GROTON -- Ten years after his restaurant was torn down to accommodate improvements at the intersection of Route 119 and Sandy Pond Road, property owner Joseph Wong appeared before the Planning Board with plans to get back into food service.

Wong, along with representative John Amaral and engineer Jesse Johnson, met with the Planning Board Thursday to unveil early plans for the development of Crossroads Plaza, the 788 Boston Road lot the restaurateur owns and which had been the site of the former Groton Jade Chinese restaurant.

According to Johnson, the site plan presented at the pre-submission review included a pair of buildings, the larger of which would house a new 106-seat Chinese restaurant planned by Wong.

Wong received approval from the board earlier this year for a pair of special permits originally awarded to him in 2006 and covering a more ambitious plan for the environmentally sensitive site.

At the time, board members were told there were no immediate plans to develop the 4.5-acre corner site but that Wong wanted to keep his options open in case the economy improved.

Wong first contemplated developing the site several years ago, when it became clear the state's plans to redesign the Four Corners intersection would require the demolition of his Groton Jade Chinese Restaurant.

There was talk Wong would rebuild elsewhere on the site but as time went on, plans emerged for a full-scale redevelopment of the lot that included the construction of up to five buildings.

But those early plans met resistance from town officials, including the Planning Board, which was unhappy with the number and size of the proposed buildings.

In 2006, Wong changed his design team. He brought in engineering firm GPR Inc., which proceeded to make drastic alterations to the Crossroads concept including cutting the number of proposed buildings from five to four and reducing the size of the retail space from 43,000 to 19,000 square feet.

On Thursday, Johnson told members the new plan now included only two buildings, the first of which would comprise 4,500 square feet and house a new restaurant.

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Former restaurateur returns with new plan from Groton's Four Corners

GROTON -- Ten years after his restaurant was torn down to accommodate improvements at the intersection of Route 119 and Sandy Pond Road, property owner Joseph Wong appeared before the Planning Board with plans to get back into food service.

Wong, along with representative John Amaral and engineer Jesse Johnson, met with the Planning Board Thursday to unveil early plans for the development of Crossroads Plaza, the 788 Boston Road lot the restaurateur owns and which had been the site of the former Groton Jade Chinese restaurant.

According to Johnson, the site plan presented at the pre-submission review included a pair of buildings, the larger of which would house a new 106-seat Chinese restaurant planned by Wong.

Wong received approval from the board earlier this year for a pair of special permits originally awarded to him in 2006 and covering a more ambitious plan for the environmentally sensitive site.

At the time, board members were told there were no immediate plans to develop the 4.5-acre corner site but that Wong wanted to keep his options open in case the economy improved.

Wong first contemplated developing the site several years ago, when it became clear the state's plans to redesign the Four Corners intersection would require the demolition of his Groton Jade Chinese Restaurant.

There was talk Wong would rebuild elsewhere on the site but as time went on, plans emerged for a full-scale redevelopment of the lot that included the construction of up to five buildings.

But those early plans met resistance from town officials, including the Planning Board, which was unhappy with the number and size of the proposed buildings.

In 2006, Wong changed his design team. He brought in engineering firm GPR Inc., which proceeded to make drastic alterations to the Crossroads concept including cutting the number of proposed buildings from five to four and reducing the size of the retail space from 43,000 to 19,000 square feet.

On Thursday, Johnson told members the new plan now included only two buildings, the first of which would comprise 4,500 square feet and house a new restaurant.

Read more here:
Restaurateur seeks return to Groton site

THE site of a former Hereford restaurant on the banks of the River Wye is finally set to be developed.

Riverside Construction (Hereford) Ltd will start work in the New Year on 18 new luxury apartments within a secure gated complex off Greyfriars Avenue.

The former Campions restaurant stood empty after it closed in the 1990s and was finally demolished in February 2013.

The site has been the subject of a number of planning applications over the years but plans submitted by Paul Tobin, of Riverside Construction, were approved a year ago.

Mr Tobin said that work will begin in the New Year and is expected to take around 15 to 18 months.

The complex will feature a living green wall which is designed to look aesthetically pleasing, while reducing energy use, providing insulation and minimising carbon dioxide emissions.

Hunters Estate Agents are handling sales and are accepting offers between 279,500 and 295,000.

And the agents say they have already received substantial interest, with nine of the apartments already sold.

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Flats to be built on site of former Hereford restaurant on banks of River Wye

Red O, a Rick Bayless-inspired restaurant that has a location in Newport Beach's Fashion Island center, will replace Donovan's in UTC area.

Red O, an upscale restaurant brand that showcases celebrity chef Rick Bayless authentic Mexican cuisine, is coming to San Diego where it will take the place of Donovans Prime Steakhouse.

The Irvine Co., landlord for the 825,000-square-foot Plaza office complex in the UTC area where the restaurant will be located, announced Monday its plans for the space that Donovans will vacate Jan. 3 before relocating to its new home on Prospect Street in La Jolla.

Red O and the Irvine Co., which will raze the standalone Donovans restaurant structure, expect to invest $7 million in creating the new 8,300-square-foot restaurant that will also include a 2,000-square-foot patio. The Irvine Co. will start construction in early 2015, with an opening expected in mid-2016 across from Westfield UTC.

The move marks the first San Diego location for Red O, which already operates in Los Angeles and Fashion Island in Newport Beach and will be opening in Santa Monica as well. Bayless cuisine, which is inspired by the food typically found in various regions of Mexico, most notably the Yucatan, Oaxaca and Baja California, is the centerpiece of Red Os menu.

Bayless, while not technically a co-owner or partner in the Red O restaurants, has complete control over the menu, and his team trains all the chefs at his well-known Chicago restaurants, Topolobampo and Frontera Grill. Everything on the menu must be approved and tasted by Bayless personally, said Red O Chief Operating Officer Jason Miranda.

Were taking a steak and seafood restaurant and adding a Mexican twist so people would be wrong to categorize us as a typical Mexican restaurant, Miranda explained. Therefore its upscale dining with a ticket average of $70 plus per person, the same price point as Donovans.

Obviously it caters to upscale neighborhoods, and La Jolla being an upscale neighborhood, it can support these type of cuisines because of the affluence in the area. We thought it could be a good fit.

The move to San Diego is part of an expansion plan to bring the Red O concept to other locations across the country, with one to two openings planned a year, Miranda said.

Red O in Newport Beach is one of the top performing restaurants among Fashion Islands nearly 50 dining venues, said Irvine Co. spokesman Michael Lyster. Bayless is a James Beard award winner and host of the PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time.

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Rick Bayless concept headed to UTC

VOL. 129 | NO. 246 | Thursday, December 18, 2014

Folks Folly has finished rebranding and renovating the restaurants adjacent butcher shop that opened in 1989, a spate of activity that also included renaming the shop in honor of restaurant founder Humphrey Folk.

The butcher shop adjacent to Folks Folly that opened in 1989 has been rebranded and renamed in honor of restaurant founder Humphrey Folk.

(Submitted Photo)

The shop, at 551 S. Mendenhall Road, is now Humphreys Prime Cut Shoppe. It also has launched an online store, http://www.HumphreysMemphis.com, and rolled out a new brand identity, fresh marketing materials and redesigned packaging as part of the changes.

The namesake of the shop and of Folks Folly Prime Steak House was a businessman involved in construction and real estate development whose work took him around the country and who, perhaps unsurprisingly, developed a deep appreciation of good food and fine wine.

Lauren McHugh, Folks Folly president and managing partner, said that Folk would often give gift packages of prime steaks to business associates as well as to friends. He was doing that out of the back door at Folks Folly as early as 1977, she said.

Now, were giving him the iconic front door he had always envisioned, she said.

The newly rebranded shop sells fresh, hand-cut meats and other gourmet products, and Humphreys items can be delivered in Memphis or shipped overnight anywhere in the continental U.S. Its a way, Humphreys manager Terry Martin said, that customers can take the restaurant experience with them choosing a hand-cut prime steak and other fixings for a customers home, in other words, is the next best thing to enjoying them in the Folks Folly dining room.

Hours of the newly renovated butcher shop are Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and its closed on Sundays.

See the article here:
Folks Folly Rebrands, Renames Butcher Shop

The newly reborn, $100 million Edgewater Hotel on the shores of Lake Mendota has been under construction for more than two years.

It still is.

True, the Statehouse, Edgewaters fine dining flagship restaurant, opened its doors to diners in late September. But on many levels, its just not ready for prime time.

Some of the problems are physical. During lunch last week, diners raised their voices to be heard over the installation of doors somewhere in the kitchen. A utility cart bearing the name of Edgewaters developer, Findorff, loitered next to a ladder in the bar area.

As one approaches the restaurant through the lobby, the design is sleek and modern, paying photographic homage to Madison icons like Ben Sidran, Harry Steenbock, Oscar Meyer and Mike Leckrone.

But during the giddy debut of Edgewaters ice skating rink, one of the slick interactive digital lobby displays had stopped, frozen on an error screen.

Service, too, felt under-rehearsed. During dinner more than two months after the restaurant had opened, everything was late.

One cocktail took an hour and fifteen minutes to arrive, by then watery and weak. Another didnt arrive at all as we learned later, the bar didnt have the ingredients.The whole endeavor took two and a half hours, including the hour we sat, waiting to place an entre order.

To their credit, servers were friendly, quick to suggest replacements for items no longer on offer (duck fat tater tots), and compensated for slowness with free wine.

But they couldnt answer basic questions.What comes on the Statehouse burger, for example? (Its not mayonnaise; its chili aioli.) One fumbled, apologetically, after losing our order.

Continued here:
Restaurant review: The Statehouse, Edgewater's fine dining flagship, remains a work in progress

Yannick Gagne stands in the new Musi-Cafe under construction in Lac-Megantic, Que., Wednesday, June 11, 2014. The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in July 2013 is back in business.The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public today in a new location, about 400 metres from the original site. | CP

MONTREAL - The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec in July 2013 is back in business.

The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public in Lac-Megantic on Monday, about 400 metres from the original site.

Owner Yannick Gagne said only three of the original employees have returned to work with him in his new establishment.

"One of them is my chef, a friend," he told The Canadian Press in a phone interview.

"I have a girl who worked for me for three or four years she's coming back and one of my good friends, Karine Blanchette, will handle all the artists who will come here."

At the time of the disaster, Blanchette told reporters two children were left orphans after one of her friends died in the tragedy.

Many of the 47 victims were inside the Musi-Cafe when a runaway oil-tanker train rolled off the tracks and exploded in the heart of the town.

Gagne lost three workers in the blast and about a dozen have decided not to come back to work with him.

Continue reading here:
Musi-Cafe, Restaurant At Centre Of Lac-Megantic Disaster, Reopens

Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press Published Monday, December 15, 2014 3:51PM EST Last Updated Monday, December 15, 2014 7:11PM EST

MONTREAL -- The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec in July 2013 is back in business.

The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public in Lac-Megantic on Monday, about 400 metres from the original site.

Owner Yannick Gagne said only three of the original employees have returned to work with him in his new establishment.

"One of them is my chef, a friend," he told The Canadian Press in a phone interview.

"I have a girl who worked for me for three or four years -- she's coming back -- and one of my good friends, Karine Blanchette, will handle all the artists who will come here."

At the time of the disaster, Blanchette told reporters two children were left orphans after one of her friends died in the tragedy.

Many of the 47 victims were inside the Musi-Cafe when a runaway oil-tanker train rolled off the tracks and exploded in the heart of the town.

Gagne lost three workers in the blast and about a dozen have decided not to come back to work with him.

He now has a staff of about 20, which is five more employees than before.

See the original post here:
Lac-Megantic restaurant at centre of deadly 2013 explosion reopens

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In September, Cochise Countys inflation-adjusted accommodation sales were up, while retail and restaurant and bar sales were down, compared to Septemberlastyear.

Countywide retail sales were down 9.4 percent in September, after adjusting for inflation. Retail sales countywide have been down in eight of the past 10 months in the year-over-year comparisons, following growth in seven of eight months. For the first nine months of 2014, retail sales were down 5.3 percent compared to the same periodlastyear.

At the state level, retail sales were up 5.8 percent in September. For the first nine months of the year, statewide retail sales were up 3 percent after theinflationadjustment.

Cochise Countys restaurant and bar sales were down 1.4 percent in September, after adjusting for inflation. For the first nine months of the year, however, sales were up 2 percent. Sales have been up in six of the most recent11months.

Statewide restaurant and bar sales were up 7.8 percent in September and 6.2 percent for the first nine months oftheyear.

Accommodation sales countywide were up 2.7 percent in September compared to September 2013. Accommodation sales include hotel, motel, RV Park, and other temporary lodging stays of less than 30 days. In the first nine months of 2014, countywide accommodation receipts were up0.9percent.

The countywide accommodation industry has struggled in recent years with sales down in 37 of the past 48 months. Those declines were due largely to changes in travel policy for military personnel on temporary duty to Fort Huachuca, requiring many to now be billeted on post, along with federal budget cuts that have slowed temporary duty travel to the fort. Changes in the Armys lodging policies to introduce competitive bidding have also contributed to the declineinrevenue.

Despite the long-run weakening in countywide accommodation receipts, sales have been up in seven of the past 11 months helped along by ongoing construction of the new hospital in Sierra Vista and several other large nonresidential construction projects in other areas the county. Such projects bring in workers from other areas, giving a boost totemporarylodging.

Statewide accommodation receipts were up 6.1 percent in September, after the inflation adjustment, and were up 9.9 percent for the first nine monthsof2014.

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MONEY: CARREIRA: Accommodation up, retail and restaurant and bar sales down

Mesa TV & Appliance salesman Brian Richardson has a problem: His customers cant turn left into his driveway.

Light rail construction has divided Main Street into two one-way streets, and Richardson said its making business horrible.

When a customer is travelling eastbound looking for appliances, they cannot make a left-hand turn onto my driveway here, he said. So what theyll do theyll continue on and then make a right turn and go to my competition.

A tough stretch

Mesa TV & Appliance is not the only store off Main Street hurting because of the light rail construction, which is anticipated to finish in spring 2015. The extension will add stations to Alma School Road, Country Club Drive, Center Street and Mesa Drive.

Crew members hammer and weld, and cement trucks surround the unfinished tracks with a load to pour. Long lines of cars stream through the one-way roads. The intersection on Country Club Drive and Main is sometimes closed on the weekends, making things worse, Richardson said.

La Tiendita Caf, another store near the intersection of Main Street and Country Club Drive, spends portions of its mornings vacant of customers. Owner German Pardo said he hopes the expansion of the light rail will become a boon for local businesses.

Definitely, I think it will help. Its going to be better for everybody. The problem is, in the meantime, staying alive, he said. Because I know there are some businesses that went out of business. Once youre out of business, youre out of business.

Pardo said his caf would have closed a long time ago if it didnt bill itself as the sole Colombian-style restaurant in Arizona. La Tiendita Caf was less than a year old when Valley Metro began expanding the light rail from the current final stop at Dobson Road to Mesa Street, unlike Mesa TV & Appliance, which has built a customer base over 69 years.

Pardo says hes losing $4,000 to $5,000 per month due to the construction.

Originally posted here:
Businesses buckling down for end of light rail construction