Two of Clark County’s elected officials open new businesses in Dubois

Published On: June 29, 2025

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The Goat Locker Bar & Grill and Sweet Tooth Sip & Scoop are two of the new establishments in Dubois’ Silver Sage Square | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

DUBOIS In addition to his day job of upholding law and order in his neighborhood, Mark McClure is also contributing to the community by starting a new business.

The Goat Locker Bar & Grill, located at 191 West Main Street, was founded by the 44-year-old Dubois man who was re-elected as Clark County sheriff in November. On June 7, the bar celebrated its grand opening. Construction is currently ongoing on the restaurant section, which will include brisket, steak, pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, chicken sandwiches, salad, and more. By the end of the summer, it is expected to open.

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The crowd on opening weekend has McClure and his wife, Lacie, who he works alongside to run the bar and grill, ecstatic. They are pleased to provide what they believe will attract visitors to one of the least inhabited regions in eastern Idaho who are driving down Interstate 15.

Mark tells EastIdahoNews.com that there isn’t much else in this county. There should be a place where people may exit the interstate without needing to stop for food at a petrol station, which excites me.

An inside peek at Dubois’s Goat Locker Bar | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

On the same weekend as the McClures, another elected figure from Clark County established a candy, soda, and ice cream business just two doors down from The Goat Locker. Sweet Tooth Sip and Scoop is owned by County Clerk Stephenie Stewart. Along with a selection of blended sodas and other delights, it serves Farr’s ice cream.

According to Stewart, our ice cream is the best this side of Idaho Falls. From Idaho Falls to Dillon, Montana, this store is unmatched.

The Ricky Bobby is one of the menu’s most well-liked beverages. It was created by Chief Deputy Rick Donohoo and is served with heavy cream, cheesecake syrup, Dr. Pepper, and whipped topping.

In the past two weeks, customers from all over the world, including a couple from Australia, have visited the store.

When their friends purchased the 112-year-old building, Stewart and her husband seized the opportunity to start a business. She is happy with the level of support it has gotten in such a short period of time.

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According to Stewart, the community benefits greatly from it.

Inside her ice cream shop, Stephenie Stewart poses for a picture. | EastIdahoNews.com’s Rett Nelson

Neither the Stewarts nor the McClures had ever intended to open stores in their hometown.

In 2000, Mark departed the region to start a 21-year Navy career. He intended to take action when he returned in 2021 since he could scarcely recognize his neighborhood without the eateries and bars he had grown up with. He opened The Goat Locker for that purpose.

Mark adds, “I just thought I might as well invest in the community as long as I’m going to be a member and a servant of the community.”

Despite his lack of prior employment experience, Lacie claims that she got her start in a bar. She worked as a cocktail server to pay for education.

Her joy about running a business that she hopes attracts people to the neighborhood surpasses any reservations she may have about leaving a 20-year job in the medical field to work in a bar once more.

“This job won’t fulfill me the way my medical career did,” Lacie adds. However, I’m looking forward to the social aspects of this employment.

A similar sentiment is expressed by Stewart. Although she has never held a position in an ice cream shop, she recalls going to these kinds of establishments with her grandparents when she was younger in different towns.

She founded Sweet Tooth because she wanted to create a space where families could gather.

Stewart explains, “I wanted to do the same thing here.” Having people from different generations join together, sit down, eat ice cream, spend time together, and create memories is cool.

On the east side of the building, there are plans to open a bakery and craft store.

The Dubois storefront of Stephenie Stewart | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

A historic street corner

For each of the entrepreneurs, opening a store in a historic area in the heart of town was a big lure.

Longtime locals refer to the structure that is now Silver Sage Square as the Old Clark building. According to Bonnie Stoddard, a local historian, it began around 1913. The Pyke Mercantile next door, Security State Bank on the west side, and The Dubois Realty, Mortgage and Loan Company were its original occupants. About 40 years later, a booze store moved in.

The east side of the structure housed the courthouse and sheriff’s office when Clark County was established in 1917.

The McClure’s pub currently features financial records from the former courts as wall décor. This cheque from 1919 is one of the many documents on exhibit. | EastIdahoNews.com’s Rett Nelson

For many years, Mark’s grandmother, Mildred McClure, served as a magistrate judge in the former courthouse. Although she retired in 2000, she occasionally served as a substitute judge until her death in 2020.

His decision to enter politics was inspired by his grandmother’s extensive career in public service. He had no prior experience in law enforcement when he was first chosen by the county commissioners in 2022. He has since been re-elected by voters.

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He shares this trait with his grandmother, who likewise had no legal training before rising to the position of magistrate judge.

Today, Mark owns the house that once belonged to his grandma, and it s surreal for him to think about owning a business in the same building where she practiced law.

Numerous military coins that Mark collected over his career are on display in the bar at the McClures business. Coins are typically awarded by a commanding officer to a deserving individual for a job well done.

Mark McClure, left, looking at a military coin on display in the bar of his new business. It s a chiefs mess coin he acquired from his commanding officer in the 2010s. | EastIdahoNews.com’s Rett Nelson

A chief s mess coin on the south end of the bar is Mark s favorite one. It s a coin he was awarded by Hung Cao, who is now serving as the under secretary of the Navy.

The chiefs mess is colloquially referred to as the goat locker, a secluded area on a naval vessel where chief petty officers sleep and eat. It s the inspiration for the name of the business.

Lacie will be the main face of the business while her husband is busy running the sheriff s office. She s planning to adorn the walls of the bar and grill with other military and America-themed decor.

I wanted to tie the look and name of the bar to my husband s career. This was a really big part of our life, says Lacie.

Although the McClures want the business to be profitable, Mark says the goal isn t about making money it s about breathing new life into the community.

They re hoping their efforts bring a wave of new businesses to the area.

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Stewart agrees, and with therecent paving of Yale-Kilgore Road, a 22-mile highway from Dubois to Island Park that runs through Caribou-Targhee National Forest, she hopes it becomes a gateway for tourists traveling through the area.

It s going to open up a lot of opportunity for tourists to come directly through Dubois. It ll be a great thing for our community to have businesses here that can help bring in some of that tourist traffic, Stewart says.

Silver Sage Square in Dubois where multiple new businesses are opening up. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com