I’m pleased to report I was successful in keeping my two New Year’s resolutions for 2014. Score a victory for the good guy!
Of course it’s been pointed out I didn’t set the bar extremely high when declaring my resolutions one year ago. Some folks contend my two New Year’s resolutions for last year – to spend more time watching TV, and to eat more potato chips – aren’t resolutions at all because they didn’t do anything to better me as a person.
I say those two resolutions have bettered me as a person because they have given me a sense of accomplishment. They have improved my self-esteem. Those resolutions show I can set goals for myself and then work toward attaining those goals. For once in my life, I’m a success.
However, I do understand the general statement that my resolutions for 2014 were not all that challenging. That’s why I’ve decided to completely revamp the resolutions I had initially set for myself in 2015 – which were to sleep later and go to church less. I’ve been told those aren’t resolutions at all because they in no way reflect positive changes to my life.
I am nothing if not open to suggestion so I’ve decided to revise my New Year’s resolution to make it something extremely challenging and beneficial to mankind. That’s why my resolution for 2015 is to develop a comprehensive study of the Blue Building and to charge to city a mere $20,000 for this study. Since studying the Blue Building seems to be a recurring theme, this can also be my resolution for 2016, 2017, 2018 …
AT&T opens retail store
When I stopped by McMinnville’s new AT&T authorized retail shop on Friday, my first question was how long has this store been open? It turns out the store had only been open a couple hours as Friday was the first day.
“Everyone has had the same reaction,” said store employee Troy Lytle. “They come in and ask if we’re open and how long we’ve been here. We've only been open this morning.”
Troy had been working at the AT&T retail store in Manchester and was thrilled when the company decided to open a store in McMinnville, which is where he lives. He said the customers who have trickled in thus far are curious about pricing and services.
This is AT&T’s first retail store for Warren County as the company looks to expand into an area that’s traditionally viewed as Verizon territory. Troy said AT&T has made a push to expand its LTE network in rural areas like McMinnville and provide a strong signal with new towers like the one behind Three Star Mall.
“AT&T has good coverage and a strong signal,” said Troy. “If you have five bars, it’s harder to drop down to four bars than with other providers.”
Troy said customers can get a real feel of the phones, tablets and other items sold at the AT&T store because they can try the product in the store before they buy it.
“All of this stuff on display is live. There are no dummy devices,” said Troy. “You can try it out and it will work just like the phone we sell you out of the box.”
The new AT&T retail center is open seven days a week. Hours are Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The phone number is (931) 304-2414.
New restaurant making progress
I’ve received many questions about the new restaurant coming to Plaza Shopping Center in the longtime location of Peking. I stopped by Friday to check out the renovation work for myself and found the new restaurant beginning to take shape.
It will be called The Chef and His Crew and the projected opening time is mid-February. The owners tell me it will be a nice restaurant, somewhat like an Applebee’s, but it will offer some different items with American, Italian and other cuisine. The menu will include pasta, seafood and steak, among other items.
“We want to provide something different that’s not being offered in this area,” said Arcadio Ramirez, who will be operating the restaurant with brothers, Oswaldo and Edwardo.
The brothers say this area is pretty saturated with Mexican restaurants and it’s not their intention to provide that type of food. They want to have a nice place to eat that is also affordable, which is a word I know I like.
Arcadio has a long history when it comes to the restaurant business. He has worked as a chef in upscale hotels such as the Crown Plaza Hotel and he also has managerial experience as the general manager of Deny’s.
“We should have plenty of experience when it comes to the back of the house and the front of the house,” said Arcadio.
I’m anxious to find out more about The Chef and His Crew as work continues. Arcadio says they will be looking to start interviewing employees around Jan. 20 to get their staff in place. He says the restaurant will be able to seat around 200. I’ll provide more information as the opening date inches closer.
Rooster’s Café still in the works
It’s been so long since I’ve seen activity at Rooster’s Café, I figured the planned restaurant was no longer on the drawing board. But I got in contact with property owner Russell Baum and he told me on Friday the project remains active.
“I can’t abandon ship yet,” said Russell. “I’m getting ready to walk through it with a contractor on Sunday and get an estimate on what it will cost to finish. It’s about 80 percent done, but I want it to look really nice inside, kind of like a Cracker Barrel, so I’m going to see what that’s going to cost.”
I asked Russell about the delays because he originally planned to have Rooster’s Café open more than a year ago. He said conflicts with the city at other property he owns have caused him a great deal of trouble. Specifically, Russell said he was targeted by the city for his business on Nashville Highway in Newtown that contained much large equipment.
“This town has given me a bad taste in my mouth,” said Russell. “The city gave me grief about my salvage yard and was going to fine me $1,000 a day, but just down the road there are thousands of junked cars at Turner’s and nobody says anything about that. It’s a joke.”
Russell said he’s hopeful Rooster’s Café can be open by this spring.
New doctor's office opens
It was just a few weeks ago I told you about Dr. Jeff Peterson and his plans to open Pinnacle Orthopaedics at the office formerly occupied by Dr. Del Valle. Today, it is my pleasure to tell you Dr. Peterson's office opened last week and he's accepting most insurances, self pay, worker's comp and second-opinion cases.
Dr. Peterson saw 26 patients at his new office on Friday and even saw a couple there on New Year's Eve.
"I'm really ecstatic about the new office and the way the Pinnacle Orthopaedics team has worked together to make the transition smooth," said Dr. Peterson.
The new office can be reached at 815-BONE.
That’s all folks
I expect business activity to pick up full throttle as we head into 2015 with resolutions to improve ourselves financially. If you have business tips, call 473-2191.
