[Vision2020] speaking of local flavor

[Debbie Gray]

Oh bummer! 

I love that po-boy sandwich best of all.. was fun to have a non-chain place around... will have to go there and 'celebrate' maybe tomorrow night! Another vacant buildling lodges itself in Moscow =(

Debbie Gray

From: Dan Carscallen 
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 7:12 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: [Vision2020] speaking of local flavor



November 22 
will mark the end of an era for Moscow.  
Gotta go get my last Grandpa burger in a basket, and a French dip for my delicate 
flower: 
   
Biz 
Bits: End of an era 
Ted's 
Burgers closes its doors after three decades in 
Moscow 
Posted on: 
 Sunday, November 09, 2008 
Andy Kiblen, 33, said he was a 
"nervous wreck and preoccupied" until he made one of the biggest decisions of 
his life Oct. 28. 
That was the day he decided to close Ted's Burgers, 
ending a 21-year slice of his life. 
"We're not making it. We're digging a hole, and it will 
cost me less to close than to stay open," the owner of Ted's Burgers said. "I'm 
ready to close this chapter of life and move on." 
A number of factors went into the decision, including 
rising prices, the July increase of minimum wage and the one scheduled for 
2009. 
When his costs increased enough he would pass the cost 
on to the customer, like most businesses do. 
"Menu prices go up, and that's not right," he said. "I 
feel bad because I think they're too high." 
The economic meltdown also was a big part of his 
decision to close. 
"I could cut expenses one more time," he said. "But I 
would jeopardize a lot, including my house, and I wasn't willing to risk my 
kids' future." 
The business will close Nov. 22. On that day, Kiblen plans a send-off party with inexpensive food - "kind 
of like a funeral." 
Ted's has been a 
 Moscow fixture since 
the 1970s and probably has employed more high school students over the years 
than most businesses in town. 
The business was started by Ted Carlson, who ran six 
A&W Root Beer stores in the region. The Moscow A&W was located in west 
 Moscow in 1968. It 
moved to its present location in the 1970s and soon evolved into Ted's under 
Carlson's ownership.  
Ted's still bears the A&W pointy-roof design and the 
car hop stations in the parking lot. 
Kiblen used to hang out at the 
restaurant because his older brother, Dave, worked there. 
When he was 12, he began work there as a car hop, 
eventually working his way up to cooking 
hamburgers. 
He never looked back. 
In 1996, he became a partner in the business with 
Carlson and his wife, Cindy. 
Ted Carlson died of cancer that year, and Kiblen took over the day-to-day 
operations. 
In 2001, he purchased the rest of the business except 
for small share Cindy Carlson retained. 
When he was close to making the decision to close, he 
contacted Cindy to consult with her. 
"She was surprised the decision didn't come earlier," he 
said. "I also feel Ted is looking over my shoulder, and I feel good about 
that." 
Kiblen's decision also is OK with 
his wife, Anji, who works at Bearable Dentistry in 
 Moscow .  
"Anji didn't take an active 
role in the business except to support me in whatever I wanted to do," he said. 
"She's been through the whole thing, and it hasn't been easy for 
her." 
For the last few years, Kiblen 
has divided his time between Ted's and Latah Title Company, a title business 
started by his grandfather. 
He had no intention of joining the family business but 
the sudden death of his brother, Mike, in September 2004 left a void at the 
business. Todd Kiblen, Andy's father, talked him into 
working at the title company.  
With Ted's closure, Andy Kiblen will devote full time to the business with other 
family members including Todd, brother Dave and Deanna 
Kiblen, Mike's widow. 
Kiblen will keep the Ted's name but 
is willing to make "someone a helluva deal on the 
building," he said. 
The building sits on leased land. 
 
"I have no regrets," he said. "I operated a business for 
years, not the most profitable, but I gave it a 
go." 
Ted's Burgers is located at 
 321 N. Main 
St .  



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