be the provider of the base camp for those celebrations in Jackson Hole.”

Lupp grew up in east Tennessee and began working in the luxury hospitality industry right after graduating from Maryville College. In 2006 she moved to Jackson Hole to take a sales job at Snake River Lodge.

Founded in July, Luxury Properties Jackson Hole looks to grow ‘conscienciously’ in high-end market.

See luxury on 9C

See deals on 9C

JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 9C

“I thought I was coming to Jackson for two years,” she said. “Like every-one else I fell in love with the commu-nity and the recreational aspects and overall lifestyle.”

Over the past decade she got mar-ried, bought a home and now calls Jackson Hole home.

Doug Howard is the company’s di-rector of home services and responsi-ble broker. Luxury Properties formed around the nucleus of an existing care-taking business that Howard had cre-ated during his 35 years in the valley.

Reid Matthews is the team’s senior account manager, working one on one with homeowners and guests.

Right now, Lupp said, the group’s portfolio of homes numbers 13, “and

its growing daily.” But, she said, the company wants to be careful and con-scientious about how it grows.

“We want to be able to provide a high level of service to each home-owner, to provide whatever level of contact they need,” she said.

Lupp said Luxury Properties not only benefi ts homeowners and would-be renters, but also supports the many other community members who offer services.

“We see the trickle-down effect” of providing families with fl y-fi shing guides, private chefs, ski instruc-tion, baby-sitting and more. “We’re embracing the benefi t it brings to all the service providers throughout the valley.”

Contact Richard Anderson at 732-7078 or rich@jhnewsandguide.com.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

Lorie Hamilton Lupp is the chief operating offi cer of Luxury Properties Jackson Hole, a recently opened “lifestyle concierge” business.

LUXURYContinued from 8C

percent off all items on Friday.While the big sale was on Friday, the

shopping event will continue through Dec. 13.

Customers can still pick up pass-ports at participating stores and receive stamps for their passports with any purchase.

People who gather six stamps are en-tered into a drawing to win a prize do-nated by one of the participating stores.

“The participating stores donate at least $100 worth of prizes,” Frechette said. “There is probably $1,500 worth of prizes total.”

Deals from local restaurants are also on the passport. If someone shows his or her passport at one of the restaurants, it will offer that person the deal that is printed on it.

“Cowboy Coffee is buy-one-get-one-free,” Frechette said.

Other eateries listed on the passport include Persephone, Healthy Being Juicery, Local and Trio.

The shopping event is just one way Jackson businesses encouraged resi-dents to shop local this weekend.

Small Business Saturday attracted people to downtown Jackson. American Express used to give credit to customers who shopped at a small business on the Saturday after Black Friday.

This year American Express didn’t offer a small business deal, but the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce still celebrated the day by giving away $25 gift cards for local shops and $100 Jackson Hole Jewelry gift certifi cates.

On Friday, after Town Square was lit and Santa Claus made his grand en-trance (see page 3A), the chamber called out the gift card and certifi cate winners.

By winning gift cards and certifi -cates, people were encouraged to return to Town Square to shop on Saturday, Frechette said.

“The hope is that people tried to fi nd something local rather than driving to Idaho Falls to go to Target,” he said.

Contact Frances Moody at 732-7079 or schools@jhnewsandguide.com.

DEALSContinued from 8C

www.contourproperties.com

Call Tim Bradley for details307-733-6400

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