It seems like you cant drive anywhere without running into summer construction.

And as frustrating and annoying as the delays the construction creates, its an even bigger hardship on some of your favorite businesses.

At Blue Bonnet Mexican restaurant, its whats not on the menu thats feeding frustration

There`s a lot of noise, lots of dust, lots of pollution, says the restaurants owner, Gary Mobell, about the construction project that is running behind schedule for completion.

The project started in the early part of February and the project was only supposed go only 40 days. We are well past that 40 day mark, he says.

This ongoing construction is going into its fifth month.

And when its over, there will be a new storm sewer and gas lines running beneath South Broadway.

But its progress at a price.

We are about 25 percent off from where we should be at in the summer, says Mobell about their revenues.

His family has owned the restaurant for more than 46 years.

The rest is here:
Summer construction frustrates businesses

Fans of the "SpongeBob SquarePants" cartoon may dream of joining the happy sponge in an underwater adventure, but a new restaurant opening in the West Bank may soon give people a real taste of Bikini Bottom City.

Krusty Krab, an eatery modeled after the restaurant where SpongeBob and his neighbor Squidward Tentacles work on the show, is slated to open in Ramallah, reported the International Business Times.

The exterior of the building is a faithful representation of its cartoon model, complete with a lobster trap-shaped structure with nets on the windows and five flags strewn across the roof. Mr. Krabs even makes an appearance outside the building.

A Facebook page for the restaurant shows it's still under construction and currently looking for employees. No word on what the restaurant will serve yet, but we're betting on burgers and a Krabby patty.

If SpongeBob fans are really lucky, a Chum Bucket won't open right across the street.

Like quirky food news? Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_

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'SpongeBob SquarePants' Krusty Krab restaurant to open in West Bank

Dave Sparks just completed one of the more challenging restaurant construction projects he has encountered in his years as a local McDonald's franchisee.

It's not because the design of the new south-side Mishawaka McDonald's is radically different from any other area restaurant.

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New McDonald's opens

NASHUA Springtime fears that the citys ongoing sidewalk project would shut down outdoor seating at a landmark downtown restaurant has given way to the sight of summer diners sitting alongside orange work cones and heavy equipment.

Once vocal critics of the citys sidewalk plans, Marthas Exchange owners Chris and Bill Fokas, had little to say about the construction going on outside their restaurant this week. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

NASHUA Springtime fears that the citys ongoing sidewalk project would shut down outdoor seating at a landmark downtown restaurant has given way to the sight of summer diners sitting alongside orange work cones and heavy equipment.

Once vocal critics of the citys sidewalk plans, Marthas Exchange owners Chris and Bill Fokas, had little to say about the construction going on outside their restaurant this week.

The signature wrought-iron tables were out on the sidewalk, where people could sit, eat and relax. A few feet away, the citys public works crews had torn up much of the old brick sidewalk and laid fresh blacktop. But closest to Marthas the old brick remained.

Further down Main Street, the citys new signature design of concrete and brick is being laid.

Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said shes worked with all Main Street businesses regarding the city sidewalk project, but has not altered the projects construction schedule to accommodate any specific request.

Yet the Fokas brothers had appealed to the mayor and the Board of Public Works in April to change when the sidewalk construction reaches their doorstep. They were hoping to reduce the constructions impact on summer business. Marthas customers and employees had also joined the owners to advocate for a schedule change.

Although Lozeau didnt skip over Marthas based on the appeal, they reached a compromise.

We didnt accommodate everything, we struck a balance, said Lozeau.

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Construction moves on to Marthas

Dave Sparks just completed one of the more challenging restaurant construction projects he has encountered in his years as a local McDonald's franchisee.

It's not because the design of the new south-side Mishawaka McDonald's is radically different from any other area restaurant.

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Subscribe to the South Bend Tribune for only $20 per 4 weeks.

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Original post:
New McDonald's opens in Mishawaka

By B.A. Morelli, The Gazette

Switching from residential to industrial construction may not seem like much of a change.

Construction is construction, right? Not exactly.

The concepts are similar but the techniques are all different, said Craig Pickens, a carpenter working on the new University of Iowa Childrens Hospital in Iowa City.

Theres a learning curve, he said, but after starting in February cleaning plywood on the ground level, hes climbed the ranks and now is laying the top deck.

The promise of better pay and better hours caught Pickenss attention, and hes seized the opportunity by proving himself in an industry hungry for dependable workers.

I started in the basement, now I am working up here, Pickens said from seventh-floor deck of the new hospital on Friday.

The childrens hospital is a prime example of the worker shortage challenging construction projects in Eastern Iowa right now. They face intense competition for workers and cant seem to recruit enough.

The childrens hospital project is only staffed at about a quarter of the 400 people a day that eventually will be on site when construction hits full steam. Staffing already has been difficult.

Its just a bigger job than most people have seen around here, said Terry Theodore, an area superintendent for Gilbane Building Co., which is the project manager for the $357 million, 14-story childrens hospital and parking ramp project.

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Demand for construction workers in the Corridor is surging with competition

Antojitos El Catracho 7340 McGraw St., Detroit 313-399-3135 Handicap accessible Dinners: $6-$12.49 Antojitos: $2-$5.49 Breakfast: $7-$8 Open 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday

Why choose a Central American restaurant over a Mexican one? (Assuming, in both cases, that youre going for the real thing rather than an Americanized version. Actually, I havent yet met an Americanized Central American restaurant. In Detroit, at least, theyre all real-deal, serve-the-neighborhood places.)

Fried plantains would be reason enough. But enormous sopas with hand-made tortillas, crisp carne asada, tamales done right, and horchata are also plenty of motivation, as is your perpetual desire to broaden your horizons.

I say this as a person whos lived in Central America for months at a time, so I admit to the taste of second home bias.

El Catracho means The Honduran. Ignore the antojitos (appetizers) part of the name; youll get giant full-course meals here. Its decorated with a mural of a campesino digging rocks out of a field, a reminder of why so many felt they needed to leave and come here.

A brief lesson on plantains, which are the 10th-most important staple food in the world: The different names in different countries for varying degrees of ripeness and preparation methods are dizzying, but at El Catracho you need remember only three. Tajadas are green plantains sliced and then fried. Tostones are fried slices, pounded thinner with a wooden tostonera, and then fried again. Neither is sweet, as the fruit has not yet ripened, and though theyre a ubiquitous side dish in Honduras, I find them tasting mostly like generic fried. Garlic cream is offered on the side, in one version. Platanos maduros, on the other hand, are super-sweet, a traditional breakfast dish, though you might use them as dessert. Served with black beans and crema, theres nothing like them.

Pupusas (typically Salvadoran) come stuffed with various combos of cheese, beans, and chicharron. We got ours with loroco (a vine flower ) but found the whole (large) thing pretty mild. Like many dishes here, its served with a big heap of shredded cabbage sometimes with a sprinkle of powdered Parmesan on top!

Better was a pastelito, the Honduran pasty, because whats not to like about crisp, fried dough encasing meat? And better still was the $2 tamal, chicken or pork the moist, square kind steamed in a plantain leaf, not the dry cylindrical kind thats more common around here. Try a tamal this way and you wont go back.

New to me was the baleada, a street food, which our waitress described as like a burrito but just folded over. Here its pretty bland and contains scrambled eggs, beans, sour cream, and cheese in a flour tortilla. Hot sauce would improve it.

Those for whom the best accolade for meat is tender should not try Central American carne asada. Probably the steers are stringy, and being cooked within an inch of its life bumps up the chewiness factor. Here its a thicker cut than Ive had in Guatemalan restaurants, with a bit of a crust, and, in my opinion, deliciously tasty. Its served with rice and beans, of course; be sure to ask for whole beans.

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Restaurant Review: Antojitos El Catracho

Photo/Ann Genader

McDonalds Restaurant at 41 Marshall Hill Road in West Milford (circa 1981) will be replaced by a modern McDonalds eatery.

Preliminary and final site plan approval - needed for the new restaurant construction proposed by the McDonalds Corporation at 41 Marshall Hill Road - was expected to come from the West Milford Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) on Tuesday, Feb. 19. A necessary use variance and associated bulk variance approvals for the project were also expected to receive board sanction.

The proposal being considered includes installation of a freestanding sign and other improvements that are needed because there were other pre-existing nonconforming site conditions associated with the application, ZBA meeting agenda notes said.

The agenda reported that the application was carried from the Dec. 18, 2012 meeting. Revised plans were received in response to board questions, continued the agenda note.

It said the application was carried from Jan. 22 and the board professionals were given the opportunity to have all conditions ready (for approval) ahead of Tuesdays meeting.

"This will make it possible for the application to be approved and memorialized at the same time at the Feb. 19, meeting," the agenda noted.

McDonalds professionals said at earlier ZBA meetings that the present building will be replaced by a new restaurant with the new updated design that other McDonalds newer and refurbished restaurants have. They said over time the present 1981 building has become aged and outdated.

The company professionals said McDonalds restaurants have a softer tone now in comparison to the original design. Since most of the business is through the drive-through section the seating inside is being decreased from 103 to 54 seats.

ZBA Attorney Stephen Glatt said at the Jan. 22 meeting that ZBA professionals wanted to take a final look at the application before a final vote was taken. All indications were that otherwise the approvals would be forthcoming.

The rest is here:
OK for McDonalds redo in West Milford expected

by KREM.com, David Nutt, Andrew Casler and Simon Wheeler, The Ithaca (N.Y.) Journal

KREM.com

Posted on June 24, 2014 at 5:45 AM

ITHACA, New York. A truck driver from Spokanecrashed into a New York restaurant Friday, killing a bartender andinjuring at least seven others.

Witnesses estimated the truck was traveling as fast as 60 mph when it crashed into the building in Downtown Ithaca.

The CBS affiliate in Syracuse reported the tractor trailer hauler was owned by Auto Star Transport in Spokane. The 37-year-old driver was ticketed for having an inadequate braking system and violating length restrictions, according to CBSNews.

The driver of the truck sustained superficial injuries and was being questioned by Ithaca police. The cause of the crash was being investigated Friday evening.

Lindsey Pou, 26, a pastry chef at a nearby restaurant, said she was sitting outside when she saw the tractor-trailer barreling down the street and smash into the building. She said the driver did not sound the horn, and she did not hear any screeching brakes.

There were a number of diners sitting in Simeon's restaurant, and more employees were arriving for the evening shift when the accident occurred, she said.

A group of construction workers were standing in the truck's path and had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit, according to Pou.

Original post:
Spokane truck driver involved in fatal NY restaurant crash

TAMPA Now that the Epicurean Hotel is open and the Elevage restaurant, Edge Social Drinkery and Chocolate Pi patisserie are serving customers, the owner of Berns Steak House announced Monday that sister restaurant SideBerns will get a major makeover.

David Laxer said the changes at the 18-year-old South Howard Avenue restaurant were long planned following Berns Fine Wine & Spirits relocation south to the Epicurean from SideBerns. With all the bottles moved and the space empty, renovating the modern fusion restaurant is now possible.

SideBerns will close on June 24 so that construction can begin at the award-winning 150-seat restaurant, Laxer said. No reopening date has been set, but it is expected service will restart near the end of the year.

For the past five years, the restaurant has closed for 10 days each summer for maintenance and decor improvements. Laxer said this years renovation plans are too extensive to complete in such a short amount of time.

Its a bigger endeavor than tearing up some floor, putting paint on the walls and moving furniture around, Laxer said. We just cant continue to have that dead space in the former wine store. Now its about figuring out the nuts and bolts of what to do.

In 2012, Berns joined with Mainsail Lodging & Development and Marriott to build the food-themed Epicurean Hotel across from the steak house on South Howard Avenue.

The land for the hotel, as well as the parking garage behind the resort, was provided by Laxer. Mainsail built the hotel and oversees its operations. Marriott provides the reservations and booking system.

Staff from Berns and SideBerns operate the Elevage restaurant, Chocolate Pi bakery and the Edge rooftop bar, as well as in-room and spa food and beverage hospitality. The restaurant also provides food for catering events in the ballroom as well as private functions inside the Epicureans Culinary Theater.

It takes time to do something right and we want to do it right, Berns spokeswoman Brooke Palmer said of the renovation. We want to bring SideBerns to the level of the hotel and Elevage.

In 1996, SideBerns started as three separate buildings, including the wine shop, the restaurant and a warehouse. As the restaurant grew from a dessert and wine space into a full-fledged restaurant under former chef Jeannie Pierola, the land between the wine shop and dining room was enclosed as The Brick Room to accommodate large groups and functions.

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SideBernand#8217;s to close during renovation