A Genesee couple’s investment in their concession business is really paying off. As Tribune readers learned two weeks ago, Wayne’s Concessions of Genesee won best of show for businesses at the Portland Rose Festival in early June.

It’s a notable accomplishment, since the Rose Festival attracts dozens of concessionaires from throughout the Northwest, which offer everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to kettle corn, fudge and full-plate ethnic foods.

Bonnie and Wayne McGlothen are famous for their brats and Idaho Sourdough Patty Melts, along with a tasty treat known as the lemon cream freeze.

Now that Old Country Buffet has put away its silverware for last time in the L-C Valley, we are left to ponder the future of the structure that used to house it. Not to mention the massive cube that sits just up the hill, the soon-to-be-vacant Wal-Mart building.

There has been some talk about relocating some city offices — and possibly our long-malnourished library — into the Wal-Mart building. And the owners of the land the restaurant sits on will no doubt be looking for new renters for an edifice that boasts one of the more stunning views of the valley.

Of course, there are many aspects to consider before anything happens, particularly the financial ones, but even with the loss of business and tax revenue, there is opportunity. One door closes and another one opens, if you’re one of those glass-half-full sorts of people.

One astute lmtribune.com commenter beat me to the punch by linking to this Slate.com article about the proliferation of such empty superstructures across the country. It’s worth a read, in particular the accompanying slide-show on how other communities have recycled their big-box stores, including, I should point out, the spacious new Lebanon-Laclede County Library in Lebanon, Mo., which now resides in a renovated Kmart.

Anyone who’s been through the drive-through at Taco Time in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley recently knows that the ever-rising cost of supplies and fuel is starting to pinch.

Happy Day Corp. is just the latest business struggling to remain profitable as food and fuel prices rocket out of sight. The company, which owns Taco Time, A&W and Arby’s franchises, along with Southway Pizza and Deli, Main Street Deli, Zany Graze and Tomato Bros., is arguably the most successful food service company in this neck of the woods … and maybe the states of Washington and Idaho as well.

As Tribune business reporter Elaine Williams explains in a story that will publish in the June 8 Business section, Happy Day is trying to remain profitable while keeping prices affordable for its customers.

Frankly, it strikes me as amazing that some consumers would question the need to raise prices or charge for previously “free” items. With diesel nearing $5 a gallon, gasoline breaking the $4 barrier and everything from pork to beef to eggs continually ticking upward, restaurant owners can’t be expected to absorb those increases forever.

Also coming in the Sunday Business section is a new Valley business — a comic venture, and a story on the future of rural airports.