| Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream opens on Cason Lane
Co-owner Heath Smith said everyone should come and taste the shop's premium ice cream because it is the best in town."It is a fact," she assures. "Everyone says that I am sure, but we do."Maggie Moo's ice cream has won eight consecutive blue ribbons from the National Ice Cream Retailers Association.No grand opening event has been scheduled yet at the 505 Cason Lane location just past the Wynnsong 16 movie theater.Maggie Moo's does catering, parties and helps with fundraisers.Shop hours are Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday noon-10 p.m.Portrait Innovations, a cutting-edge photo studio, is planning to open at The Avenue, the massive lifestyle mall under construction on Medical Center Parkway.The Charlotte, N.C.-based studio has submitted plans to the Murfreesboro Building and Codes Department for interior build out of its retail space.According to the Portrait Innovations' Web site, the studio is the industry pioneer in integrating traditional portrait photography with the latest digital camera technology.Portrait Innovations is rapidly opening new locations in lifestyle shopping malls across the country.No formal plans have been submitted but a city official said Select Comfort also plans to open a retail store at The Avenue.The mattress company is known for its Sleep Number bed that allows couples to set how hard or soft they want their side of the mattress.For those of you who haven't heard of this yet, I wanted to let you know about a cool new feature at MapQuest.com.It is now possible to check gas prices at more than 100,000 stations across the country from the site.
NPB needs major reform, vision to prosper like MLB
Nippon Pro Baseball's fragmented structure is a system that worked for a long time. Like the Liberal Democratic Party and the Yamaguchi-gumi, it suited the postwar economy. Now, however, with tighter economic conditions and new accounting laws that make it more difficult for large corporations to write off a ballclub's red ink, it doesn't work so well anymore. It is as unrealistic to expect MLB teams to refrain from preying on Japanese talent, as it was to expect Toyota to stop selling cars in the U.S. The shoguns of the NPB know they must change their system. They know they must learn marketing and merchandise. They must learn how to make money -- and a lot of it. They know they must learn how to take care of themselves. Although there are few signs that NPB leaders have the desire to make the required changes, and although some of them are reflexively loathe to copy American ways, simply because they are American ways, MLB's experience does provide a handy template, given the $ 3.7 billion jump in revenue that it managed to accomplish in the past 17 years.
Portion of River Oaks structure will be demolished and rebuilt
The owner of the historic River Oaks Shopping Center announced plans Friday to demolish a portion of the center and replace it with a multilevel retail development including a two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore. Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors, which has owned the center since 1972, said the design of the new $15 million project will echo the architecturally significant structure that will be torn down. Patty Bender, senior vice president and director of leasing for Weingarten, said the aging center needs major changes. "With improved access, increased retail space and design enhancements reflective of the center's art deco and moderne character, we will be creating the future of the center within the context of the past," Bender said in the announcement.
Phila. retailing is dressing up
Among the city's fashionable, there was much to-do when Zara, H&M, Lush, Club Monaco and BCBG Max Azria opened their doors on Walnut Street last year. But when the local development firm ARCWheeler confirmed recently that Barneys Co-op - the cutting-edge offshoot of the high-end New York City department store Barneys - was coming to Rittenhouse Square, high heels clicked with excitement. The region's chic-ometer has officially been raised. "For so many years, Philadelphia has had a reputation of being staid," said Stephanie Naidoff, commerce director for the City of Philadelphia. "But this really sends a signal. This is a public acknowledgment that we have arrived." The addition of Barneys Co-op to Center City's shops is comparable to the $1,500 Prada bag that completes an already fashionable outfit - the necessary extra that ties a look together.
Coffee startup sees the cup half-full
Orlando resident Bill Sherman thinks he has found a cup of coffee that can compete with Starbucks and the other big brew chains that are increasingly dotting the region.
Sherman will soon find out if he's right. He will open Cuppy's Coffee's first Orlando location today, on 8255 Lee Vista Blvd.
Convinced that Cuppy's brew is "smoother and not as bitter as the competition," Sherman decided to sign on as a franchisee for the Fort Walton Beach company that has big expansion plans for the area.
Cuppy's Coffee said it would like to open 30 more stores in the Orlando area by 2010.
Its stores will sell regular coffee, espresso drinks, fruit smoothies and Italian sodas. Muffins, pastries, sandwiches and soups will also be on the menu.
Sherman said his 1,500-square-foot store will offer free Internet wireless access.
East Bay pair buys outlets in Tracy
TRACY -- Two investors from Contra Costa County have purchased the Prime Outlets in Tracy, one of the first retail shopping destinations built along Interstate 205 during the construction boom of the past decade. Under the banner Northwest Outlets based in Walnut Creek, Gary Patterson of KLP Properties and Rick Cordes of Cordes Commercial Inc., which operates outlet shopping centers in Oregon and Idaho, bought the 155,000 square foot site from Prime Retail LLC of Maryland for $20.5 million. Cordes said it was going to be nice not having to get on a plane to visit one of their properties. "We're local and hands on," Cordes said. "This is exciting to us. We plan on putting some blood into this." Their first six months will focus on stabilizing the existing tenants and leases, filling the few vacancies with brand-name outlets, and working with current staff members and the community to give the center a "fresh look and image." "We like the way the Bay Area is growing and Tracy and Manteca is integrated into that," Cordes said.
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