By Greg Vellner 21st Century Media News Service

A new and larger Taco Bell was to have opened last summer, replacing the one at 436 Second Street Pike that had operated there for a couple decades. But because development plans remain unfinished the reason unknown construction has been delayed.

I know there have been some conversations and meetings on it, but nothing has crossed my desk, said Ken Kline, code enforcement official, Upper Southampton Township.

The restaurant closed last December because, according to John Marsella, co-owner and franchisee, the building no longer met the standards of Taco Bell corporate owners.

Its uncertain how the Southampton location might be rebuilt, but in recent years the California-based restaurant chain has undertaken a redesign of its restaurants with upscale touches to compete more directly with restaurants like Chipotle.

A Taco Bell prototype built two years ago included exterior building changes like bright LED lighting to accent the buildings purple background, and interior changes such as bright tabletops, contemporary artwork and free WiFi.

Upper Southampton township supervisors last summer approved construction of a new restaurant at the site, and demolition of the existing building was then undertaken.

Plans so far call for a restaurant entrance from Second Street Pike, as well as a new second entry from the shopping center located behind the building.

A new and larger Taco Bell was to have opened last summer, replacing the one at 436 Second Street Pike that had operated there for a couple decades. But because development plans remain unfinished the reason unknown construction has been delayed.

I know there have been some conversations and meetings on it, but nothing has crossed my desk, said Ken Kline, code enforcement official, Upper Southampton Township.

More here:
Taco Bell plans stalled in Southampton

It wasn't just the recipes that were faddish. The 1960s were halcyon times for restaurant experiences that hold almost no appeal today, from the dine-o-mat to the drive-in diner. But one curious product of this era had true staying power: the revolving restaurant.

These spinning buildings are an institution that's enjoyed a surprisingly long lifeand a recent rebirth across cities in Asia and the Middle East. So where, and when, did it all begin?

The revolving restaurant addressed some apparently primal desire to dine at a table while moving; if you couldn't walk and chew gum, you could rotate and eat Gulf Prawns. It seems garishly and unmistakably Americanafter all, it received its clearest early outline via the fertile mind of Norman Bel Geddes, below.

But the revolving restaurant's debut actually occurred in Germany, with its first iteration appearing in 1959 in Stuttgart. Civic authorities constructing a television tower were looking for some additional means to wring use from the building, and they found it in food. They put a restaurant in the tower, and in the spirit of postwar West German economic hubris, the Stuttgart Fernsehturm would turnoffering at-table views of not merely one but every possible vista. And the model caught on.

Top: The Stuttgart Fernsehturm, AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle.

The first revolving restaurant in the U.S., La Ronde, opened in 1961 in Honolulu, atop the Ala Moana Building (it's since been lost). La Ronde was soon followed by the Space Needle, built for the 1962 Worlds Fair in Seattle, and then by a range of North American peers that are likely familiar to you: structuresand their respective restaurantslargely associated with 1960s and 1970s fairs and expositions, from the CN Tower in Toronto, the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, and the Sunsphere in Knoxville, to the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio.

Read the original post:
A Brief History of Buildings That Spin

The newly constructed Subway Restaurant on Marysvilles east side will open Nov. 7 at 1199 11th Terrace.

Construction of the building along U.S. Highway 36 is basically complete, and equipment is scheduled to arrive on Friday, a store official said. Equipment is expected to take five to six days to install.

Workers are hanging wall coverings, doing touch-up work on the paint and completing indoor electrical work this week. Parking lot lights were installed Tuesday.

Striping on the parking lot and pouring of the 11th Street extension will be done Friday.

Owner of the Subway is Rottinghaus Co., Lacrosse, Wis., which owned the Subway site in the Short Stop convenience store in Marysville that closed in 2013.

Rottinghaus has 400 restaurants in six states.

Marysvilles new 1,470-square-foot brick building features bright yellow awnings and indoor seating for 48. There are 26 parking spaces and two parking spaces for the handicapped.

The new restaurant features a drive-through window, which is new in the Subway franchise design.

A 40-foot-tall, 6x20-foot road sign will be installed next week, Opsal said.

Entrance to the building is on the east side off 11th Terrace.

See the original post:
New Subway to open

Editor's note: This is the second installment in a series tracking Jeremiah Langhorne, former chef de cuisine at the modernist, farm-to-tableMcCrady's in Charleston, S.C., as he opens his debut restaurant in Washington. You can read the first installment here.

While he was still leading the kitchen at McCrady's, Jeremiah Langhorne would make occasional trips to the District to scout locations for his debut restaurant, one of the most highly anticipated since a certain Luxury space on Capitol Hill. It didn't take long for Langhorne to find his spot.

Alex Zink, left, and Jeremiah Langhorne, got their wish: a space in Blagden Alley for their debut restaurant. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)

Within a couple visits, the chef had zeroed in on Blagden Alley, the historic neighborhood that once mixed architectural styles and social classes back in the 19th century. There was just one problem: No one in the area had a property to lease Langhorne. Instead, real estate brokers paraded him up and down the trendiest commercial corridors in Washington.

Every other area that we checked, it just didnt feel right. People were like, Oh, you guys should go down to H Street!" Langhorne recalls. "We went down to H Street and looked around, but it was like, its not what we want.

The more Langhorne and his business partner, Alex Zink, scouted locations, the more they realized how perfect Blagden was for their restaurant, a project dedicated to building a cuisine out of the flora and fauna of the Mid-Atlantic. The restaurant, like the alley, had a foothold in the past and an eye on the future.

Whether by fate or by obstinacy, the partners got their wish: On Oct. 14, Langhorne and Zink officially sealed a deal with Douglas Development to lease a Blagden Alley space behind a trio of rowhouses on Ninth Street NW. Actually, their space is still an Erector set of steel beams, located on a patch of dirt where an old brick structure once sat. Douglas is expected to complete construction and turn over an empty shell to the first-time restaurateurs by the end of November, and Langhorne hopes to open his 70-seat restaurant by late spring. He plans to call the place the Dabney.

Langhorne can effortlessly break down his reasons for holding out for Blagden, as if he were solving an algebra problem.

First of all, being on the alley is kind of paramount. Its one of the last, I feel like, historic places in the city, especially around this side of the city," he says. "No. 2 was the outdoor space. We really need to have some sort of a garden area; its kind of essential to our philosophy. And having everything on one level floor was also another huge thing for us. Just for me, its kind of the aesthetic and the feel that you get when you walk back in the alley."

The Dabney will incorporate a main bar, an outdoor courtyard, a semi-private dining space and an open kitchen with a giant wood-burning hearth. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)

Go here to see the original:
Meet Jeremiah Langhorne: The chef finds a home for the Dabney in Blagden Alley

Welcome to RestaurantConstruction.ca in Vancouver

Whether you are planning your first restaurant, a restaurant renovation or are looking for a dedicated team to locate, design and build your project we can help. Our goal at RestaurantConstruction.ca is to ensure the highest qualityconstruction and outcome. With over 25years experience of restaurant construction project management in Vancouver and restaurant construction contracting in Vancouver, Alberta andWestern Canada.Find out how the restaurantconstruction.ca restaurant construction project management team can help build your vision.

RestaurantConstruction.ca, you restaurant design / build contractor in Vancouver

Learn how we can help you all the way through the exciting process of owning and building you own restaurant. Our team of designers, trades and contractors ensure the highest result and satisfaction.

Get consulting on the location of your next restaurant completely free. Find out how by emailing or calling today.

Restaurant Construction Management

778-997-9675

Ganache Ptisseriehas openedtheir seating area beside the bakery where you can sit down and enjoy their traditional french pasties.

http://www.ganacheyaletown.com

Read the rest here:
Restaurantconstruction.ca - Restaurant Design / Build ...

BUTLER TWP. The township supervisors took action that could lead to the reconstruction of Damentis Restaurant, formerly located along state Route 309. The restaurant was destroyed by fire during the winter of 2014.

Acting on a recommendation by the townships engineering firm, RJD Engineering Inc. of Hazleton, the supervisors Tuesday night gave approval to a resolution stipulating a lot consolidation at the site, consolidating two parcels bounded by South Main Road to the west and North Hunter Highway to the east into one.

Solicitor Don Karpowich said the matter is considered a step in the process of Kevin and Helen McDonald, restaurant owners, to under take a building project.

Neither Kevin nor Helen McDonald were available for comment.

Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570 829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.

Read more:
Resolution is step toward construction project at site of Damentis Restaurant

By Mengqi Jiang | Published 10/14/14 12:45am

A restaurant specializing in the classic comfort food pairing of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup will soon be coming to downtown Carrboro.

Tom+Chee, which originated in Cincinnati, is set to make Carrboro its first restaurant location in North Carolina. Trew Quackenbush, co-founder of the restaurant chain, said it will likely open in early 2015.

Executives at Tom+Chee decided early this year to make Carrboro one of the companys next locations for expansion, said Laurie Paolicelli, director of the Chapel Hill and Orange County Visitors Bureau.

The Carrboro location will be one of 13 new restaurants the chain plans to open nationally in spring 2015, she said.

Quackenbush said that the restaurant is currently under construction at Carrboros 370 E. Main St.

Tom+Chee already has other locations near universities, including the University of Louisville and Michigan State University, he said.

Quackenbush said he thinks being close to universities attracts more business to the restaurant.

Because there is a college, many people from outside of the state or other places in the state are going to come there and see that college and see Tom+Chee, he said. There are several college towns lined up.

Tom+Chee will also open restaurants near Ohio State University and the University of Michigan around the same time it launches its Carrboro location, Quackenbush said.

More:
Grilled cheese chain Tom Chee set to open in Carrboro

Three businessmen give their views on Budget 2015.

Bar and restaurant director

Corporation Tax Our businesses, especially the restaurants, are heavily dependent on corporate business, a lot of which comes from the large multinationals. While I felt it was unlikely to change in this budget, it was good to see no change was even hinted at, especially in light of international pressure. Cork people still talk about the effect on the city when Fords and Dunlops closed I feel anything that jeopardised the likes of Apple or the pharmaceutical industries would be equally disastrous for the area.

Vat Rate We have been fortunate to be in a sector where affirmative action by the Government in dropping the Vat rate to 9% on food sales has resulted in a growth in business. In Electric, for example, we saw food sales rise by 30% this year which has had a knock-on effect on our suppliers. Our main food suppliers are quality local butchers, dairy businesses, and local vegetable suppliers who have all been able to weather the recession. Wage rates in Electric and the restaurant industry generally have gone up over the last year and we have been fortunate as we never had to put staff on shortened hours or reduced their rates. The reduction in Vat enabled us to commit to pay above minimum wage to all permanent employees.

The bar trade stands in stark contrast to this and with previous increases in Vat and excise duty our bar trade has not grown at all this year, and many of our colleagues have seen their trade contract.

The 9% Vat also applies to hotels and has helped Cork hotels remain competitive with other destinations. Cork is thriving as a tourist destination and this is in no small part due to this.

Income Tax/USC We are dependent on the disposable income in our customers pockets. While I was disappointed not to see more significant tax cuts and reliefs, it is a step in the right direction. People need stability before confidence returns and spending increases in that regards this budget has delivered.

Green shoots are beginning to turn into tangible positives like jobs and wage increases. Confidence is returning and while people are still cautious, they are willing to spend on a quality offering. We expanded into Dublin this year and would not have done so unless we felt that the economy was on an upward curve. I hope we are right!

CEO, BAM

Its encouraging that after several years of austerity budgets we seem to be turning a corner in terms of the measures introduced in Budget 2015.

Read the original post:
Budget a step in the right direction

Published: Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 2:13 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 2:13 a.m.

"Nobody is a stranger to me," said Beeman, 32, director of business development for Winter Haven's Tucker Construction. "You can be a child or a president of an organization you matter to me. I treat everybody the same."

After graduating from Florida Southern College with a bachelor's degree in communications in 2006, Beeman parlayed a summer internship with Central Florida Sports Marketing and Tourism into positions with the Central Florida Development Council, and the Haines City Economic Development Council.

Today she's the face of Tucker Construction, a 54-year-old company extending beyond Polk County. She's responsible for bringing new business to the company, working with clients on projects, and developing marketing materials.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LESSONS

Beeman, a Winter Haven native, learned the importance of networking during her short stint as temporary project manager intern at Central Florida Sports Marketing and Tourism.

After a year with the CFDC as a marketing representative, Beeman joined the HCEDC as deputy director in 2007, focusing on recruiting companies to the Haines City area. Four years later, she became the organization's president, a position she held until May 2012. She was involved in bringing such companies as Cellynne Paper Manufacturer and the international grocery store Aldi to Haines City.

Her mantra is teamwork.

"No project is done alone," she said. "You always work with numerous organizations the city, county, chambers of commerce. Everyone works together to bring that business here."

Since 2006, she's been affiliated with more than 20 business and community organizations, often sitting on the board of directors. Katie Worthington, CEO of the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, said Beeman is an effective leader.

See the original post:
Allison Beeman's Focus on Building Relationships Serves Her Well

MONTEREY >> Construction is set to begin in the conversion of a once problem-riddled nightclub into 22 luxury apartments in downtown Monterey.

In 2013, the City Council approved the conversion of the second- and third-floors of the Paseo Del Alvarado Building at Alvarado Street and Del Monte Boulevard to 22 apartments.

The building, which houses Cibo Ristorante, Taco Bell, and other businesses on the ground floor, has been home to upper-story offices and nightclubs since it was built in the 1970s as part of the city's first urban renewal push.

The building's upper floors previously housed the Hippodrome nightclub, which was shut down by state alcohol control officials after fights and reports of public drunkenness.

The apartment conversion was embraced by police, downtown business groups and the public when the council approved the change.

The combination of retail and residential uses in the building fits with the city general plan encouraging such mixes. It also dovetails with city plans to revitalize downtown by encouraging more people to live in the city center, Chip Rerig, planning chief for Monterey, said at the time.

Cibo Ristorante issued a press release Thursday saying construction will span 10 months. Part of the makeover by Paseo de Alvarado Partners and San Jose Construction will include adding outdoor seating to the restaurant.

The new apartments will be soundproofed so the restaurant's music won't disturb tenants, the statement said.

Businesses will likely remain open throughout the construction, and Cibo's statement said there will be no construction noise during the restaurant's business hours of 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

The statement said the renovations were a "multi-million dollar" project that includes a "full exterior face-lift."

Read this article:
Construction starting on 22 new luxury apartments in Monterey