A business inside another business might seem different to some, but for restaurant owners, it can mean a built-in clientele.

For Scott Nickel, who co-owns Jayhawk Corner Cafe inside Jayhawk Tower with his wife, Truanna, most of his customers come from the offices in the building at 700 S.W. Jackson.

Its a matter of reading your demographic, Nickel said. I knew very few people would come in off the streets, and we have people who do. But our primary customers people in the building. Its 80 or 90 percent.

Nickel also owns the Brickyard Barn Inn, a bed and breakfast in North Topeka.

There was a fellow that preceded us, Nickel said about the previous owners of restaurants before Jayhawk Corner Cafe was opened. He was here for 16, 17 years. Then, between him and us, there was a lady who tried to do a German thing here. They had the lease for six months. They had a restaurant for about two months total, and even in the middle of that, changed the concept once.

Nickel and his wife have been running the cafe for nearly five years. He said he thought some of his success from the cafe came from thinking small. Ultimately, he said running a business inside of another business comes down to the manager or landlord of the building and the owner of the secondary business.

Their (the manager and landlord of the building) goal was to support the people in this building with a little lunch thing, Nickel said. People who walk in the building, they like a cup of coffee.

Nickel said he works well with the operators of the building, which has made running the restaurant easier. He said the buffet-style lunch, lower pricing and small waitstaff have helped keep costs low. The food is prepared every day at Brickyard and shuttled to the cafe. We dont even do tips, he said. I pay my staff a full salary.

The construction downtown hasnt affected the cafe at all, Nickel said. He and his wife run a catering business, which brings in the most business with the cafe, since they use a ballroom right off the restaurant. Ray Moorhead, operator of Henrys Grill inside Historic Harley-Davidson of Topeka, 2047 S.W. Topeka Blvd., said the restaurant isnt the only business at the bike shop there is also a barbershop and insurance company. Henrys Grill leases space from the shop.

We have a very loyal following, Moorhead said. Its a great marriage we complement each other.

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Restaurant owner: Tenant-landlord relationship key to success

MOORESVILLE, N.C.

A Mooresville restaurant is getting ready to close its doors and they might never reopen.

Randy Rodecki, owner of Carolina Ribs on the Run, said he racked up debt during the Brawley School Road construction project between 2010 and 2013. The construction closed the most visible entrance into his restaurant's parking lot for several months.

"It cost us roughly $850 a day to stay open during the road construction," said Rodecki.

An NCDOT representative told Eyewitness News that the project was necessary because congestion on the former two-lane Brawley School Road ranged from 7,800 to 31,900 daily. The counts are expect to increase between 9,200 to 44,700 by 2030, the representative said.

Rodecki filed complaints with NCDOT and the Department of Justice but was not successful.

"Three years of being angry at the state hasn't done anything for me, except make me angrier so I need to concentrate more on moving my business, keeping my business and on my family," said Rodecki.

Rodecki plans to close his restaurants doors on Aug. 2. However, he's now turning to the community to try and help him move to a new location.

Rodecki created an account on GoFundMe.com to take donations. He said anyone who donates will be asked to give their email, and the restaurant will give them a gift certificate worth double the donation to use if the restaurant reopens.

Langtree Lake Norman has agreed to help upfit the restaurant if Rodecki can get the funds to move it, he said.

See the original post:
Mooresville barbecue joint says road project forced closure

The entrance of the restaurant features a bar with a maple and cherry wood counter and dusty blue accents. The dining area behind the bar is warm and rustic with recycled barnboard walls and a circular peep-through to the bar area. Beautiful brick on the west side of the building was sandblasted to restore its beauty. It will soon be the home to shelves of wine and spirits. Published July 18, 2014 at 11:12 a.m.

In April, we wrote about the construction progress for Story Hill BKC, the new coffee shop/restaurant/retail shop from the owners of Maxie's and Blue's Egg.

This week, we had the chance to chart the progress on the restaurant, which began interviewing staff this past week, and expects to have occupancy of its space at 5102 W. Bluemound Rd. by July 25, with the goal of being fully operational by Thursday, Aug. 14.

The space is slowly taking shape, and the personality of the space is beginning to reveal itself thanks to the deft hands of Jake Knox of Lucky Star Workshop and his talented crew.

Repurposed materials comprise the bulk of the construction, with floorboards from an old home in Hartland creating the backdrop for the bar area, and corrugated metal from a grain silo near Richland Center forming a dropped ceiling directly above. Meanwhile, the maple and cherry wood for the bar top was reclaimed from trees downed in a tornado a few years ago.

A tap system at the bar will hold multiple taps, providing draught beer, wine, coffee and cocktails for the restaurant. The restaurant also plans to have a juice program, with freshly squeezed juices -- along with inventive juice combinations called "coolers" -- available for take out or dine-in.

Currently, chef and co-owner Joe Muench is testing draft dishes for the breakfast and lunch menus, which will include fast-casual fare that can be ordered at the counter. Unlike the full American breakfast offerings offered at Blue's Egg, Story Hill BKC will focus on European style offerings like breads with spreads, meats, cheeses and other simple globally-inspired dishes that can be enjoyed "on the run." The menu will also include pastries, crpes and baked egg dishes, such as shakshuka.

Lunch will include inventive soups, salads and sandwiches like a dill pickle vichyssoise along with specialty dishes like whole baked fish, pasta dishes and cheese bread. A woodstone oven, cooktops and an Alto Shaam Combitherm will provide most of the cooking power for the small, highly efficient open kitchen. Since the restaurant will not have a deep fryer, side dishes will go beyond the ordinary potato chips or fries, and include items like marinated vegetables and jalapeno slaw.

Dinner options are still in the planning stage, but Muench notes that the menu will be loosely organized around the ideas of "Taste, Share, Pass" a concept that allows customers to create customizeable dining experiences for any occasion.

Tastes will consist of composed bites including high end and hard-to-find ingredients at an approachable portion and price. Shareable dishes will be similar to small plates, with the idea that several dishes could comprise a complete meal for two or more people. Pass plates will resemble family style fare, and could include whole fish or carvings from a roast. Fairly priced beverages will be available at a wide variety of price points from the wine and spirits shop in the restaurant.

More:
Story Hill BKC preps for August opening

Jonathan D. Silver / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Parents weary from pushing a stroller uphill at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium should have a more inviting place to park it, take a breather and get a bite come next summer.

The zoo is seeking city approval for a privately financed $2.5 million renovation of the food plaza and restaurant that sits smack in the middle of the Highland Park property and its 77 acres.

Situated in the existing Safari Plaza, the proposed 7,100-square-foot facility will expand seating and permit patrons to look out over giraffes, zebras and elephants, according to a design plan submitted by longtime zoo partner Indovina Associates Architects of Pittsburgh.

The idea is to have your lunch while having the feeling of being in the wild, according to Indovinas proposal.On one side, you will see giraffes, zebras and elephants and on the other there is a new cheetah area.

Currently the only views are contained in conceptual art, but that alone is enough to excite zoo staff.

The views are supposed to be spectacular, zoo spokeswoman Jaime Szoszorek said Thursday.

The planned restaurant, 1,000-square-foot covered terrace overlooking the giraffe yard, open patio seating and upgraded and expanded serving, kitchen and support areas are meant to update facilities Indovina calledoutdated and inadequate. The existing structures, dating to the 1980s, will be demolished.

Seating capacity will jump to about 140 people indoors from 40 now. Outdoor seating will be able to accommodate 540 people, up from the current 368.

One thing that wont change is the menu.

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Pittsburgh Zoo plans to upgrade food plaza and restaurant

HUDSON FALLS -- The construction on Route 4 outside Phat Chicks Corner Cafe is complete, but the customers are not coming back.

Its terrible. On Mondays, we are not even making payroll, said owner Sue Duggan, who opened the restaurant in October with her friend, Delberta Howe. In fact, were going to be closed on Mondays starting next week.

Duggan said the restaurant, which serves diner-style food, may close for good at the end of the month if she cannot find some financial help.

Saturday and Sunday we do fine, but the weekday business just isnt coming, she said.

Duggan knew the state Department of Transportation was reconstructing Route 4 when she opened the restaurant, but the work in her area was done and heading north toward the village center.

It was slow through mid-November, but from December to February, it started picking up. We got to March, and we were doing really well, but then the construction started again, and it got really bad.

Duggan said one of the most important things for her is to get people in the door once.

Some people still think this place is a dump, she said, referring to early incarnations of the restaurant, which is at 25 Main St. Once they come in, they see how nice it is.

Duggan said she has spoken to village officials, including Mayor John Barton, but they have not been able to help.

The mayor has done everything he can. Hes tried to help, but there just doesnt seem to be an answer, she said.

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Hudson Falls cafe owner says road work may push her business to close

DUPONT Consider it a work in progress turning an empty former restaurant into third Tipsy Turtle restaurant location with hopes of drawing in customers from all over.

We repainted the whole place, replaced carpeting, adding the Turtle spin to it, some TVs, said Tipsy Turtle co-partner Jack Walker.

The Tipsy Turtle will replace the Damons and Midtown Sports Bar that used to house this building right near the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. Itll be the largest Turtle spot with double the staff members of its Swoyersville counterpart, and the only one of the local chain with a catering room.

We all believe that well make it. Well make it work, said Walker.

With the restaurant a little off the beaten path and all of this construction going on near it by the airport, some are concerned that the restaurant might not do so well.

Theres not really much up there, like I said. Not too many people are going to travel out of their way to go up there, said Onzriea Reynolds, of Avoca.

I would always encourage new business, new growth. I think an issue that they may have is that it seems like people are only willing to support the chain restaurants, said Louis Domenico, of Saylorsburg.

Tipsy Turtle partner Jack Walker doesnt think the location will be a problem.

Both Tipsy Turtles that are open right now are destination places. Theyre not on the beaten path. Theyre not on the way to the mall. And we do just fine, said Walker.

The third Turtle is expected to open for business by the end of the month.

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Tipsy Turtle #3 Coming to Luzerne Co.

FAIRFIELD TWP.

Plans to build the first Quaker Steak and Lube in Butler County have been put on hold.

The restaurant, first announced in 2012, had been slated to be built on a 5.3-acre lot at Joseph and Gilmore Roads near the Menards home improvement store. However, the increasing cost of construction made the project not feasible, officials told the Journal-News on Thursday.

The price for the building had been projected at $1.2 million, but estimates came in at $1.7 million, according to Jim Combs, president of Paragon Restaurant Group, the developer of the project.

The price of steel and other products went up more than I would ever have imagined, Combs said. And it was going to cost a half-million dollars more to build that building than it did our other buildings we tried to figure out how to make the economics work on it, we just couldnt do it.

Combs said it wasnt any one material that increased in price, but a range of them, from steel to signage. Costs increased anywhere from three percent to 20 percent, he said.

A report by the firm Building Design and Construction states that as of late last year, construction costs had increased for 22 consecutive months. Driving that increase were labor costs, amid concerns about the availability of skilled workers.

Combs would still like to build a restaurant there, so he wont say the project is canceled, but at least for now, it looks unlikely.

Wed love to be there. Thats the sad part about it. Maybe when things change, if the cost of materials goes down, it could revive itself, but thats not what were hearing the contractor Ive talked to (said) nothing had changed in the direction of us being able to afford the building.

Its unfortunate for the township that theyre not coming at this time, Township Trustee President Shannon Hartkemeyer said. I understand its not economically feasible for them, but I hope they reconsider. Wed love to have them.

See the article here:
Quaker Steak restaurant planned for Butler County on hold

After being vacant about two years, the Friendlys restaurant building on Glen Street in Queensbury is slated to reopen in the fall as a new restaurant offering healthful fast food.

Childhood friends Kevin Shufelt, of Queensbury, and Joe McCrudden, of Clifton Park, are going into business together to open the new restaurant, FX3 Fit Food Fast, at 682 Glen St. in Queensbury.

The pair, who grew up together in Columbia County, will combine two different career backgrounds in the new venture.

McCrudden works in marketing while Shufelt has the restaurant background. He owned the floating barge restaurant on the Hudson River in Albany called Riverfront Bar and Grill from 1996 to 2011 and has owned another floating barge eatery, The Rusty Anchor in Watervliet, since 2006.

The new restaurant was inspired by the fact that, in their travels, Shufelt and McCrudden have found it difficult to find healthful food on the go.

They are renovating the building and hope to open the new restaurant by Sept. 1. Shufelt said theyll provide updates on their website and Facebook page.

We love the location because its right on Glen Street, on the main drag across from Price Chopper, Shufelt said.

Theyre working with nutritionists and chefs to develop the new menu, which includes nutritional information. Options include burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps and fries that are baked in a special crisping oven.

Consignment celebration

The construction on Broad Street in downtown Glens Falls has created a logistical challenge for many businesses, with the portions of the road closed to car and foot traffic as sewer lines, sidewalks and roadways are upgraded.

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New restaurant planned for old Friendly's building

By Deborah Neyens, The Gazette

Mike Hintons new business venture represents a big change from what he is used to doing.

For the last two decades, Hinton has worked in the home building and remodeling industry as president of Hinton Construction. In December, he opened his first restaurant, 101 Gastropub, in Cedar Rapids.

So what led Hinton to his latest business pursuit?

One of the bigger reasons was to have something else to work on during the cold winters, he said. Its something Ive been wanting to do, a new challenge.

Hinton, who had been exploring the idea of opening a restaurant for about five years, decided to act when the First Avenue SE building that formerly housed Deanoz Sports Bar and Grill came on the market.

Everything fell into place, Hinton said. It was the right size, there is plenty of parking and the big key there is a lot of traffic by here every day.

Hintons initial focus was a familiar task remodeling. In about 12 weeks, he stripped the interior, added a new bar and woodwork, and doubled the size of the kitchen.

Hinton said he wanted his establishment to have more of a focus on food, which is why he decided on the gastropub concept. A gastropub is a cross between a pub and restaurant that serves craft beer and higher-end food and liquor.

Along with burgers and other standard pub fare, 101 Gastropubs menu features items like smoked duck and bacon truffle macaroni, while a members-only barrel club provides access to exclusive scotch and whiskey offerings.

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Ground floor: Builder seeks new challenge with Cedar Rapids restaurant

Say this for the Boston Redevelopment Authority: It knows what it wants, and it wont stop until it gets it.

What it wants is a privately-owned restaurant at the tip of Long Wharf, and for six years it has fought neighbors, preservationists, and the National Park Service to get it. The BRA has awarded a lease for Docs Long Wharf restaurant, which would seat 220 patrons and replace the little-used structure that sits next to the plaza on the wharfs tip. But opponents of the plan believe the entire end of the wharf is protected from development.

The authority sued the National Park Service on Monday, alleging the federal agency is protecting too much land at the end of the wharf, according to the Boston Business Journal.

At issue is a 1980 map showing what parts of Long Wharf are protected under the Land and Water Conservation Act. That map, discovered last year, covers more of the wharfs tip than the previous map, which was made in 1986. That change led Suffolk Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey to reverse a previous decision granting construction of the restaurant.

From The Boston Globes account of the new map:

The strange manner in which the [newly discovered map] came to light requires this court to allow the map into evidence in the interests of justice, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey wrote in voiding the restaurants state environmental permit and calling for the BRA to reapply, this time using the correct map.

But the BRA isnt so sure that newly discovered 1980 map is official or even accurate, noting it is not drawn to scale and includes features that no longer existed in 1980. According to the suit, the Park Service engaged in arbitrary and capricious decision-making and ignored its own rules when it decided to use the older map.

From the BRAs court filing:

The 1980 Sketch is not a BRA document. Moreover, an extensive and comprehensive

Search of BRA archives revealed no evidence that the 1980 Sketch was ever in the BRAs

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BRA Sues Park Service in Battle for Long Wharf Restaurant