Crews will break ground later this week to begin the construction of Pasghettis, an Italian restaurant set to open in September next to the Starlite Theatre on 76 County Boulevard.

Nolan Fogle, who owns several other restaurants in Branson, said the idea was spawned between him and his family.

We just all kind of started bouncing ideas off of each other, just like we did with the (Great American Steak &) Chicken House, Fogle said. Theres really not anything like it in the world with the way things will be on the inside and the outside.

Fogle said ground will be broken this week for the $4 million project. The 15,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant features unique designs inside and out, Fogle said.

A 15-foot tall meatball with a 50-foot fork sticking out of the top will sit in front of the building. Noodles will also be scattered in front of the building for children to play on, Fogle said.

Weve been working very closely with the promenade people, the people with the revival project for (76 Country Boulevard), he said. (They) have been incredible to work with from the perspective of being able to tie this in with what theyre doing along (76 Country Boulevard) and make it all kind of come together.

All the ideas we have for this restaurant and the ideas and vision they have for (76 Country Boulevard), I think were going to fit in just perfect.

In the spirit of collaborating with businesses owners in the revitalization of 76 Country Boulevard, the city of Branson has agreed to weave the sidewalk through the giant meatball, Fogle said.

The inside will feature two different themes, Fogle said. The top level will be a quiet, more romantic setting with the feeling of roof-top dining, he said. The lower level, more of a family setting, will feature scenes from the 1920s.

When you go inside, its going to be kind of like youre walking down a little Italian street in the 1920s, Fogle said. Itll be a combination a little of New York, a little San Francisco, and a little Chicago in the 1920s.

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Breaking ground for new business

Bruno Mars album sales skyrocket post Super Bowl Bruno Mars album sales skyrocket post Super Bowl

Updated: Tuesday, February 4 2014 7:00 PM EST2014-02-05 00:00:22 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, February 4 2014 6:59 PM EST2014-02-04 23:59:07 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, February 4 2014 6:22 PM EST2014-02-04 23:22:18 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, February 4 2014 6:20 PM EST2014-02-04 23:20:12 GMT

Taylor Mill will have three Cincinnati restaurant icons under one roof: Skyline Chili, LaRosa's Pizzeria and Graeter's ice cream.

Gary Holland, a principal of the Holland Rosen Group, announced Monday that Graeter's signed a lease for 2,100-square-feet on the first floor of a three-story building. The restaurants will be part of the Districts of Taylor Mill, a multimillion-dollar commercial development at the city's northern edge.

"We now have the final jewel in the Triple Crown of Cincinnati favorites," Holland said.

Officials broke ground on the project in Sept. 2013. HGC Construction of Cincinnati began digging the foundation for the mixed-use building last week.

The Taylor Mill Graeter's will be the third Northern Kentucky location and its 17th in Greater Cincinnati, according to the company's website.

Link:
Cincinnati restaurant icons headed to Taylor Mill

The last 10 years for Tom Beaman have been tough. He owns California Rollin, a sushi restaurant at the Port of Rochester.

Beaman said his business has been hit with another hurdle. Construction has started on the Marina Project, causing Beaman and his customers a lot of concern.

"We've been getting a lot of emails about the front door being locked and no signage about the door. For the last 10 years customers have been acclimated to getting in one way. Now customers have to find another entrance in the building," said Beaman.

Construction started in November of 2013. The first phase is expected to be complete by spring of 2015. It includes a deep-draft marina that will accommodate 85 boat slips.

The project is scary. Any time you bring construction to a place, it hurts business, said Beaman.

The construction has already affected another restaurant at the Port of Rochester. Pier 45 will not open this summer and will not renew its lease with the city.

Beaman said California Rollin is staying put, hoping the end result will be well worth the trouble.

The numbers are down and hopefully the community will support us through the tough times again, continued Beaman.

The tough times could last longer than expected. The Marina Project is a month behind schedule.

"They're a little behind because of the weather, but they're hoping they'll catch up, said Mark Gregor. Gregor oversees the Marina Project for the city.

Continue reading here:
Construction Affects Port of Rochester Businesses

Pier 45 at the Port of Rochester will not re-open, and the city instead will cancel the lease for the club and restaurant early.

From the beginning, the upscale city-backed restaurant was meant to be an experiment of sorts, to determine whether a restaurant was viable, build a market and possibly sell the business to a private enterprise.

I just felt with the construction happening down there and everything else, that it was just too much to take on, said Joe Floreano, executive director for the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, which the city hired to operate the restaurant.

The city broke ground in November on the first phase of construction, which will create an 85-slip deep-draft marina basin just west of the Terminal Building. The marina should open in 2015. As that is wrapping up, work could be getting underway on the first development parcel along Lake Avenue high-density, preferably owner-occupied housing, possibly a hotel and a mix of retail and office space.

Public investment, to be a mix of federal, state and city funds, is set at $20 million. Private investment should drive the project going forward, with a possible marina expansion to 157 slips and a total construction filling out what today is an expansive parking lot with between 280 and 430 housing units.

During the construction, lunch no longer made sense: The main customers were seniors who would have too far to walk. There would no longer be valet parking. Floreano also cited increased competition from Crescent Beach and restaurants at The Mall at Greece Ridge.

We cant handle the construction. We cant control the weather and, when everything is said and done, it was a weather-related restaurant, he said. But can a restaurant work? He said yes. I think it could, and maybe our concept wasnt right. Somebody else might have a better idea.

The city-owned terminal runs an annual deficit of more than $370,000. That does not include the nearly $80,000 loss anticipated this budget year at Pier 45.

(Page 2 of 2)

Other leases at the building are not affected, according to the city, with California Rollin expected to remain open all winter and others to open in the spring. The first report on Pier 45s closing came from WHAM (Channel 13), which also stated that other leases were not being renewed.

The rest is here:
City pulls the plug on Pier 45

Updated: Thursday, January 30 2014, 07:08 PM EST

byPatrice Walsh

Rochester, N.Y. -- Its a popular place in the summer time, but Pier 45 served its final meal in September.

The operator of the restaurant in the Ferry Terminal said he has ended his contract with the city and will no longer run the restaurant.

Joe Floreano is Executive Director of the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Floreano said he has enjoyed running the restaurant for the past five years but said it became too challenging to keep it going.

He said construction of the 17 million dollar marina project, closed the front entrance to the ferry terminal and took away valet parking for the restaurant. He said this makes it hard for customers to find their way into the restaurant. He also said competition from other restaurants was just too difficult. That marina project is in its first phase. It includes not only a public marina, but also a promenade, and eventually condominiums, restaurants and possibly a hotel. The first 85 marina slips are expected to open next spring.

Floreano told 13 WHAM News: It just wasnt worthwhile to open it for the season.

Floreano said he is proud of the restaurant, which has won many top honors, and will miss interacting with customers there, but will focus on running the Convention Center. He doesnt know what will happen with the ferry terminal or if the city will bring in someone else to operate the restaurant.

This isnt the only big change at the Port of Rochester. Other businesses at the port said they have heard their leases will not be renewed.

Tom Beaman said he is looking at other options and may re-locate his California Rollin sushi restaurant. It is one of the original businesses in the terminal and has survived many ups and downs over the years. Beaman could have bailed when the ferry sailed out of Rochester, but he said devoted customers kept him in business. He also held sushi classes to help pay his rent when business was down.

Read the original:
Pier 45 restaurant will not open for the season

Updated: Thursday, January 30 2014, 07:08 PM EST

byPatrice Walsh

Rochester, N.Y. -- Its a popular place in the summer time, but Pier 45 served its final meal in September.

The operator of the restaurant in the Ferry Terminal said he has ended his contract with the city and will no longer run the restaurant.

Joe Floreano is Executive Director of the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Floreano said he has enjoyed running the restaurant for the past five years but said it became too challenging to keep it going.

He said construction of the 17 million dollar marina project, closed the front entrance to the ferry terminal and took away valet parking for the restaurant. He said this makes it hard for customers to find their way into the restaurant. He also said competition from other restaurants was just too difficult. That marina project is in its first phase. It includes not only a public marina, but also a promenade, and eventually condominiums, restaurants and possibly a hotel. The first 85 marina slips are expected to open next spring.

Floreano told 13 WHAM News: It just wasnt worthwhile to open it for the season.

Floreano said he is proud of the restaurant, which has won many top honors, and will miss interacting with customers there, but will focus on running the Convention Center. He doesnt know what will happen with the ferry terminal or if the city will bring in someone else to operate the restaurant.

This isnt the only big change at the Port of Rochester. Other businesses at the port said they have heard their leases will not be renewed.

Tom Beaman said he is looking at other options and may re-locate his California Rollin sushi restaurant. It is one of the original businesses in the terminal and has survived many ups and downs over the years. Beaman could have bailed when the ferry sailed out of Rochester, but he said devoted customers kept him in business. He also held sushi classes to help pay his rent when business was down.

Original post:
Pier 45 restaurant wont open for the season

Blacksburgs new combination IMAX theater, bowling alley and restaurant has reached its final stage of construction, after Frank Theatres recently secured a general contractor responsible for completing the First & Main development.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based construction company Stewart Perry plans to resume the project and build Frank Theatres CineBowl & Grille on top of the foundation pad laid by the Blacksburg APF Partners, the First & Main proprietors.

The owners of First & Mains contractual obligation was to prepare the site pad for construction. We delivered that back in October (2013), said attorney and representative of APF Partners Jeff Mitchell.

Once the pad was completed, construction on the site stopped as Frank Theatres searched for a construction company. Mitchell cited construction costs of the theater as cause for Frank Theatres delay in finding a contractor, but anticipates a lot of progress at the center this year.

The contract between Frank Theatres and Stewart Perry was officially signed following financial negotiations, according to Mitchell, just after the first of the year.

Construction is set to resume within the next few weeks, says Mitchell.

Stewart Perrys first meeting with the Town of Blacksburg is scheduled for Feb. 5.

We anticipate construction beginning soon after that meeting. A considerable amount of planning is going on right now to mobilize the construction equipment and complete the design of the building, Mitchell said.

Project manager Bruce Adams will travel from Birmingham to Blacksburg to attend planning meetings as a representative of Stewart Perry.

The commercial construction company has previously completed projects in Virginia, including the Grundy Town Center in Grundy, Va., and the Highlands shopping center in Bristol, Va.

See the original post here:
IMAX site hires general contractor, construction underway

HAMMOND | This summer, watch for more than $25 million in new construction off an interstate exit in Hammond.

A popular sit-down restaurant and sports bar that specializes in chicken wings will join a microbrewery and a four-story hotel at the development at the southeast corner of Kennedy Avenue and Interstate 80/94.

All three projects may end up under construction at the same time this year, said Phil Taillon, executive director of Hammond planning and development.

Buffalo Wild Wings wants to build a 7,000-square-foot restaurant on the southeast corner of the site where the River Park Apartments used to be. The restaurant would be located on a 1.5-acre site south of Carlson Drive, and the chain hopes to include an outdoor patio with views overlooking the Little Calumet River.

The fast-growing restaurant chain plans to invest $2.4 million in the new restaurant, which will employ 60 workers. Hammond is offering $800,000 in special tax district money as incentives, including for work on the building facade, parking lot and landscaping.

Buffalo Wild Wings currently has more than 950 locations nationwide, including in Calumet City, Lansing, Homewood, Schererville, Merrillville, Crown Point, Portage, Valapraiso, Michigan City and LaPorte.

But after Cracker Barrel, it would be only the second national sit-down chain in Hammond, the state's fifth largest city, Tallion said.

"In the entire city of Hammond, we only have one mid-level chain as of right now," he said. The rest are fast-food restaurants or family-owned restaurants. But we don't really have a lot of the Applebee's, T.G.I. Friday's, and Chili's. Now residents won't have to go driving to another city to enjoy that type of restaurant. They can stay in Hammond and enjoy it here, and that's what we want."

Buffalo Wild Wings should be able to draw visitors into town too, by pulling highway traffic off the Borman, Tallion said.

"It's a nationally known restaurant that known for having a lot of TVs and showing the game." he said. "Drivers will see the sign, and it will pull people into the development. It will work as an anchor."

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Buffalo Wild Wings, Hampton Inn coming to Hammond's Oxbow Landing

The U.S. restaurant industry was a little under the weather in the latter half of 2013. The downbeat mood was accentuated by Fed's "taper talk," the temporary government shutdown in October and concerns regarding consumer spending trends. The consumer confidence index was under pressure, declining from September to November straight due to the government shutdown and concerns regarding consumer spending over the next six months. But sentiment had started steadily improving, though the recent stock market weakness could potentially reverse that.

The industry is dependent on broad macroeconomic factors, with dining out being a largely discretionary activity. The economic climate largely influences restaurant choices for customers. We believe issues related to "Obamacare," volatility in housing data and fuel prices and excess supply may continue to cast shadows on the long-term picture. Additionally, an extensive focus on value proposition along with moderate pricing power could prove unfavorable for margins if exercised on a long-term basis.

However, we expect the outlook for the restaurant industry to get better driven by innate fundamental strengths, reflecting an improving economic backdrop. Statistics bear out this relatively favorable environment. Restaurant-and-foodservice sales are anticipated to be $683.4 billion in 2014, up 3.6% year over year, as per the National Restaurant Association. In real terms, this will mark the fifth consecutive year of growth in restaurant sales. The strength in the U.S. restaurant industry is backed by pent-up demand from consumers to live and eat well.

A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association revealed that the Restaurant Performance Index (RPI), measuring the present condition and outlook on the U.S. restaurant industry, was 101.2 in November, up 0.3% sequentially and the highest since Jun 2013. The Current Situation Index, which measures comparable store sales, traffic count, labor costs and capital expenditures in the industry was 101.2 in November, also up 0.3% sequentially and the highest in the last six months. The latest index is indicative of the underlying strength in the industry.

Moreover, yearly hikes in dividends on a regular basis by some restaurateurs like The Cheesecake Factory Inc. ( CAKE ), Brinker International, Inc. ( EAT ) and McDonald's Corp. ( MCD ) underscore their efforts to consistently return shareholder and franchisee value irrespective of the economic peaks and valleys.

OPPORTUNITIES

Domestic and International Unit Expansion

After emerging from a lackluster economy that lasted for three years, most of the companies had stepped up their pace of restaurant openings.

Not content with domestic expansion alone, the companies were looking to test waters as well as developing taste buds in foreign shores. Restaurateurs are primarily concentrating on the emerging markets that provide ample opportunities for expansion. The burgeoning middle income population in emerging countries encourages these companies to shift their spotlight from the somewhat saturated domestic market. DineEquity, Inc. ( DIN ), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. ( RRGB ) and The Cheesecake Factory have been quite active on this front.

Refranchising, Revamping & Innovating Menus - a Common Trend

Visit link:
Restaurant Stock Outlook - Jan 2014 - Zacks Analyst Interviews

The U.S. restaurant industry was a little under the weather in the latter half of 2013. The downbeat mood was accentuated by Fed's "taper talk," the temporary government shutdown in October and concerns regarding consumer spending trends. The consumer confidence index was under pressure, declining from September to November straight due to the government shutdown and concerns regarding consumer spending over the next six months. But sentiment had started steadily improving, though the recent stock market weakness could potentially reverse that.

The industry is dependent on broad macroeconomic factors, with dining out being a largely discretionary activity. The economic climate largely influences restaurant choices for customers. We believe issues related to "Obamacare," volatility in housing data and fuel prices and excess supply may continue to cast shadows on the long-term picture. Additionally, an extensive focus on value proposition along with moderate pricing power could prove unfavorable for margins if exercised on a long-term basis.

However, we expect the outlook for the restaurant industry to get better driven by innate fundamental strengths, reflecting an improving economic backdrop. Statistics bear out this relatively favorable environment. Restaurant-and-foodservice sales are anticipated to be $683.4 billion in 2014, up 3.6% year over year, as per the National Restaurant Association. In real terms, this will mark the fifth consecutive year of growth in restaurant sales. The strength in the U.S. restaurant industry is backed by pent-up demand from consumers to live and eat well.

A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association revealed that the Restaurant Performance Index (RPI), measuring the present condition and outlook on the U.S. restaurant industry, was 101.2 in November, up 0.3% sequentially and the highest since Jun 2013. The Current Situation Index, which measures comparable store sales, traffic count, labor costs and capital expenditures in the industry was 101.2 in November, also up 0.3% sequentially and the highest in the last six months. The latest index is indicative of the underlying strength in the industry.

Moreover, yearly hikes in dividends on a regular basis by some restaurateurs like The Cheesecake Factory Inc. ( CAKE ), Brinker International, Inc. ( EAT ) and McDonald's Corp. ( MCD ) underscore their efforts to consistently return shareholder and franchisee value irrespective of the economic peaks and valleys.

OPPORTUNITIES

Domestic and International Unit Expansion

After emerging from a lackluster economy that lasted for three years, most of the companies had stepped up their pace of restaurant openings.

Not content with domestic expansion alone, the companies were looking to test waters as well as developing taste buds in foreign shores. Restaurateurs are primarily concentrating on the emerging markets that provide ample opportunities for expansion. The burgeoning middle income population in emerging countries encourages these companies to shift their spotlight from the somewhat saturated domestic market. DineEquity, Inc. ( DIN ), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. ( RRGB ) and The Cheesecake Factory have been quite active on this front.

Refranchising, Revamping & Innovating Menus - a Common Trend

Continued here:
Restaurant Stock Outlook - Jan 2014 - Industry Outlook