SOUTH FORK - For just shy of a year, the South fork community has watched with excitement the construction of a brand-new convenience store and thanks to the many efforts of all who helped make this dream a reality, the store opened their doors on July 18. 

The building fits perfectly into the landscape of South Fork with a rustic feeling pairing both wood and stone to make for a beautiful exterior. The area is comprised with plenty of parking, 12 gas pumps offering Premium fuel that does NOT contain ethanol which is hard to find in the area.  

In the front, next to Highway 160 there are two fenced dog parks, an outdoor patio area with large glass garage doors to take in the views and for music/performance venues, outdoor TVs and fire pits.   

Inside there is a large retail area, Mountaintop Gifts & Gear, a retail space is operated by Cheryl Mckintosh owner of Tiny Timbers. “The South Fork Chamber is really loving the community cohesion and working together with an existing local business on such a large project,” said Chamber President Joe Ford. 

Owners Aricca and Matt Wallace and Ross McKinney cut the ribbon leading into the main entryway to the cheers of the attending crowd. After moving to the South Fork area, the Wallace’s knew they wanted to bring something special to the area and their efforts paid off on Friday. 

Don Burwell, owner of True Grit, was tasked with being the Builder & General Contractor for this project.  He and his team have been onsite past midnight at times to ensure the timely opening.  Burwell included a granite cornerstone embedded in the building which acknowledged his pride to be involved in such a milestone project for South Fork. 

According to Ford, this was the most well attended ribbon cutting in five years. “This was the largest attendance for a ribbon cutting we have had in five years. A huge thanks to the leaders and county officials who came to show their support.”  

The event was attended by all three County Commissioners, Gene Glover, Scott Deacon and Tyler Ratzlaff as well as the County Administrator Skip Schoene and South Fork's Town Manager Hank Weber who were in attendance to show their support. 

The ribbon cutting ended with a blessing offered by Gateway Church Pastor Grag Schaffer who was pleased to be asked to the event.