One of the commercial construction permits issued in the second quarter was for this Pollo Tropical restaurant on Dunlawton Avenue in Port Orange.

DAYTONA BEACH The number of new home and commercial construction permits issued across Volusia County in the second quarter of the year dipped when compared to the first quarter and the same three-month period a year ago.

However, county officials are taking a wider view of building activity.

In my personal view, one quarter does not a trend make and we need to wait and see for the next quarters, said Rob Ehrhardt, Volusia Countys economic development director, during Fridays quarterly economic development briefing at Daytona Beach International Airport attended by more than 150 people.

Volusia County and its 16 cities issued 280 new single-family home construction permits in the April-through-June quarter, according to data compiled by the economic development division. Thats down 18 percent from the same period a year ago and down 19 percent from the first quarter.

Timing is one reason for the dip, builders said. Permits are usually issued two to three months after a sales contract is signed. Since sales cooled late in the first quarter due to severe bad weather in the Midwest and Northeast, second quarter permit activity took a slight hit.

Residential permit activity for the first half of the year, however, is better than it was a year ago.

There were 628 home construction permits issued January through June. Thats up almost 8 percent from the 582 permits issued in the first six months of 2013. Its also the highest level for the first half of any year since 2008 when 666 permits were issued.

We are not seeing a flattening out, just the opposite. Our sales are up, said Jim Mather, vice president of Paytas Homes in Port Orange.

The homebuilder has sold 58 homes through July, mostly in its Promenade subdivision in New Smyrna Beach. The company sold 65 in all of last year.

Read this article:
Permit activity, unemployment rate decline in 2nd quarter

Rudy's Diner Bar and Grill is scheduled to open in about six weeks in the former Star City Restaurant building at 1406 Center St. in Bethlehem. (RYAN KNELLER / August 8, 2014)

11:28 a.m. EDT, August 8, 2014

On a recent visit, I learned that husband and wife Olvin and Carla Buezo of Nazareth are having the building gutted and remodeled to house Rudys Diner Bar and Grill (Olvins middle name is Rudy) in about six weeks.

The Buezos, who have operated Franks Italian Restaurant on Route 248 in Lower Nazareth Township for 16 years, are adding new everything, including furniture, flooring and kitchen equipment, Carla Buezos said.

Hours will be 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6 a.m.-midnight Friday through Sunday.

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Diner coming to Bethlehem's former Star City Restaurant

Veraci Pizza Spokane, the popular mobile pizza cart, has opened its permanentlocation in Kendall Yards. Construction finished ahead of schedule, and owners Seth and Laura Carey were able to open the restaurant July 16. The eatery features a clay wood-fired pizza oven, built by Seth Carey, as well as a patio overlooking the Spokane River, a light and airy modern dining room, and a front counter where pizza is available by theslice.

Veracis other wood-fired pizza oven will still be carted to local farmers markets andfestivals.

Hours: 11 a.m. to close (likely 9 p.m

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Veraci Pizza Spokane, the popular mobile pizza cart, has opened its permanentlocation in Kendall Yards. Construction finished ahead of schedule, and owners Seth and Laura Carey were able to open the restaurant July 16. The eatery features a clay wood-fired pizza oven, built by Seth Carey, as well as a patio overlooking the Spokane River, a light and airy modern dining room, and a front counter where pizza is available by theslice.

Veracis other wood-fired pizza oven will still be carted to local farmers markets andfestivals.

Hours: 11 a.m. to close (likely 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10 or 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday andSaturday)

Address: 1333 W. SummitParkway.

Contact: (509) 389-0029; http://www.veracipizza.com/spokane.

Original post:
Veraci Pizza now open in Kendall Yards - Fri, 08 Aug 2014 PST

Scaling the rock-climbing features, speeding around the ice-skating ribbon and strolling through the soon-to-open Maggie Daley Park would make anyone hungry.

So the Chicago Park District has decided a restaurant and food kiosk should go up in the downtown park, which remains under construction.

The park district is seeking bids for a firm that can design, build and open a "high quality" restaurant, run a concession stand in a picnic area and handle catering special events in the new park.

Before that stretch at the north end of Grant Park was torn up to repair the roof of a subterranean parking garage, it was known as Daley Bicentennial Plaza and home to The Green at Grant Park, a seasonal alfresco cafe with a miniature golf course.

The renovation, estimated at $55 million when the project began construction in 2012, will feature an ice-skating ribbon, climbing wall, play garden, field house and picnic groves surrounded by lush landscaping. The park is being paid for with a combination of public and private funding.

Work on what will be the 28-acre Maggie Daley Park named for Chicago's one-time first lady, who died in 2011 is projected to be completed this winter with additional plantings in the spring.

Across the street at Millennium Park is the Park Grill. The city is trying to break the lease with the clout-heavy restaurant operator, which made the concession deal with the park district, according to the Chicago Tribune. Under the controversial deal, the restaurant pays about $250,000 annually in rent based on a percentage of sales but not for water, gas, garbage pickup or property taxes.

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Restaurant to open in Maggie Daley Park

Published: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 11:00 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 11:38 p.m.

Northport will get a second Waffle House early next year.

The Atlanta-area restaurant chain has acquired property in front of the Lowe's store at 5703 McFarland Blvd. and expects to start construction in January 2015, said Waffle House spokesman Patrick Warner. The company hopes to open the restaurant in March 2015, he said.

Waffle House has a restaurant at 1925 McFarland Blvd., Northport, plus four restaurants in Tuscaloosa and another in Cottondale.

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon said Waffle House's decision to add a second restaurant in his city reflects the growth that is occurring in the Northport area and said he understands that the restaurant chain could be looking for additional sites.

The site will put the new restaurant in a high-volume corridor that is expected to attract not only local customers but also those coming into the Tuscaloosa area from Pickens County and east central Mississippi.

We are just happy to have another there, Warner said. McFarland (Boulevard) is a good area. ... We look at traffic volumes and ask whether an area can support another Waffle House.

He said he had no information about any additional restaurants being planned in the Tuscaloosa area.

Waffle House last added a restaurant in the Tuscaloosa market in early 2012 when it opened a restaurant on the Strip at the corner of Gene Stallings Avenue and University Boulevard. That same year it rebuilt its current Northport restaurant.

Waffle House restaurants are sit-down diners that are open 24/7, 365 days a year. Once we open, we never close, Warner said.

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Northport to get another Waffle House

Wednesday, August 6, 11:26 AM EDT

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor

The restaurant opened Sept. 23, 2010, and says on the blackfinnameripub.com site that in celebration of its four-year anniversary, it is bringing an updated look, new menu items, cocktails on tap, a private dining room and more.

Sachse Construction & Development Corp., based in Detroit, Mich., pulled permits Friday for a two-phase interior renovation of the almost 9,700-square-foot building and its 2,400-square-foot patio area.

Blackfinn Jax LLC operates the restaurant, at 4840 Big Island Drive, No. 5, in The Markets at Town Center adjacent to St. Johns Town Center.

Hostess Danielle Hancock said Tuesday the work should be completed Aug. 23. She said there will be more seating with the removal of a wall between the grill and dining room; wall murals, new painting, new TVs and other features in the saloon; and painting and more TVs on the patio.

Each of the two permits shows a job cost of $96,760, totaling $193,520.

Blackfinn Ameripub describes itself as born to be a whole new generation of the classic American pub, a lively restaurant and bar that offers the affordable, craveable American food our guests want to eat.

The menu includes steaks, burgers, seafood, pasta, chicken, ribs, wings, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads and more, including beer, wine and cocktails.

Investor buys Seminole Club, starts Sweet Petes renovations

Excerpt from:
Blackfinn Ameripub renovating St. Johns Town Center location

By GREG KENNELTY

Staff Writer

Demolition of the storm-damaged McLoones Rum Runner restaurant was completed July 21, and construction is expected to begin on a new building in August, with a projected spring reopening. SEA BRIGHT Vestiges of the Rum Runner remain on the Ocean Avenue site where Tim McLoone hopes a new restaurant will be ready to open its doors to customers by spring.

We demolished the old building on [July 21] and it will probably take about a month to get the property in shape to actually start building, McLoone said.

We have to yank out the old foundation and then do remediating and inspection and bulkheading, too, since when the old dock came apart, it damaged them.

We anticipate sometime in August is when we will be building the new place and we hope to be ready by next spring.

The Sea Bright Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved he application for the demolition and reconstruction of the restaurant on April 8.

The new, three-story restaurant, which will retain the Rum Runner name, will seat 298 patrons in indoor and outdoor dining areas including a second-floor mezzanine.

The architecture and ambience will reflect McLoones penchant for classic design as interpreted by architectural firm Anderson Campanella.

I know how to design a restaurant on the inside, but we hired them to do the building because I love that Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket look, and they can do that. I just want it to look like it has always been there, he said.

More here:
McLoone seeks spring reopening for Rum Runner

RACINE COUNTY The Racine County Sheriffs Office is warning drivers to obey closed construction areas or receive fines.

Construction of the roundabout at highways 20 and 75 began Thursday, closing down the intersection to traffic, but a number of drivers have been ignoring the closed signs and even moving barricades, said Sgt. David Coughlin of the Sheriffs Office.

The Sheriffs Office is putting extra attention out there and violators will be ticketed, he said. The fine for failing to obey a construction zone sign is $213, he said.

The bottom line is that construction workers need to be protected.

Im not going to have a construction worker run over because their GPS is telling them to go that way, Coughlin said of drivers.

Drivers, even local residents, should follow detour signs, he said. The construction is set to go into October.

But staff at the Dover Inn, the landmark restaurant located at the southeast corner of the intersection, are worried about how to get customers to and from the eatery. Proprietor Joe Gruber said he didnt want customers to avoid heading to the inn out of fear of being ticketed.

This is going to scare off a lot of people in my eyes, said Gruber, who was planning on meeting with sheriffs personnel today for clarifications.

He was also worried about golfers who are coming to the restaurant this Saturday from throughout southeast Wisconsin for the Dover Inns annual golf outing and how motorcyclists will get there for several poker runs that have been scheduled.

Gruber was off on Thursday and had not checked on all routes available to get to the inn. But he understands that state Department of Transportations posted detour is the best way: By taking Highway A (Plank Road) to Highway 75 and then heading north to the restaurant. Gruber was unsure as of Thursday if there was a way to get to the restaurant on Highway 75 from the north.

The rest is here:
As roundabout construction begins, sheriff's office warns of fines

TWIN FALLS Grand Slam fans soon will have an opportunity to step up to the plate in Twin Falls.

A Dennys restaurant is under construction and its opening is about two months away.

We own the one in Burley, so were opening one in Twin, said co-owner Justin Silcock.

Silcocks partners are brothers Todd and Thomas Peterson. They opened the Burley location in April 2013. The new location, at 291 Pole Line Road in Twin Falls, will be completed this fall.

The partners have a history with nationwide restaurant chain, which was founded in 1953. Silcock owns A-1 Booth Manufacturing, a Burley-based company started by his father Richard that has been building and remodeling Dennys interiors throughout the U.S. for about 30 years. Petersons brother Todd works for Silcock.

We did most of the construction on the building in Burley, said Thomas Peterson, who oversees restaurant operations at the Burley location.

When construction in Twin Falls is complete, the restaurant will be staffed and new employees will be trained. Management already has been hired and trained, Peterson said.

The partners hired about 100 people when they opened the Burley location.

The restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including all holidays.

Weve been open 15 months in Burley and havent closed a day, Peterson said.

Link:
Burley Dennys Owners Expand to Twin Falls

There were a couple of stories of note on the food and beverage front last week. Kevin Sbraga, a winner of Bravos Top Chef and owner of two restaurants in Philadelphia, will open a restaurant in 220 Riverside early next year.

Later next year, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas will hold its annual conference here. About 500 of the top beer brewers in the country will be in Jacksonville for four days to discuss their craft.

Both of those should produce a bit of the same result raising Jacksonvilles stature on the national scene. Is that important? I dont know, but its kind of cool to have Jacksonvilles name pop up in national conversations about food and drink.

Sbraga and the brewers group could have gone anywhere. They chose here.

Of course, after the Times-Unions story about Sbraga coming here, Philadelphia magazine ran this headline: Kevin Sbraga Opening a New Restaurant in Jacksonville?

HOMES

Tamaya, ICI Homes large development at Beach and Kernan boulevards, is ahead of the schedule. Sales began four months ago and, through the end of July, 40 homes sold at $300,000-$600,000. That was the goal for the year.

The first phase has 169 home sites and design/permitting has begun on Phase II with 146 home sites. The eventual plan is 2,400 homes.

Construction will begin this fall on an 11,000-square-foot amenity center and a permanent entrance on Beach Boulevard with 30-foot columns.

Right next door at Terra Costa, where Standard Pacific of Florida just got permits totaling $3.4 million for its amenity center and permits for eight townhomes, $210,110-$284,000. Plans call for 102 single-family home and 166 townhomes.

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Sunday Business Notebook