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VOL. 129 | NO. 168 | Thursday, August 28, 2014

McDonalds will begin construction next year of a new restaurant at Highland Street and Southern Avenue near the University of Memphis.

The fast food giant won unanimous approval Wednesday from the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Adjustment for several zoning variances, the only regulatory approval the company needed to move forward with the project.

According to the most current site plan, the 5,353-square-foot restaurant building is situated along the sidewalk on Highland, and a looping drive-thru proposed earlier has been replaced with one that runs behind the building.

McDonalds won approval for several zoning variances, including for additional parking and the amount of transparency, or windows, required under the University District Overlay, a set of zoning regulations that promotes urban, pedestrian-friendly development.

Earlier designs of the proposed restaurant at the southeast corner of Highland and Southern ignited strong opposition from neighbors including university leaders and the University Neighborhood Development Corp. because it did not comply with the zoning overlay.

To make way for the new restaurant, the existing buildings that once housed Highland staples such as Whatever and the Super Submarine Shop will be torn down, along with a nonconforming billboard. The existing McDonalds just across Highland will be mothballed for sale once the new restaurant is complete, which is expected sometime in 2015.

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McDonalds Wins Approval for Highland Location

The project's opponents, however, have not given up.

Even as construction crews begin work on the roundabout this week, residents opposed to it are planning to file an appeal in court.

Jacki Miller, a Swarthmore resident leading the effort, said she worried that the roundabout would cause "inevitable queuing during rush hour."

The intersection at Chester Road near the borough's SEPTA station is already busy, and drivers use Route 320 as an alternate route when I-476 is congested.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which owns the right-of-way along Route 320, approved the roundabout plans. Swarthmore College will pay for construction.

The borough council also voted to approve the development plans earlier this year.

Borough Council President Ralph Jacobs said the roundabout would improve the safety of a dangerous intersection.

"My view is that there is overwhelming support for the roundabout in the community," Jacobs said. "I think the number of people who are opposed to the roundabout is really a very, very small number of people."

Miller said she fears that the roundabout will slow traffic too much, forcing cars to wait along Chester Road for their turn to enter it, or increasing congestion on other roads in Swarthmore.

"For those of us that have lived with the stoppages on 320 and what happens to the traffic when it sheds through the borough itself, it's not good enough," Miller said.

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Controversial Swarthmore construction begins

Construction has begun on a Japanese restaurant thats expected to open in December at the former Bakers Square restaurant site at 1227 Crossing Meadows Drive in Onalaska.

Work began this month on the Shogun Sushi and Hibachi restaurant, said Jeffrey Brown of North Rock Real Estate, a commercial real estate advisory firm in Minnetonka, Minn. He is assisting the eaterys owners, who live in the Twin Cities and own several other Japanese restaurants.

Construction work on Shogun originally was expected to begin last fall, with the eatery opening by early this summer. But the projects design was put on the back burner because the owners were busy opening a new restaurant in Burnsville, Minn., Brown said.

Shogun will serve a variety of upscale Japanese cuisine, Brown said, including seafood, steak, chicken and vegetable courses with a Japanese flavor. There will be a large sushi menu and sushi bar.

All of the ingredients are extremely fresh and high quality, Brown said. Especially the seafood, which is flown in fresh. The approximately 6,000-square restaurant will have 14 hibachi tables.

Owner Maria Norberg plans to expand Grounded Specialty Coffee at 308 Main St. to the west, onto a vacant lot at 304-306 Main St. in downtown La Crosse.

The expansion would transform Grounded from a coffee shop into a full restaurant available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a full coffee and wine bar, she said in her application for an exception to city building requirements.

The expansion would include indoor and outdoor seating on the ground level, and partially covered and open air seating on a terrace above the addition. About half of the proposed terrace would be below the citys minimum two-story height requirement for new construction downtown. The La Crosse Common Council likely will vote Sept. 11 on Norbergs request for an exception.

If the council approves, I would like to start construction next spring and have the new addition open and running by early summer, Norberg told me. I plan to keep the name of Grounded but would drop Specialty Coffee since we would be a full-service restaurant with a full coffee and wine bar as well.

Three sisters and a daughter have opened Curvy Chicks Consignment LLC at 123 W. Hamilton St. in West Salem.

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Steve Cahalan: Japanese restaurant to open in December

Facade is former firehouse

A historical photograph showing the old firehouse and its crew.Jason Schreiber

EXETER A piece of history was uncovered this week when an aging metal facade was removed from the brick arches of an old downtown firehouse.

The two arches have been hidden for at least the past 50 years, but they will be given new life as part of a renovation project that will transform the firehouse into a new casual-dining restaurant.

"We decided to preserve that portion of the building and bring it back to the town," said Jeff Turner, who owns the restaurant and the Green Bean soup and sandwich cafe next door with Lori Whitney.

The well-known restaurateurs are making good progress on their new full-service restaurant that will build upon the success of the Green Bean, which opened at 33 Water St. in 1997.

The firehouse, built in the mid-19th century, was most recently home to Trends Gift Gallery. The store found a new location on Water Street to clear the way for the restaurant, which Turner said still doesn't have a name but will likely include something related to a firehouse when one is picked.

Turner discovered the potential for the arches each measuring 11 feet tall and 10 feet wide during demolition work inside the building. He was determined to find a way to preserve them during the building's face-lift.

The plan is to add glass panes on the top and wood panels on the bottom to resemble the original doors as much as possible.

"Everyone's been really excited about it," he said.

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New restaurant has historic look

WEST CHESTER TWP.

The latest and largest Tom + Chee location is set to open in Butler County later this year.

Construction on the 3,200-square-foot fast-casual restaurant at 9328 Union Centre Blvd. is slated to start next week, according to Troy Harden, franchisee for Tom + Chee restaurants outside the Interstate 275 loop.

The location should open by mid-November and employ 60 people, Harden said.

The West Chester Twp. eatery will serve Tom + Chees grilled cheese and tomato soup but will be the first in the chain to serve alcohol, specifically craft wine and and craft beer, most of it from local breweries, he said.

Harden tapped Butler County as the location for his first franchise because West Chester Twp. is a great community.

Its got everything there, he said. There are so many businesses, hotels, families. Its just a really neat location. Im from Union, Ky., and it reminds me a lot about that.

Tom + Chee founders Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward have found a niche that really hasnt been touched on in the restaurant industry.

I think its a great product for the Midwest, Harden said, noting the chains preference to use healthy ingredients in its products. Its great for families and for a quick lunch. We take something that tastes good and make it pretty good for you, too.

Hardens first restaurant franchise is hardly his first foray into the restaurant business. Hes a nearly 30-year veteran of the industry who started off Bar Louie in Chicago, owned his own steak-and-seafood restaurant in that citys southwest suburb and most recently served for six years in upper management at Hofbrauhaus Newport.

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Butler County getting largest Tom + Chee yet

Wednesday, August 20, 4:42 PM EDT

Compiled by Karen Brune Mathis

P&C Construction Inc. will combine four suites at a former pizza-burger location at 1402 San Marco Blvd. into one to create the Kitchen on San Marco.

The site is at San Marco Boulevard and Childrens Way.

Gary Montour, senior vice president with Colliers International in Jacksonville, represented the tenant. He said Tuesday the restaurant could open within 90 days.

The restaurant will serve as a teaching establishment where a staff of professional chefs provides a learning lab environment for culinary and pastry arts students from Culinard, The Culinary Institute of Virginia College.

Their focus is to give them a full feel of the entire realm of the restaurant industry, Montour said. San Marco is going to get a new restaurant.

Montour said it would be operated as any restaurant would. They have to make sure it is run like a business, he said, which means understanding a balance sheet, knowing how to apply for a bank loan for equipment, the terms of signing a lease.

The 4,533-square-foot project will be renovated at a cost of $617,005. Education Corporation of America owns Virginia College. Representatives of Education Corporation of America and The Culinary Institute of Virginia College did not return telephone calls for comment.

Last August, the Education Corporation of America vice president of student retail operations, Ron Patak, said students at Culinard will train at the restaurant during their 36-week course. Virginia College operates at 5940 Beach Blvd., at the intersection with University Boulevard.

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Food notes: Kitchen on San Marco OKd for build-out

Aug. 20, 2014, midnight

Art Gallery development on track

Work continues on the redevelopment of the Albury Art Gallery.

Archaeologist Sarah Myers, of Archlink Archaeologists and Heritage Advisors, and construction manager Steve Escott stand near the opening of a brick-lined tank on the site of the Albury Art Gallery redevelopment. The tank was built in 1868, when the site was a telegraph office. It is about 3.7 metres deep and about 3.6 metres in diameter. Sarah detected the tank, one of two associated with a nearby well, on the original plans of the site, and they were found during excavations. Pictures: MATTHEW SMITHWICK

ALBURY Council is locked in high-level negotiations with a preferred operator for the restaurant to be located at the rear of the $10.5million redeveloped art gallery.

The restaurant and cafe will front QEII Square and was the subject of an expressions of interest process launched earlier this year.

The councils community and recreation director James Jenkins said the talks were well advanced.

Hopefully towards the end of the year we will be able to announce who the successful lessee is, he said.

The council held a public information session yesterday to update progress on the art gallery, which is on target to be completed by June next year.

The restaurant and cafe will provide indoor and outdoor seating for more than 100 people.

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Restaurant operator closer

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) -

A construction trailer became unhitched and crashed into the side of a La Crosse restaurant Monday morning.

North Country Steak Buffett co-owner Tom OBrien told News 8 he and one of this managers was sitting in the restaurant at about 11:20 a.m. when all of a sudden there was a big crash.

It was like the wall exploded, OBrien said.

They were sitting about 20 feet away from the window on the buildings south side. No one was sitting at the window booth when the crash happened.

It was a blessing that nobody got hurt, OBrien said.

The cost of the damage is not known at this time.

The crash caused the North Country Steak Buffet to close on Monday. The restaurant is expected to reopen on Tuesday.

La Crosse police cited an individual for towing with improper safety chains. The citation was $114.

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Unhitched construction trailer crashed into La Crosse restaurant

by TANYA EISERER

WFAA

Posted on August 18, 2014 at 5:20 PM

Updated today at 7:55 PM

DALLAS Monday marked the ending of an era as Herreras Cafe, a Maple Avenue mainstay, shuts its doors.

The owners of Herreras, which has operated a restaurant on Maple since 1971, said they were pushed out by high real estate prices in the area.

It's a landmark, I know," said Nora Ontiveros, a member of the small family-owned chain. "But we can't make it, so we're just going to move on. Were just a mom-and-pop restaurant."

She said they couldnt come to an agreement on a lease at their present location. The family had originally hoped to move into a new restaurant building thats under construction across the street, but they couldnt come to an agreement for that location, either.

Her husband is the son of the founders, the late Maria and Lucio Ontiveros. They opened the popular Tex-Mex restaurant in 1971. Back then, the restaurant only had nine tables, and customers lined up with coolers of beer as they waited to get inside.

The original Maple Avenue location was featured in a 1984 edition of National Geographic. A huge painting of that iconic National Geographic photo adorns the restaurant entrance.

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Tex-Mex mecca Herrera's serves final food at landmark location

Updated: Friday, August 15 2014, 11:57 PM CDT Reported by: Ewa Roman

This Sunday is the start of restaurant week near the Palmyra area and some business owners hope it boosts business after a road closure threatens to shut down one restaurant.

The signs read "road closed," but there are many detour signs as well, that are easy to follow and will help get you around the Lebanon County area.

About a half-mile section of U.S. Route 422 just east of Palmyra in North Londonderry Township has been closed for about two weeks. The closure is right in front of the Hometown Family Restaurant. Co-owner Doug Horst says because of it, they've been forced to lay off almost half their staff and business is down up to 40-percent some days.

"You know HersheyPark is 10 minutes from here. I get a lot of tourists from there for the summer. But when you go on vacation, would you go through detours and places you don't know to go to a restaurant that you don't know?" Said Doug Horst, Co-owner, Hometown Family Restaurant.

The nearby Palmyra Bowling doesn't seem to be striking out.

"So far we really haven't noticed much impact on the business, we're still getting used to the detours and traffic patterns," said Chris Uecker General manager at Palmyra Bowling.

So are Linda and her family.

"I think where the stop sign is, behind the bowling ally, if they would put up maybe a four-way stop sign at the intersection, I really think it would help," said Linda Beniston, Lebanon County resident.

Work on the section of U.S. Route 422 is scheduled to be completed this fall.Construction threatens life of local business

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Construction threatens life of local business