Comics, books, Christmas and trading cards: Check out the new tenants in Rexburg’s old Porter’s building

Jon Cooney sharing his passion for comic books with his daughter inside the basement of his new shop, Firefly Books and Comics, at 29 College Avenue in Rexburg. Take a look in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley. BIZ BUZZ REXBURG Owners of Porter’s building in Rexburg open seasonal operation as 2 new tenants move in Chuck and Linda Porter opened a seasonal outlet store in their original location. It offers Christmas merchandise at discount prices through Black Friday. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com REXBURG – It’s been seven years since Porter’s Craft and Frame closed it doors for good, but now it’s back with a seasonal operation. Porter’s Outlet is selling overstock fall decor and Christmas merchandise until Nov. 29 in its original location on College Avenue in Rexburg. Two other tenants have moved into other parts of the building: a trading card game and hobby store called Cards of Ruin and Firefly Books and Comics. Chuck Porter, who owns the building with his wife, Linda, tells EastIdahoNews.com he’s thrilled to see these tenants using the space, and he’s excited to offer customers seasonal holiday items at discount prices. “We started a sideline business (after we closed the Rexburg store) selling Christmas decor. We tried selling a lot of things on Amazon, but we’ve narrowed it down to what we do best,” Chuck says. This is the second time the Porters have opened a seasonal venture at this location. Their first attempt was in 2023. Since then, they’ve accumulated a lot of merchandise that didn’t sell online and the Porters decided to return with the outlet store. “Some people come in and want to know where all of our departments are. All we have is seasonal Christmas items in one storefront,” Chuck explains. RELATED | Chuck Porter talks about the history of Porter’s Craft, why he’s closing it now and what’s next The building has six storefronts, in total. A call center recently vacated three of the spaces, and the Porters are hoping to lease it to a new tenant soon. Chase Clark opened Cards of Ruin on Friday in the space at 31 College Avenue. Jon Cooney, and his daughter, Ashli, and son, Tristan, are the owners of Firefly Books and Comics at 29 College Avenue, which is slated to open in mid-October. History comes full circle Porter’s Craft and Frame had its beginnings at this location in 1916. Chuck’s grandfather, Arthur, a professor at then-Ricks Academy, opened a bookstore, newspaper and printing business. “He (Arthur) had worked at a newspaper as a young man in Logan, Utah,” Chuck says. “That was his main interest.” Arthur Porter, left, bought his newspaper in 1907 and a local bookstore in 1916. He moved the two of them to one storefront on College Avenue in 1917. The photo on the right shows that storefront in downtown Rexburg around 1920. | Courtesy Chuck Porter It became three separate businesses when Arthur sold it years later. The paper became the Rexburg Standard Journal, and the print shop became Artco on the north end of town. Chuck’s father, Warren, bought the bookstore and later opened a Ben Franklin variety and office supply store. Chuck grew up working in the shop and bought it from his dad in 1980 after working as an engineer in the aerospace industry and as a patent attorney in Los Angeles. “I started running the business, and I’ve had a great life doing that,” says Chuck. Firefly Books and Comics Ashli Cooney moved to Rexburg from California in 2011 to attend Brigham Young University-Idaho. She’s always been a voracious reader and was a frequent shopper at Porter’s Craft and Frame. “I’d come in here and I’d say, ‘Man, I want to turn this into a bookstore,” Cooney says. “That was my dream. I loved the location, I loved the history of the building.” She was ecstatic when the space became available, and is thrilled to bring it full-circle to what it was originally. “It all felt very serendipitous when we started saying, ‘Let’s make this happen,’ and then this became available,” says Cooney. Cooney is running the business with her father, Jon, and brother, Tristan. Jon moved to Rexburg last month after a long career as the CFO for The Sports Xchange, a sports news and information service for publications and media outlets across the country. He’s collected comic books his entire life and managed a bookstore in college. Although he’s had a side hustle for years selling comics and related items online, it’s always been his dream to own a bookstore. When his daughter expressed interest in opening one in Rexburg, he jumped at the chance to partner with her. “I couldn’t believe there was a college town without (something like this),” Jon says. “I’d seen on the Life in Rexburg Facebook group people asking, ‘Where’s the comic shop?’ I was living in St. Louis and I moved here to open it.” The space is still under construction, and Jon has a lifetime of inventory in the basement of the building, which will soon be available at the shop. Take a look in the video above. Jon Cooney, center, with daughter, Ashli, right, and son, Tristan. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com Jon’s interest in comic books stems back to his childhood. He was 10 years old when the original “Star Wars” came out. He remembers seeing comic book adaptations of the movie. He says there were six issues that told the story, and it blew his mind when he discovered a seventh. “I’m like, ‘What?! There’s more! There’s something beyond the credits after the story?!’” Jon recalls. “‘Star Wars’ got me into comics. I just fell in love with it as a media.” Ashli inherited her dad’s love of reading, but her passion is books. Growing up in the 1990s, it was Harry Potter that hooked her. “I’ve read the Harry Potter series 83 times,” Ashli says. “I started when they came out, and I’ve never stopped reading them.” The Cooneys were competing with Clark for this space, but when they found out his shop would be a neighboring business, they couldn’t have been happier. “We’re such a complementary pair of businesses that I think we’re going to really help each other out,” says Jon. Cards of Ruin Cards of Ruin sells a variety of card games, like Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering and Star Wars: Unlimited. It focuses on player interactions and hosts events for that purpose. Clark’s interest in trading cards started as a kid with his basketball card collection. His uncle, Wade Anderson, was the basketball coach at Ricks College at the time and another uncle had been Larry Bird’s collegiate coach. Family connections allowed him to get cards autographed by Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. RELATED | Rigby basketball academy aims to enlarge its community with new skate park “The fun I had collecting basketball cards led (me) to buy Pokemon cards when they first came out,” Clark says. “Sharing it with friends made them excited and it made me want to do it more.” Clark opened a store in Hyrum, Utah, in 2022. His attendance at BYU-Idaho years ago is what prompted him to open a second location in Rexburg. “All of my nephews and nieces that are of age and going to college share a similar interest in (trading cards). While they’re going to school, I’m able to create opportunities for them to work while they’re enjoying their hobbies,” says Clark. RELATED | Rexburg couple are the owners of a new exotic pet store RELATED | New mocktail bar brings active night life to downtown Rexburg With the opening of an exotic pet store across the street earlier this year, along with the Fizz Rizz Mocktail Bar in 2024, Clark now colloquially refers to College Avenue as “Entertainment Alley.” Chuck is grateful to see these business owners breathe new life into the building and hopes to find a permanent tenant to fill the vacant space. As the outlet store returns to its old location, Chuck is looking forward to serving customers through Black Friday, or until supplies sell out. “I’m 79 years old, and my wife’s 77,” says Chuck. “It’s OK to run this for a while but we just haven’t got it in us to have a full-time store.” Seasonal items for sale inside Porter’s Outlet Store at 35 College Avenue in Rexburg. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… New popular restaurant coming to Idaho Falls for the first time Sage Hill Casino to close temporarily for remodel Duo open first local location for business offering non-medical assistance for homebound seniors Local businesses unite to assemble over 1,000 hygiene kits for area communities Upgrades to Salmon Hockey Rink nearly completeThe post Comics, books, Christmas and trading cards: Check out the new tenants in Rexburg’s old Porter’s building appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com