The fast food makeover in McMinnville is scheduled to continue as we’re in line to get a new Krystal at Plaza Shopping Center.
According to the original plans, demolition work on the current Krystal was supposed to take place earlier this month and a much larger Krystal, complete with lobby, was going to be constructed at about that same spot.
However, that plan has been tweaked just a bit, the deadline pushed back, and we may not be getting a Krystal with a dining room after all.
“We will be rebuilding,” said local Krystal general manager Sonya Argo. “It was supposed to happen from May to July 4, but we’ve been put on the back burner. We don’t know if it will be full service with a lobby or if it will be another Krystal Quicks, which is what we are now. The Quicks are big money makers.”
Sonya said the current Krystal building is old and is enduring its share of maintenance issues so a new restaurant is on the way. Sonya said she’d let me know when she gets more definitive information about the type of store and construction dates.

More news at Plaza

Last Saturday was the everything-must-go auction at the old Stewart Pharmacy. True to its name, just about everything went, leaving the store largely vacant except for some leftover shelving which was sold but has yet to be picked up.
It’s a good thing the store is clearing out because Plaza Shopping Center owner Tom Duggin told me Friday a lease has been signed for a new tenant at that spot. Tom wouldn’t go into great detail, but said the business falls into the hardware store genre.
He said the company would be coming in and doing substantial remodeling in the coming weeks. I imagine that remodeling will take place as soon as Stewart Medical Equipment leaves. Owner Justin Stewart told me Friday he’s in the process of moving to a much smaller building at Plaza Shopping Center and hopes to be completely moved by June 6.
I’ll provide more information about this new hardware store at Plaza when it becomes available.
Also of note, a new restaurant is on its way to the old Peking location, which is also the old Ponderosa location, which is also the old Yamato location, which is also the old Chef and His Crew location.
Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse has leased the building, according to Tom, and is in the process of setting up new tables and kitchen equipment. The steakhouse has a location in Crossville and I called that restaurant Friday in hopes of getting more information on the expansion into Warren County, but was greeted by the language barrier.
I wasn’t able to get much other than they’re coming to McMinnville and it’s expected to be more than a month before they open. If you’re counting, and I am, this will be Japanese steakhouse No. 3 for that spot.

Look who keeps getting noticed

Maybe it’s because we’ve lost a little weight and are starting to take better care of ourselves. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but Warren County is suddenly getting noticed.
In Wednesday’s edition, I reported on a list released earlier this month by travel company JetSetter, which ranked McMinnville among the nine coolest towns in the South. In case you missed it, we were among some pretty impressive company like Athens, Ga., Wilmington, N.C., and Oxford, Miss.
JetSetter said Bluegrass Underground, Isha, and Rock Island State Park were among the attractions which make our community a great place to visit.
On the heels of being named one of the South’s coolest towns, it was pointed out during Thursday’s Industrial Development Board meeting that Warren County is also featured on another impressive list.
The website msn.com posted a pictorial essay from the online lifestyles site PureWow that ranked the 50 Most Beautiful Places in All 50 States. The most beautiful place listed for Tennessee is none other than Rock Island State Park.
All of a sudden, and for reasons not entirely clear, Warren County has become the hip kid on the block. My theory on why this is happening is because we have a great business column every Sunday in our newspaper. I think that deserves much of the credit. Other theories aren’t quite as plausible.
Said IDB director Don Alexander, “I think it’s great we’re starting to get some recognition and get some accolades. This is really a great place to live.”
For your viewing pleasure, I've included some of the most beautiful sites mentioned in the PureWow ranking at your left. Enjoy.
My only hope is when the tourists come trampling into town from far and wide to absorb all this wonderment, they pay no attention to our hotels.
We have one good hotel. The others are … well … umm … no comment.

Help wanted Everywhere

If there are good problems to have, Warren County is up to its neck in one of them. The county has too many jobs and not enough workers.
Nearly every major employer is hiring and they’re finding applicants are not exactly beating down their doors to land a job. They’re not even knocking politely.
“If you’re willing to work, you can just about name your job and some of them are good-paying jobs,” said County Executive Herschel Wells. “Just look in the Southern Standard classified pages. There are pages of help wanted ads. Everybody is needing help.”
That tends to happen when we have a state unemployment rate of 4.3 percent and a Warren County unemployment rate of a scant 4.0 percent.
To convey an unbelievable stat, Williamson County unemployment is currently at 2.8 percent. I don’t think I’ve ever seen unemployment that low anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
At Yorozu, the company is finding it difficult to keep its more than 1,900 jobs filled. Yorozu is the largest employer in the entire Upper Cumberland region.
“Our turnover was over 200 people in April,” said Jack Phillips, president of Yorozu North America. “Every month it’s in excess of 100 jobs. It’s so easy to find work, people have no incentive to stay. They can quit and get another job that same day. This is the No. 1 biggest challenge in business today.”
In an effort to retain workers, Yorozu recently increased its pay. The company has also reduced the time it takes to receive company benefits. It used to be 90 days. Now it’s 30.
“We have a company clinic where were provide free medical care and free prescriptions,” said Yorozu human resources manager Andy Putman. “I’ve talked to HR people in Manchester, in Smithville and they’re all having this same problem. It’s tough to find people.”
Bridgestone is regarded as having one of the highest pay scales in the county. Bridgestone plant manager John Stewart says that serves as an attractive carrot, but retaining workers is another story.
“We’re on the upper end with our pay so that gets them in the door,” said Stewart. “Our problem is with the turnover. Folks are not so interested in working the night shift and new folks almost assuredly have to work the night shift until they get some seniority. After a few months of not seeing their kids as much as they’d like and missing out on other activities, they decide this is not for them.”
Stewart says hourly production workers start at $16 an hour and can earn up to $24 after several years. However, he said that money often doesn’t compensate for having to work from 7 p.m. at night to 7 a.m. in the morning.
Stewart said Bridgestone has 774 hourly production workers and another 137 staff members. He says Bridgestone has been actively hiring for some time and is constantly striving to find dependable workers.
It’s not just industry trying to uncover workers. The problem persists at McMinnville’s largest retail store, Walmart.
“We like to stay staffed with around 330 associates and we’re about 20 shy of that mark,” said Walmart manager Matt Ciramella. “We’ve been hiring for the last two months.”
Ciramella said Walmart has increased its pay in an effort to attract employees. He said no one is hired making less than $9 an hour and that can increase to $10 an hour after the initial training period.
“Cashiers and overnight folks are where we’re struggling,” said Ciramella. “More than anything we have a lot of turnover due to attendance. They’ll come in here, work a week and then they’re gone.”
Gondola owner Jimmy Zavogiannis says it doesn’t get any better for restaurants. He said he doesn’t want to take anything away from many of his hard-working staff members who have been with him for years, but other employees aren’t so dedicated.
“They’ll come in one day and don’t come back the next,” said Jimmy Z. “I don’t want to put everyone in the same pot, but as a rule of thumb you have a lot of people who don’t really want to work. And I don’t think it’s the pay. I’ve given some people raises only to have them quit.”
Jimmy said he likes to keep the Gondola staff around 40 employees. He said he’s currently hiring for cooks, dishwashers, and members of the wait staff.
The Warren County School System is one of this county’s largest employers with right at 925 total employees. Director of Schools Bobby Cox said finding teachers in the lower grades is not as difficult as finding high school math and science teachers, who are extremely hard to recruit.
Cox said finding substitute teachers is tough because the pay hasn’t increased in years. He said lower pay is a reason for turnover among employees like custodians and cafeteria workers.
“We see some turnover there because of wages and I can’t fault somebody for trying to improve their financial situation,” said Cox.
The local quest for employees comes as the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports a record number of jobs – nearly 200,000 – currently available in the state.
“As the unemployment rate in Tennessee declines, we continue to see job postings go up,” said Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips.
He said finding a job is as easy as going on the state website, jobs4tn.gov.

That’s all folks

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