One of the hottest pieces of property in all of McMinnville sold last week at auction.
What is best known as the old Middle Tennessee Natural Gas building on N. Chancery Street will soon be the new Coffee Bank & Trust building.
Bank officials say the plan is to level and remove the current building. Then a sparkling new facility will be constructed at that location.
“We’re really excited about getting a piece of property at that location,” said Chase McGee, city president of Coffee Bank. “Based on traffic studies, there is more traffic in that area than anywhere else in all McMinnville.”
Coffee Bank & Trust opened its first office in McMinnville about six weeks ago at the old Allstate building not far from McDonald’s. Chase said at that time the location was only temporary and the bank would be searching for a permanent home with more space and a drive-thru window.
The search didn’t take long.
So what happens next? Chase says Coffee Bank still has to complete the typical closing process and then an architect will be hired to design plans. The current structure will need to be removed and then construction can begin.
“We’re hoping to move pretty quickly and have something in place by 2022,” said Chase.
Banking, just like every other industry, has evolved over the years. Regions Bank is the most recent bank to build a new office in McMinnville and its facility on Smithville Highway is heavy with drive-thru and ATM features.
Chase said Coffee Bank is not looking to copy the Regions Bank formula.
“I think we’re going to have more of a traditional building with more of a community bank feel,” said Chase.
Closing procedures typically take around a month which means Coffee Bank will likely have ownership of the property in early January. That will give the bank the entire calendar year to meet its goal of opening in 2022. Good luck!
It's time
to Revive
If you think of a Goodwill store with style and flair, you get a picture of Jamie Alford’s new store called Revive. It’s located at Village directly behind Buckeye Home Medical Equipment.
Jamie has one-of-a-kind fashions available at Revive, which gets its name from recycling gently used clothing and finding a new owner for it.
“I was reading that it takes clothing about 200 years to completely break down once it’s in a landfill,” said Jamie. “All of this clothing is in very good condition. Most of it is used clothing, or as I like to say, it’s recycled. Some items are brand new and still with tags.”
Jamie says sometimes clothing gets stained, or has holes, and those items need to get tossed in a landfill. They are not in her store.
But she says there’s no reason to push aside clothing that’s still in great shape that can spice up the wardrobe of its new owner.
Jamie has been selling her vintage and modern thrift items online for several years. She made the decision she would like to try a physical store to see how it goes.
It’s been said you can never have too many shoes and Revive has a wide selection of foot apparel, including some nice boots. There is a wide selection of handbags, belts, scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, and other items.
As an added convenience, Jamie says shoppers can check out items on her Facebook page, which is Revive by Jamie, and decide the item they would like to purchase. Then they can Venmo her the money and stop by the store and pick it up.
Jamie says it would be her preference for her store to face Chancery Street, but she adds people have been able to find it when she tells them it’s behind Buckeye and next to the Village car wash bays.
Regular hours are Monday thru Thursday from 4:30 to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store is normally closed on Friday and Sunday, although Jamie will set up special appointments as necessary.
Revive can be reached at (931) 743-7321.
Fazoli's hiring
starts Monday
Everybody seems to be hiring and that includes Fazoli's, which has plans to open in McMinnville in late February. Fazoli's has a daunting task at hand with local restaurant owner Bill Townsend telling the Southern Standard he would like to hire 70 employees.
It all starts this Monday at the new Fazoli's at 814 Smithville Highway. The restaurant is in need of an assistant general manager and three assistant managers. Stop by Monday if you'd like to apply.
Meeting of
industry leaders
Industrial Development Board executive director Don Alexander held a sounding board meeting earlier this month with six local industry leaders, along with officials from a company in Smithville and a company in Manchester.
Don said the purpose was to talk to these industry executives to better learn the challenges they are facing and what, if anything, the IDB and other agencies like the Business Roundtable Action Committee can do to help.
Don said industry leaders told him employee retention is a major concern because employees of today seem to crave flexibility over a rigid schedule. It was noted that manufacturing companies can't provide a work-from-home option for many of their employees.
Don said it was also expressed that basic soft skills are lacking for many of today's workers. By soft skills Don means things like dressing appropriately and showing up on time.
One positive development is our area's push for more housing. Providing quality jobs and quality housing are two things which go together, said Don.
"Why do all of this industrial development if they're going to go someplace else to live," said Don. "The emphasis I'm seeing here is there needs to be more residential development and that's going to help everything, including our industries."
Don said most of our local industries are thriving. He said the exception are those that rely exclusively on automotive production because the chip shortage has resulted in fewer vehicles being produced.
That's all folks
May business news be waiting for you under the tree this year. Email any tips if you'd like to report news to this column at editor@southernstandard.com.
