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Construction work proceeds at the Browns Socialhouse location on Queens Avenue Thursday. The restaurant/pub, which was to open last October, then in December, has been set back by construction delays due to weather, having an exterior sign damaged during work, an outdoor heater stolen and two diesel-fuelled heaters overturned.

Brandonites looking to grab a pint at Browns Socialhouse will have to wait until the spring.

Due to construction delays, the opening date of the new restaurant/pub is now slated for the end of March.

"Weve lost a few weeks just with some construction and the weather didnt help when it got really cold there for a while," said Darcy Paton, general manager of Browns Socialhouse Brandon.

Behind the scenes, the local management team has been busy training and bringing on new employees.

"Right now were in the process of getting all the aspects of the business completed," Paton said. "Its looking really good inside."

The Brandon location at 1847 Queens Ave., where the former A&W restaurant was located, is a flurry of activity these days.

"Theres probably about 35 people working in here right now," Paton said on Thursday. Crews were working on the kitchen, the exterior glasswork, flooring, handrails, etc.

The construction site had some issues at the start of the year, including the theft of a rented outdoor construction heater valued at $7,000. Also, damage was caused after suspects entered the fenced site and overturned two large diesel-fuelled heaters.

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Browns Socialhouse opening pushed back to end of March

POLSON A new $11.4 million Red Lion hotel is under construction in Polson, and will have an attached conference center and a MacKenzie River Pizza Co. grill and pub.

The development was financed with help from new market tax credits provided by the Montana Community Development Corp., headquartered in Missoula.

This project will create 42 new full-time jobs in Polson, said Melanie Calahan, director of marketing for the MTCDC. In addition to jobs, the conference space and rooms give Polson more resources for attracting regional events, which will bring more economic activity into the community.

The three-story, 80-room hotel is the fourth such project that the nonprofit organization has helped finance in western Montana, along with the Mission Valley Aquatics Center, which is just down the street from the new Red Lion, and both the Poverello Center and the Garlington, Lohn & Robinson office building in Missoula.

The total amount of new market tax credits provided for those four projects is $37.2 million, which is a sizable portion of the $185 million that the community development corporation has provided for projects in Montana since 2009.

All of these projects make an impact on low-income people and/or places, whether thats providing jobs or emergency homeless shelter, Calahan said. The NMTC program also redirects mainstream financial support to Montana (and Idaho) that wouldnt have made it here otherwise, and it leads to significant change that wouldnt have happened otherwise.

Dave Glaser, president of the MTCDC, said the developers of the new hotel/restaurant in Polson approached him about a year ago.

New market tax credits provide a subsidy to projects that are in low-income areas to provide jobs and economic vitality, he said. Sitting down with the developers, we learned that Polson in particular is trying to build up their year-round tourist visitation. A stand-alone hotel by itself isnt enough to make that attractive, and by putting in a restaurant and conference center it achieves those goals.

Polson now has received more new markets tax credit from MTCDC than any other small town in Montana and Idaho.

Rick Orizotti, who is developing the hotel along with Herb Leuprecht, said that the new hotel is expected to be completed in June.

Excerpt from:
$11.4M hotel, restaurant under construction in Polson

Photo by Eddie Maloney. [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia CommonsThe Proud Bird restaurant, the once-endangered aviation-themed eatery east of Los Angeles International Airport, secured a new 20-year lease with the airport Thursday that calls for $5 million in building improvements that will require two years of construction at the site.

The city Airport Commission approved the lease for the restaurant. The eatery has a collection of historic aircraft outside, and hundreds of aerospace photos inside the building at 11022 Aviation Blvd.

Under the terms of the lease, restaurant owner Runway Two-Five Corp. is required to make at least $5 million in building improvements, including replacing the roof and bringing the structure up to code. The owners will also add displays on the Tuskegee Airmen and other historical exhibits.

According to Los Angeles World Airports, the owners plan to invest nearly $5.9 million in the property, including the roof replacement, with the work being done during the first two years of the lease which is effective Feb. 1. The restaurant is expected to be closed during the construction, according to LAWA.

During that first two years, the company will pay $10,000 a month in rent, with the cost rising to $20,145 per month in year three, plus a $5,000 monthly building fee beginning in the fourth year.

Restaurant owner John Tallichet said in 2013 the restaurant was in danger of closing because he was unable to reach terms on a long-term lease with LAWA. He said initial proposals called for the rent to be increased from $200,000 a year to $500,000.

The company was given a temporary lease extension in December 2013, but that extension was set to expire at the end of January.

The original lease for the property was given to Runway Two-Five Corp. in 1965.

City News Service

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Proud Bird restaurant near LAX plans $5M upgrade, signs 20-year lease

A company that operates 11 establishments in the city won Chicago Park District approval Wednesday for a restaurant that will sit at the south end of Maggie Daley Park.

The company that won the bid, Four Corners Tavern Group, will also run a kiosk near the skating ribbon on the north side of the park.

Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly said the kiosk will be well-received, noting that the second-most requested item at the ribbon has been hot chocolate.

"Not only does it make good business sense," Kelly said, "We have to do it."

The restaurant group, which employs about 600 people, was the largest company out of three that made a bid, parks officials said at the meeting.

Four Corners will pay $1.1 million to build the restaurant, officials said. Preliminary renderings of the building's design were also presented at the meeting. The restaurant will feature glass walls and a grass-covered roof, similar to the feel of the field house north of the skating ribbon, said Rob Rejman, director of planning and construction for the Park District.

The company will also pay for all utilities and waste removal and $75,000 in rent per year, and 5 to 10 percent of its gross profits will go to the Park District.

"As they make more money, we make more money," said Steve Lux, Park District chief financial officer.

The commissioners approved a 10-year agreement with the option to terminate at any time. The Park District can renew the agreement five more times for one year each time. After that, the restaurant will be rebid, Lux said.

Rejman said public meetings regarding the design will be held at a yet-to-be-determined date.

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Company chosen to run Maggie Daley Park restaurant, kiosk

Vu Tran, owner of the popular Janes Seafood and Chinese Restaurant in New Iberia, walked around the rebuilt restaurant Tuesday with a smile on his face. The day hes been waiting for was almost near.

Ten months ago Tran and his family lost their restaurant to a fire. Reportedly, the only thing left standing after the blaze was the hostess station.

After almost $400,000 in construction, the restaurant is close to reopening.

The community has been a great help. They are anxiously waiting for the opening. Theyve been following our updates and theyre excited to have us back, said Tran as he walked around the restaurants construction site.

Its kind of nerve racking. I know its going to be crazy once we open, Tran said.

Tran said he was encouraged after the fire and planned on building the restaurant back bigger and better. The restaurant is certainly bigger with a 2,300-square-foot increase from its original size of 4,000 square feet, according to Tran.

Janes Seafood also will offer a private dining room and a full-scale oyster bar. Instead of just beer, Tran said customers will have a choice of mixed drinks as well.

We will serve oysters raw and charbroiled. Were also adding a grill so you can have grilled items, Tran said. I think the bar is going to be something different. I think people are really going to enjoy it.

Tran said the restaurant spent close to $100,000 on inventory, putting the total reconstruction process at close to a half million dollars.

Paul Migues with Migues Electrical said the restaurant is almost up and running with a few minor steps to go.

Excerpt from:
Janes to reopen a year after fire

MASON CITY | The building that housed the Clarion Inn will be torn down in mid-February to make room for a new hotel, restaurant and condominium project.

Les Kinseth, president of Kinseth Hospitality Cos., said construction of the new Hampton Inn & Suites will begin in April, weather permitting.

On Tuesday, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a change of zoning from Z2 (sub-urban) to Z4 (multi-use) to accommodate the development of the condominium part of the project.

Kinseth said crews are now working to abate asbestos on the property, a routine function when buildings are being torn down and others are to be constructed on the same property.

The commission is expected to receive a site plan at its February meeting.

Part of the discussion Tuesday centered on the traffic flow on the frontage road at Briarstone Drive. Barb Schultz, who lives in the area, said vehicles are often stacked up at the intersection and it is likely to be worse when the Kinseth project is completed.

John Groninga, commission chairman, said, "Legend has it that the intersection was designed by the City Council and it certainly has that look to it. The accident rate is considerably low. The frustration rate is incredibly high."

Commissioner Gary Christiansen agreed.

"As we move forward, that needs to be addressed," he said.

Plans for the new hotel, restaurant and condominium project were announced in April 2014.

The rest is here:
Construction of new hotel to begin in April

Streetcar construction in downtown Kansas City is hurting some businesses by making it tough for customers to get to restaurants and shops.

Anton Kotar said construction crews opened up the street in front of his burger restaurant on Wednesday. He said his lunch business is half of what he hopes for.

"My optimism comes from the fact that my background is in construction," Kotar said.

He said he doesn't panic if he comes in to work and finds natural gas service stopped for a bit.

Other businesses up and down the two-mile streetcar line have faced similar problems. Some said they were not prepared for the amount of road construction and the difficulties facing their customers.

Main Street in downtown Kansas City remains open in both directions, but it's peppered with orange cones. Navigating through the area where construction is going on can be a challenge.

"It's hard to say we'll have minimum disruption when we have maximum damage," Kotar said. "The water and sewer lines are pretty beat up in this town."

Downtown and the streetcar planners are trying to support the businesses with promotions. Anton's Burgers was featured as the gathering spot for the weekly Lunch Bunch promotion. Kansas City Mayor Sly James sent a tweet encouraging people to eat there.

Next week, a different business along the streetcar construction zone will get the spotlight.

Streetcar construction is scheduled to be finished in September.

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Construction frustrates businesses along streetcar route

POLSON A new $11.4 million Red Lion hotel is under construction in Polson, and will have an attached conference center and a MacKenzie River Pizza Co. grill and pub.

The development was financed with help from new market tax credits provided by the Montana Community Development Corp., headquartered in Missoula.

This project will create 42 new full-time jobs in Polson, said Melanie Calahan, director of marketing for the MTCDC. In addition to jobs, the conference space and rooms give Polson more resources for attracting regional events, which will bring more economic activity into the community.

The three-story, 80-room hotel is the fourth such project that the nonprofit organization has helped finance in western Montana, along with the Mission Valley Aquatics Center, which is just down the street from the new Red Lion, and both the Poverello Center and the Garlington, Lohn & Robinson office building in Missoula.

The total amount of new market tax credits provided for those four projects is $37.2 million, which is a sizable portion of the $185 million that the community development corporation has provided for projects in Montana since 2009.

All of these projects make an impact on low-income people and/or places, whether thats providing jobs or emergency homeless shelter, Calahan said. The NMTC program also redirects mainstream financial support to Montana (and Idaho) that wouldnt have made it here otherwise, and it leads to significant change that wouldnt have happened otherwise.

Dave Glaser, president of the MTCDC, said the developers of the new hotel/restaurant in Polson approached him about a year ago.

New market tax credits provide a subsidy to projects that are in low-income areas to provide jobs and economic vitality, he said. Sitting down with the developers, we learned that Polson in particular is trying to build up their year-round tourist visitation. A stand-alone hotel by itself isnt enough to make that attractive, and by putting in a restaurant and conference center it achieves those goals.

Polson now has received more new markets tax credit from MTCDC than any other small town in Montana and Idaho.

Rick Orizotti, who is developing the hotel along with Herb Leuprecht, said that the new hotel is expected to be completed in June.

See the rest here:
$11.4M hotel, restaurant under construction in Polson, with help from tax credits

Berwicks, a restaurant and bar that had been touted as a symbol of downtown Hendersons renaissance, has closed after just four months in business.

But a pizzeria has already signed a deal to move into the same space on Water Street in a few months, offering a bar, live music and karaoke.

City officials and business owners hope the Berwicks closure is just a hiccup. But it suggests the road to a more vital downtown wont be an easy one.

Billed as an urban lounge, Berwicks opened in August and closed just before the new year, laying off about 10 employees. A small handwritten Closed sign was taped to the door.

Owner Jimmy Wike said the business was losing money, but he wouldnt say how much. A self-described absentee owner who lives in Mesquite, he said that distance made it hard to oversee Berwicks. More importantly, he said, he didnt get tens of thousands of dollars in expected redevelopment aid from the city.

When word of the closure spread, building owners Tim Brooks and Doug Beavers immediately started getting calls from potential tenants.

That alone, they said, is a good sign for downtown.

Its a great opportunity right now to get in on the ground floor, said Mike Zakis, who will open Sunset Pizzeria in the spot vacated by Berwicks. He hopes to open around April.

Zakis, who already has two locations elsewhere in Henderson, said hes confident he will be able to draw people downtown with good food and entertainment.

There is money and people in this town, Zakis said. Its just that they need a new place to go.

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Henderson restaurant closure suggests redevelopment will take time

DRACUT -- The owners of a 17-year pizzeria and another restaurant not yet opened experienced very different results in their quests to be granted liquor licenses by the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.

The board voted 5-0 to grant a request by Primo Pizza owner Christos Kotsironis to upgrade his existing liquor license, permitting him to sell beer and wine at his 164 Parker Ave. business, to "all alcoholic beverages."

Kotsironis' request was granted by the board despite public hearing-input from two neighbors who objected to hard liquor being served to restaurant patrons in what is an otherwise predominately residential neighborhood.

In the hearing preceding the one for Primo's, selectmen voted 3-2 to deny a request by Hometown Dracut Inc.'s owner, Keith Alkourabi, for an all-alcoholic beverages license for a 60-seat restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, that Alkourabi plans to open next month at 1084 Lakeview Ave.

Selectmen Tony Archinski, Joe DiRocco and Chairwoman Cathy Richardson voted "no" on Alkourabi's request.

Attorney Gil Nason, representing Hometown Dracut Inc., told selectmen that securing the liquor license was an important element of Alkourabi's plan to finish building and open his restaurant, to be named "24," by Valentine's Day.

However, Selectmen Tony Archinski, speaking for the board majority, instructed Nason and Alkourabi to return with their licensing request after construction has been completed, and the restaurant has actually opened its doors to customers.

"Nothing the board has said in opposition to granting this liquor license made any sense at all," said Selectman Tami Dristiliaris, who cast one of the board's two votes in the minority, along with Selectman Alison Hughes, in favor of granting Alkourabi a liquor license.

In other business at Tuesday's meeting, Fire Chief David Brouillette presented selectmen with some of his department's key statistical totals from the year just concluded, including reporting that the Dracut firefighters responded to 3,394 incidents, conducted 1,015 inspections and issued 223 certificates-of-compliance and 150 permits in 2014.

Follow John Collins on Twitter and Tout at johncolowellsun.

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Dracut pizzeria gets liquor license; other restaurant's bid denied