Martin Zavala, who has run Milagro Caf in Stonington Borough for the past 14 years, has become a restauranteur of note in the region.

In late April, he expanded his reach and established a new restaurant: Zavala Mexican Bistro in East Lyme.

Zavala had almost opened a restaurant in the same site after Frank's Gourmet Grille closed in 2011.

Zavalaeven had a lease for the Boston Post Road spot, but his wife, Genine, was hospitalized, and he had to give up the lease. (Genine had a heart defect and passed away in 2016.)

Since then, Flanders Diner had a short-lived stint in the locale, followed by Rebeka Fresh Pasta Restaurant, which shut its doors earlier this year.

When Zavala found out that site was available now, he says, "I had to take it."

"Being over the (Gold Star) Bridge for so long, something like 14 years, I always hear people say, 'You should open one on our side,'" he says. "I wanted to try it. I have this vision in my head of how I want this restaurant to be."

People who have seen the sign out front have already been calling the restaurant to ask if the owner was related to the folks who ran Zavala in New London (at the foot of State Street, next to the train station) for eight-plus years, until 2010.

Zavala is, in fact, that Zavala. He and his mother-in-law, Jan Loomis, are business partners in this new venture, and they co-own Milagro. (They also co-own Manana in Groton with Loomis' son Justin Primeaux; Zavala doesn't run that venue.)

Zavala has nothing but praise for Loomis and says, "Basically, I have all of this because of her. ... I'm very thankful."

The dishes they serve

So what's on the menu? Here is asampling of a couple of the items at Zavala Mexican Bistro: Citrus roasted pork, $22, pork simmered in its own juices, until fork tender, in lime and lemon, served with black bean puree and salsa borracha; and Mole Con Pollo, $20, pan seared chicken breasts, in a savory sauce containing plantains, nuts, a variety of different chiles and spices, and dark chocolate.

A good portion of the menu boasts dishes like tacos and burritos that Americans tend to expect at Mexican restaurants but that aren't served a lot in Mexico.

Zavala learned with his first restaurant that customersheretend to lean toward ordering those offerings, and he couldthen slowly add specials of more authentic Mexican dishes.

At Milagro now, the vast majority of customers order the specials. The specials change at least three times a week there, accompanying aa set menu.

While that hasn't been the case so far at Zavala Mexican Bistro, Zavala is hoping patrons will eventually lean toward the specials. He says he has to figure out what works in East Lyme. He knows that Stonington is a fish town, and his specials at Milagro reflect that. He thought that might be the same in East Lyme, but so far, he hasn't sold much fish.

This is the second Mexican restaurant to debut in East Lyme in a little over a year, the other being La Llorona in Niantic. Zavala said he wasn't concerned about that when establishing Zavala Mexican Bistro and compared it to when he was learning to cook in New York City; there were so many restaurants, one after another, all doing business. And, he points out, there are a multitude of pizza places in our region. In other words: there's an audience for it.

Likewise, he says, "I remember when I came to Connecticut, there were no Mexican restaurants. Now, there's one in every town."

Besides, he notes, "If I give the same ingredients to 10 different people, each(result) is going to taste different."

And Zavala doesn't go by recipes. So a special today might take different from the same one next week. He says that's why he doesn't like baking, which is more of a science.

Hiring help

As with most businesses, it wasn't easy for Zavala to find help, but he says he feels very lucky and grateful for the people who are working at Zavala Mexico Bistro.

He notes that mostly high school kids are working at Zavala, which is different from his employees at Milagro.

"In one restaurant (Milagro), I have everybody over 50. In my other restaurant, I have everybody under 20," he says with a laugh. "My employees at Milagro, I've had there forever."

Everybody there knows how he likes things done and knows him as a person his sense of humor, for instance.

Hebrought one of those long-time employees, the managerat Milagro, over to work at Zavala Mexican Restaurant instead.

A challenging Cinco de Mayo

It happened that Zavala Mexican Bistro opened its doors just a couple of weeks before Cinco de Mayo, which tends to be an extremely busy day for most Mexican restaurants.Zavala says that Cinco de Mayo was rough at the East Lyme venue. A lot of customers were upset that orders took so long, and some left without their food.

"For that, I will apologize for everybody. ... It's no excuse, but we were only like two weeks open. And everybody's new and we try our best," he says.

Making things by hand

Zavala grew up in Mexico City and made furniture there with his family.

"I like making things with my hands," he says.

When he came to the U.S., his first job was in construction before he started as a dishwasher in a restaurant; that's where he met Genine, who was a server at the same venue.

He became interested in cooking and worked in a variety of restaurants in New York City for 12 years.

"I worked for free in fancy restaurants because I wanted to learn," he says. "I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. And I never really cooked Mexican food until I opened my own business."

In those early years, he took jobs based on what he could be taught there.

"I wanted to learn how to make eggs, so I worked at a diner for six months. I wanted to learn how to make soup, I worked at a place that only makes soups," he says.

Zavala had considered going to culinary school, but his old boss told him he didn't need to go to school to be a great chef.

Getting positive feedback from customers is something Zavala appreciates.

When it comes to cooking, he says, "I like when people say, 'Wow, that tastes very good ... How do you do this?'"

Excerpt from:
Owners of Milagro in Stonington open a new restaurant in East Lyme - theday.com

Construction on Loudoun Countys first Dash In gas station and convenience store is picking up pace and we have a new image of the progress.

As The Burn has detailed in past reports, Dash In is a Maryland-based convenience store chain making a push into Virginia.

The brand is similar to a Wawa or a Sheetz and includes an onsite fast-food restaurant that according to plans is called the Dash In Kitchen.

The new Dash In is going up near the intersection of Gum Spring Road and Tall Cedars Parkway, just south of Highway 50.

A photo of the site shared on social media by the construction firm show the outline of the future Dash In c-store as well as a Splash-In car wash on the left.

The firm Morgan-Keller Construction says the project is on track to finish up sometime in October.

But that doesnt mean the Dash-In will open just then. They still need to install all the fixtures inside the store, stock the store, hire and train the staff, and so forth before a grand opening can be held.

The South Riding/Chantilly location in one of several Dash Ins that are reportedly in the works for Loudoun County.

Other potential spots include one off Loudoun County Parkway near Brambleton and one off Claiborne Parkway in the Belmont area near Route 7.

See the original post here:
Loudoun's first Dash In convenience store starts to take shape - The Burn

ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Frustration and concern are growing in Arlington over the new interchange being built at Interstate 30 and State Highway 360.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2023, but this week, a TXDOT spokesman issued a statement that said the project's timeline would be revised. "Construction schedule revisions for the $264 million dollar project are currently underway with all the project partners, and we expect an updated timeline soon."

A different spokesman said Friday afternoon that he couldn't provide any more details.

At nearby Boston's Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar, Manager Manuel Gutierrez said, "I wish it was done two years ago. I wish it would have been done already."

But the reality is there's a lot more work to be done before the new interchange will be completed.

While some of the elevated ramps have been opened to traffic, others are still in the process of going up.

Gutierrez said the lunch crowd shrank after construction began in March of 2016.

All of the resulting congestion has led to financial indigestion. "We struggle to get sales in and to be able to pay the rent on time."

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross isn't happy about the pace of the project either. "It certainly feels like that project has been going on forever."

Ross said he worries the project could take another two to three years to wrap up.

He said he's heard the COVID-19 pandemic has caused problems with staffing and materials. "The bottom line is it's taken too long. We need to get this thing wrapped up. The businesses around there deserve it. The community deserves it. People are tired of driving through all of the construction."

As crews replace the old clover-leaf turnpike configuration with a new direct connect interchange, Travis Church, a driver who often visits North Texas, said he's seen enough. "It's a nightmare. If it's like this next year, I'm going to choose a different section."

When asked what his message is to TXDOT, Gutierrez said, "I hope they can get it done and they can start working faster so they can help the businesses around this area to get more traffic into the restaurants, into our doors so we can stay alive, so we can stay open."

Jack covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003.

Originally posted here:
Frustration grows over I-30/SH 360 construction in Arlington - CBS News

What is a tax increment financing district?

Cities like to use tax increment financing districts to give developers incentives to build new projects. However, TIF districts can have advantages and drawbacks.

Dwight Adams, dwight.adams@indystar.com

Four parking garage projects under construction in Carmel will bring more than 1,300 new parking spaces to the city when the structures are complete.

The garages will represent multi-million dollar investments in new parking structures in Carmel, according to information provided by the city.

Those numbers do not include new projects recently proposed to the city council, projects going through the permitting process or the existing public garages throughout the city, such as those at the Tarkington, Veterans Way and in Midtown.

'Something spectacular':Construction of luxury hotel in Fishers to begin

Three of the four garagesunder construction are tied to mixed-use developments, which also will be home to offices, commercial businesses and residential spaces, such as apartments and condos.

Carmel: $53.5M in bonds for future developments are before Carmel Council. Here are the projects.

Those projects are a reflection of Mayor Jim Brainards vision of partnering with developers on economic development projects that provide public amenities in the city, Carmel Redevelopment Director Henry Mestetsky said in an email.

In contrast to the suburban strip malls and lack of mixed-use that covers so much of our country, public parking garages paid for and maintained by developers will continue to keep Carmels urban neighborhoods unique, walkable and accessible to all, Mestetsky said.

According to the city, the parking structures under construction in Carmel are:

First on Main:

The mixed-use First on Main development under construction at Main Street and Range Line Road will include space for a restaurant, office, apartments and condos.

The parking garage will have 311 spaces.

The Signature:

The Signature, another mixed-use development, is under construction at Main and Old Meridian Streets. The development will include retail space, apartments and condos.

The parking garage will have 374 spaces.

Stout's Footwear in Carmelreopens in 2023 as part of new $68M development

Carmel Arts & Design District: How a new development will impact Main Street

The Corner:

The Corner, a mixed-use project under construction, will include apartments and retail space. It is located at 116th Street and Range Line Road.

The parking garage will have 364 spaces.

Civic Square Garage:

Construction of the Civic Square garage, located at Monon Green Boulevard and Veterans Way, is led by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission.

The parking garage will have 303 spaces.

Through tax increment financing and public-private partnerships, the city can carefully plan its growth in areas designated for redevelopment, Mestetsky said.

Tax increment financing, also known as TIF, provides Carmel the opportunity to use increased tax revenue from rising property values on a site to pay for redevelopment work, including parking garages.

In this case, the city has previously issued bonds to help finance these projects, but the developers of the mixed-use sites are responsible for making the payments.

Indiana: Carmel and Indy have relied on TIF districts. Now the state wants to use a similar tool.

Additionally, the developer-led garage projects are also maintained by the private sector, Mestetsky said.

The fourth project, the Civic Square parking garage, is led by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission and is under construction just north of Carmels City Hall. Construction on the garage is expected to be finished in mid-July, Mestetsky said.

It is expected to be the citys most tech-advanced garage, with parking space counters, EV charging stations and solar panels on the roof, Mestetsky said.

Contact IndyStar's Carmel and Westfield reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter @CarloniBrittany.

Read more:
4 parking garages under construction in Carmel will add 1300 new spaces in the city - IndyStar

Interior alteration

REC CENTER: 1500 S. Orange St., description, renovation to existing bathrooms at the Heymann Rec Center, applicant, BBA; contractor, Sartin Builders; $120,000.

HOSPITAL: 4540 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, description, parking lot for Acadiana Ambulance; applicant, Brian Roy; contractor, MC Concrete; $10,000.

RETAIL: 5725 Johnston St., description, photo studio; applicant and contractor, Selfie Image; $6,000.

APARTMENTS: 600 E. University Ave., Unit 3, description, repairs due to small fire; applicant and contractor, Kishbaugh Construction; $15,500.

OFFICE: 400 E. Kaliste Saloom Road, description, none listed; applicant and contractor, CM Miciotto & Son; $91,100.

OTHER: 2845 Verot School Road, applicant, Vermilion Architects; contractor, CM Miciotto & Son; $1,157,305.

RESTAURANT: 6718 Johnston St., applicant, Chris Neal; contractor, CM Miciotto & Son; $959,175.

SHOPPING CENTER: 601 Kaliste Saloom Road, description, demo suites D and E; applicant and contractor, NCM Contractors; $4,000.

1002 Albertsons Parkway, Broussard: Gleason Ledet Construction, $176,851.

122 Cherrywood Drive: Shivers Brothers Construction, $291,870.

In an ever-evolving business landscape, you need trusted information from a reliable source to help you make decisions. We provide that daily data, analysis and insights from local experts.

101 Riverway Drive, Youngsville: Krewe Construction Development Group, $456,840.

218 Printemps Road, Carencro: Manuel Builders, $314,820.

306 Oats Drive: homeowner, $352,980.

114 Anza Drive: Manuel Builders, $167,040.

211 Harvest Creek Lane: Acadiana Dream Home, $274,050.

115 Alpine Meadows Lane: DSLD Gulf Coast, $182,160.

117 Alpine Meadows Lane: DSLD Gulf Coast, $228,870.

229 Wild Cherry Lane: DSLD Gulf Coast, $283,770.

227 Wild Cherry Lane: DSLD, $199,080.

225 Wild Cherry Lane: DSLD, $213,300.

223 Wild Cherry Lane: DSLD, $216,450.

222 Wild Cherry Lane; DSLD, $279,360.

208 Rose of Sharon Lane: DSLD, $283,770.

More here:
Who's building where in Acadiana? Here are the building permits issued May 4-9 - The Advocate

by: Ivy Tan

Posted: May 11, 2022 / 02:42 PM EDT

Updated: May 11, 2022 / 02:46 PM EDT

MANASSAS, Va. (WRIC) Bold flavors are coming to the City of Manassas on Thursday, May 12, by way of a brand new Checkers drive-through restaurant.

The Floridabased fast-food chain Checkers & Rally announced in a release Wednesday that a truck carrying parts of the eaterys pop-up building will travel through the streets of the city, where residents can then watch crews assemble the pieces on a lot located at 9540 Liberia Avenue. Construction will begin Thursday at 7 a.m. and continue throughout the rest of the day.

The drive-through pop-up will service customers while a permanent Checkers restaurant, which is set to open in the summer, is being built.

Although Checkers is best known for its hamburgers and seasoned fries, the restaurant also offers hot dogs, sandwiches and milkshakes.

A video of a Checkers drive-through being assembled is available for those who cant make it to Manassas to watch the construction happen in person. Additional information about Checkers is available on the restaurants website.

Go here to see the original:
New Checkers drive-through restaurant being dropped off by crane in Manassas - WRIC ABC 8News

Parachute has always punched above its class. Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark have earned Michelin stars and James Beard Awards by creating one of the countrys definitive Korean American restaurants in a rickety 100-year-old house on Chicagos North Side that lacks the pristine multimillion-dollar kitchens deployed at some of the worlds top dining destinations.

When the state suspended indoor dining in March 2020 due to COVID, Parachute started to offer takeout, back then a novelty for a Michelin-caliber restaurant. Kim and Clark continued to experiment with new ways to stay afloat. Theyve tried to sell frozen Parachute items, including their popular bing bread, nationwide via Goldbelly, filling the back room of their second restaurant, Wherewithall, with boxes and other materials.

But then, just as restaurants began to reopen in June 2021, Parachute closed completely. The dining room is small, not social distance-friendly, and it seemed like the right time to take a break for a complete renovation. The couple kept themselves busy with Wherewithall down the street and caring for their three children, which inspired Kim to start the Abundance Setting, an organization dedicated to providing practical support for working mothers who dont have traditional nine-to-five jobs.

Now, nearly a year later, Kim and Clark say theyre ready to emerge from their cocoon, perhaps to reclaim the star Michelin inspectors took away from the restaurant while they were closed. Kim hopes the opening will take place within the next two weeks, barring technical difficulties.

Its time to take risks, says Kim with a slightly raised voice. I think as a Korean American Im more confident in myself to be more authentic to myself.

Before Parachutes debut almost exactly eight years ago, Kim says felt she needed to convince Chicagoans that she and her husband could elevate Korean cuisine. Back then, Parachutes tagline was Korean food with French technique. Aside from Japanese cuisine, Asian food especially Asian food away from LA, San Francisco, and New York was looked down upon by the fine dining community. Kim and Clark, both with Midwestern-sized chips on their shoulders, were determined to make Parachute into something special. Adding French was a bit of a crutch to attract the general American public, food media, and award panels, parties that Kim says werent ready to give Korean food its due.

Now, eight years later, Americans are, in general, more knowledgeable about Korean food and they have a stronger appreciation beyond Korean barbecue hits like galbi. This familiarity, in addition to the excellence of Kim and Clarks food, helped buoy Parachutes success and Kims confidence. The awards have also helped.

Other BIPOC chefs in Chicago have shared a similar experience. Carlos Gaytn, the first Mexican chef to preside over a Michelin-starred restaurant, centered his West Town restaurant Mexique around Mexican cuisine prepared with French technique. But his latest restaurant, Tzuco, serves similar dishes without that narrative. Bo Fowler, born in Korea and raised in Minnesota, opened a British pub, Owen & Engine, before honing in on Chinese and Korean fare at her Logan Square brewpub, Bixi Beer.

The new Parachute menu will lean more into Korean cuisine. The two chefs are still determining exactly what will be on it, but the selection will be tighter. Thats a financial consideration, Kim says, based on the realities of running a restaurant during a pandemic when costs are rising everywhere. Focusing on fewer items while staffing shortages affect the industry seems like a smart business move.

Another reason for the change? Theres an increased availability of higher-quality Korean ingredients. The reach of vendors of what Clark calls artisan ingredients has increased; now they no longer have have to hunt down items like sesame seeds from Queens Bucket, a specialist from Seoul. Though a sesame seed is tiny, Clark says the sweet and nutty flavor is night and day compared to store-bought seeds.

Unfortunately, one of the casualties is Parachutes beloved and labor-intensive bing bread. But its exit will free up staff for other endeavors: We hope to create new favorites, says Clark.

The wine list also will also get a face-lift. A big, oaky red from Europe probably doesnt pair the best with Korean food. Instead, the alcohol list will be centered around Korean purveyors. The umbrella term is sool, which covers soju, chungju, and plum wine.

While Parachute is not the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago to undergo a renovation in recent years three-starred Alinea gutted its Lincoln Park home in 2016 and Oriole, the two-starred restaurant in Fulton Market, unveiled a new look in 2021 its in a smaller space, so the changes wont be so drastic. Clark says the idea was to rebuild Parachute properly, the way they would have if theyd had a larger budget in 2014; back then, he says, they spent about $50,000 on construction, a comparatively small amount for a new restaurant.

The building had its charms, but as the restaurant racked up accolades, Clark and Kim say maintenance and tending to its quirks became consuming and distracted them from doing what they love. Kim recalls a large mixer crashing to the ground because the floor wasnt level, leaving a permanent dent. The space wasnt ADA compliant; the mandate didnt apply due to the buildings age. Without ramps, customers who used wheelchairs or walkers sometimes struggled to navigate the restaurants high threshold, and Clark says it bothered him that Parachute couldnt provide the same experience for them that it did for customers without disabilities.

We put a Band-Aid on everything, Clark says. Though customers couldnt see the cracks from the dining room, they continued to nag at Kim and Clark, and they were sometimes embarrassing. Kim recalls a prospective employee with experience at Michelin-starred restaurants coming in for an interview. He quickly exited after seeing the space, saying, This isnt for me.

The pandemic seemed like an ideal time to fix everything up. The staff was gone and the restaurant was empty. And Kim and Clark finally owned the building: They had dipped into their savings and used a Small Business Administration loan to buy it in early 2020, right before the pandemic forced indoor dining to close.

There was also the issue of gentrification: As developers eye Avondale, the couple had to take action, or they feared they would eventually find themselves priced out of the neighborhood.

Clark and Kim wont say how much they spent on the current renovations, only that they emptied out their savings and used money that was once reserved for opening another project. They still want Parachute to feel familiar to customers, right down to the neon sign that hung in the window, although the original was somehow thrown away during initial work. A replacement has been ordered.

Owning the building, Kim says, gives her peace of mind about her familys future. She recalls conversations with bitter old chefs who resented spending so much time in the restaurant industry without much material success to show for it. Restaurants dont have retirement plans, she says.

Now Clark and Kim have something they can potentially pass down to their children.

Parachute, 3500 N. Elston Avenue, planned for a mid-May reopening.

Sign up for our newsletter.

Link:
Parachute, One of Chicago's Most Acclaimed Restaurants, to Reopen This Month After Two Years - Eater Chicago

Chad Dillon is the 31-year-old founder and CEO of The Boiler Seafood Atlanta. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dillon has a special talent for identifying businesses that a community may be in need of. He was inspired to start his restaurant realizing that Atlanta was lacking food businesses within the seafood boil niche.

After being denied as a franchisee of The Juicy Crab, Dillon decided to take a risk in opening his own concept with the goal of providing an upscale seafood boil experience within Atlantas city limits.

I found that as Atlantas outskirts were growing in the seafood boil industry, the actual city of Atlanta hadnt been tapped into, he said. So I created and launched a seafood boil restaurant, The Boiler Seafood, in Atlantas most prominent neighborhood, Buckhead.

Dillon created The Boiler Seafood concept in January 2019, signed the building lease in August 2019, and opened December 4, 2020. Though it was not easy building and launching in the midst of a globalpandemic, he remained persistent, determined to bring his vision to life.

Despite opening at such a challenging time, and despite having no culinary background, he has managed to build The Boiler into an ATL hotspot. Now known as Buckheads #1 seafood and crab boil restaurant, the restaurant took the Atlanta hospitality scene by storm, bringing in over $8 Million in its first year of business.

Celebrities who have dined at The Boiler include Allen Iverson, Offset, Queen Najia, Ja Rule, and others. Dillon says dedication and consistency have played a key role in the restaurants success.

I am a thinker and innovator, so even without a culinary background, I enjoy finding voids in the business market and creating solutions; creating restaurantconcepts from ideation to execution, coming up with new menu items, and creating amazing customer experiences.Im also very hands-on. I spend about 10+ hours a day being in the restaurant, running errands, and handling needed logistics for therestaurant.

The menu of The Boiler offers a wide range of seafood items, from snow crab legs and blue crabs to mussels and crawfish. The seafood is placed in a bag along with potatoes, corn, and the restaurants special sauce, and shaken.

But thats not all. Customers interested in options outside of their famous seafood boil bags can enjoy seafood egg rolls and fried options such as shrimp, cracked crab, fried salmon, and more.The most popular item on the menu, however, is the Fried King Crab, which sells for $200.

Our Seafood Egg Rolls are coming in at a close second, a must-try appetizerstuffed with a house seafood mix including shrimp, crab meat, crawfish,and lobster meat. Customers also love our specialty drinks and flight cocktails such as our MargaritaFlight and Candy Martini Flight, which includes five drink variations per order.

The Boiler Seafood currently has offers for franchises in 48 out of 50 states, so you may soon see one popping up near you. In addition, Dillon is currently in the construction phase of a three-floor Asian fusion restaurant in Midtown Atlanta and an experiential ice cream parlor in Buckhead.

Were definitely growing, and Im excited to expand my portfolio as a restauranteur.

For more information on The Boiler, visit http://www.theboileratlanta.com and follow the restaurant at @theboileratlanta.

Related: Mychel Snoop Dillard Is Behind Some Of Your Favorite Black-Owned Atlanta Restaurants

Read the rest here:
Meet The 31-Year-Old Behind Buckhead's 1st Black-Owned Seafood Boil Restaurant - Travel Noire

After eating her shrimp salad at the new Tacocraft Taqueria and Tequila Bar at Plantation Walk in April, Ashley Munson scanned her tables $61 lunch check. There it was, right at the bottom: a 61-cent fee called the Plantation Walk Surcharge.

Munson and her three girlfriends flagged a server. I just asked the waitress what it was, and she was like, Its for the entertainment in the center, I think? Munson recalls. So I joked to the table, Uh, thats kind of stupid. Tacocraft is the only place here. And the waitress laughed and said, Yes, lots of people have been saying the same thing. "

Lately customers at Tacocraft, the first and so far, only restaurant to open inside the $350 million food-shopping playground, have been up in arms over Plantation Walks newest upcharge. Taking their grievances to Facebook last week, eaters expressed their irritation about the fee, a 1 percent tax that every tenant in the center, including retailers, adds to each shoppers bill of sale.

A Tacocraft receipt on May 12 shows Plantation Walk's 1 percent surcharge, which is designed to help fund future entertainment programming at the shopping-and-dining complex. Plantation Walk has yet to stage a single event. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The extra charge may seem negligible: a $135 tab has a $1.35 fee, for example. But diners, the city of Plantation and even Plantation Walk tenants all agree on one thing: The fee is causing too much confusion.

In the almost 79,000-member Lets Eat, South Florida Facebook group run by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Tacocraft diners expressed feeling ambushed by the surcharge, which they say appears, without warning, at the bottom of the check.

The server said it was just recently added and couldnt explain if its a percentage of your bill or a flat fee!! wrote a Tacocraft customer, adding, Wont go to this location again.

Others wondered why it shouldnt be the restaurants responsibility, instead of the customers, to foot the fee.

Its all part of overhead and should be considered in the restaurants overall pricing, another user wrote. And others preached blissful ignorance. Honestly, one commenter wrote, I prefer you just charge me a little extra without telling me its a fee for this or a fee for that.

Plantation Walks developer, Encore Capital Management, says its so-called Marketing and Entertainment Fee will fund free concerts, car shows and other future entertainment at the center. (Plantation Walk has yet to stage an event.) Encore builds this fee into the lease agreement that all Plantation Walk tenants sign, from restaurants to nail salons to gyms.

Construction continues at the $350 million food-and-shopping playground known as Plantation Walk. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The 1% fee will be used to bring amazing concerts, live shows, events, holiday entertainment and more, a Plantation Walk spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to the Sun Sentinel. The details of the MEF are clearly outlined in every tenant lease, and our tenants have all been on board as they understand increased on-site entertainment options mean increased business for them.

Still, its how Plantation Walk is explaining the fee to the public not why theyre charging it thats the bigger issue, says Plantation council member Nick Sortal. City Hall had no idea that Plantation Walk would charge the tax when the council approved the developers contract, he says.

I dont have a problem with the fee. I have a problem with the way the restaurants are communicating it, Sortal says. If they put little flyers up listing upcoming events, and a line underneath saying the surcharge supports these endeavors, people would get it. Instead, residents feel ambushed, and that part isnt right.

Tacocraft founder Marc Falsetto, for his part, says the 1 percent tax is clearly marked on cards in the restaurant talking about the fee.

I feel and hear where the customers are coming from, but we have no control over it, he says. And Ive been trying to explain it [in the Lets Eat group]. All our managers are well-versed, despite what people are saying, and we encourage them to ask a manager if they have questions, not the servers.

Lately, customers have been up in arms over the newest surcharge from the developer of the new Plantation Walk, a $350 million food-and-shopping complex. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Customers like Munson say they spotted no such cards at Tacocraft.

I didnt see any signs, says Munson, a Plantation resident and freelance event producer. When Plantation Walk is fully built and entertaining, it wont be an issue. But look out the window, theres nothing there now. It just left a sour taste.

Because Tacocraft is the first major tenant to land at the under-construction Plantation Walk, its become a target of scorn from upset customers.

[RELATED: Welcome to Florida: Expect the unexpected on your restaurant bills.]

In Plantation Walks statement, the spokesperson conceded that customers arent getting the message. At Tacocraft, some of those details were not clearly communicated to the customer, the statement reads. Customers should be clearly notified ahead of time of the 1% entertainment fee. Moving forward, there will be plenty of signage throughout the property and inside the various establishments notifying customers and explaining the reason for the fee.

But heres the rub: Unexpected restaurant fees and the indigestion that comes with it are nothing new in South Florida, as anyone whos dined on the beach or during the pandemic can attest. When it opened, The Village at Gulfstream Park, another shopping-and-dining destination in Hallandale Beach, began charging a half-percent District Improvement Fee on customer checks.

A similar Marketing and Entertainment Fee is in play at the Promenade at Sunset Walk in Kissimmee, another mega-shopping complex built by Plantation Walks developers.

Marc Brown, president of 23 Restaurant Services group, says his burgers-and-cars-themed Fords Garage will open at Plantation Walk this fall. But at the Fords Garage in Sunset Walk, customers dont appear to mind the fee. With it, theyve been able to bring in marquee music acts such as The Wailers, he says.

The fees drive a tremendous amount of traffic for us compared to if we didnt have free entertainment in the plaza, Brown says. People see all these great options, and they return. Its not a one-time benefit to us.

Any customers who balk at the fee have options, Brown adds. If someone came up to me and said they had a problem with it, we would probably eat the fee.

To expect every server to explain the fees to customers is asking too much, he says. From a consumer standpoint, I dont feel like its a hidden fee.

Excerpt from:
Going to Plantation Walk, the hot new food-and-shopping paradise? Be prepared for surcharges - South Florida Sun Sentinel

King Taps construction is well underway in Kelowna.

Media were invited to tour the site Thursday and get a sneak peak at what the finished restaurant will look like.

Turning thorns to crowns, King Taps refurbishing the iconic Roses Pub on Water Street.

Regional Manager Thomas Beetlestone said they dont yet have an opening day.

Demolition actually started back in 2019, but obviously with the pandemic everything got put on pause for a while there. So, we started back up probably late last year and working through the early part of this year, fingers crossed were going to be able to open in the near future.

The Kelowna restaurant has the same owners as Cactus Club and is the second of the King Taps locations, the first being in Toronto.

Regional Chef James Bunting said this location is much larger. They are looking to hire about 80 kitchen staff and approximately another 150 for front of house.

As for the menu, it will feature many local wines and beers, and a top menu item will be pizza.

Weve got two pizza masters, Bunting said. They come from Italy and whats really great about these is that theyre built for speed. So, they have the ability to retain the heat in it and rebound up to proper temperatures very quickly which gives us the opportunity to be able to cook great tasting pizzas very quickly and be able to serve as many guests as possible.

We are just really excited for this opportunity to show King Taps here in B.C., said Beetlestone. Kelowna is our first location here in the province. Its pretty special. Were really excited to become a national brand.

Beetlestone noted they are still hiring and anyone interested should go to their website to apply.

WATCH: Live like the Jetsons: Eat with BellaBot at Smittys Kelowna

READ MORE: 2 arrested in Penticton after Toyota dealership fire deemed arson

@thebrittwebsterbrittany.webster@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.

BC WineBeerKelownarestaurant

Excerpt from:
King Taps still waiting to be crowned as construction continues in Kelowna Kelowna Capital News - Kelowna Capital News