Blog Topic: Business, Man

In the Loop: Aldi Is Coming to the Eastside

By Benjamin Tankersley | June 8, 2015 11:23am

Following a meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission on Thursday, Aldi’s proposal to add a second Athens store at the intersection of Barnett Shoals Road and College Station Road is moving forward.

The area in which the discount grocery store—which already has a location on Atlanta Highway—is proposed to be built is a five-acre plot currently inhabited by an old service station. The store and its 84 parking places would only represent about an acre and a half of that whole plot, leaving the rest to act as a buffer around the store. But to the south, near the Green Acres neighborhood, the buffer would be only 44 feet, along with a fence to screen the headlights of cars in the parking lot, leading some neighbors to voice concerns about a grocery store virtually in their backyards.

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Culture Briefs: Hugh Acheson Can't Find Nice Things in Athens (Updated)

By Blake Aued | May 26, 2015 2:57pm

Gucci, Gucci, Hughie, Hughie, Fendi, Fendi, Prada.

Athens' Hugh Acheson is more than the proprietor of four successful restaurants (including Five & Ten), a Bravo star, cookbook author and owner of the world’s second-most-famous unibrow behind Anthony Davis. He’s a style icon in the restaurant world!

“As he’s spent more time outside the kitchen in the past few years as a judge on ‘Top Chef,’ he has become one of the food world’s most stylish figures,” writes Jacob Gallagher in the Wall Street Journal, “favoring suits from Sid Mashburn and Gucci, and always squeezing in a bit of shopping when traveling.”

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Culture Briefs: Where Are Georgia Players Going in the NFL Draft?

By Blake Aued | April 28, 2015 2:36pm

It’s cold consolation to Georgia fans who hoped for a Heisman trophy and at least an SEC championship out of Todd Gurley’s time in Athens, but he’s about to be a very rich man. As sure as a Florida Gator has a closet full of jean shorts, Gurley will be a first-round NFL draft pick on Thursday.

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In the Loop: GDOT Rep: My Clients Will Benefit from Road Project

By Lee Becker | March 25, 2015 4:21pm

Jamie Boswell, commercial real estate broker and area representative to the Georgia Transportation Board, readily admits that his clients will benefit from the proposed Daniells Bridge Road extension and flyover of Loop 10.

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Grub Notes: Seafood Restaurant Coming to Epps Bridge Centre

By Lee Becker | March 23, 2015 1:19pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Bone Island Grillhouse will be built here.

Bone Island Grillhouse Restaurants has submitted a preliminary site development plan to the Oconee County Planning Department for construction of a restaurant at the Epps Bridge Parkway entrance to the Epps Bridge Centre.

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In the Loop: A Gutted Beer Jobs Bill Is Up for a Vote Friday

By Blake Aued | March 12, 2015 2:34pm

Photo Credit: Porter McLeod

Creature Comforts' David Stein pours a beer from a tank at the downtown Athens brewery.

Creative Loafing reported last month that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (who received $130,000 in campaign contributions from alcohol distributors in 2014) was working to kill Senate Bill 63, the "Georgia Beer Jobs Bill," which would have allowed breweries to sell beer directly to the public.

Cagle didn't kill the bill, but it looks like he's at least partially gutted it. A version with the direct-sales clause removed is coming up for a vote Friday, the last day of the session for legislation to pass one chamber and move on to the other.

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In the Loop: Is UGA Apparel Made in Sweatshops?

By Laura James | March 2, 2015 2:47pm

Six University of Georgia students broke out in song and dance around noon Friday in Tate Plaza to bring attention to their campaign asking President Jere Morehead to affiliate UGA with the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labor rights monitoring organization.

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In the Loop: Oconee DA: Development Leads to More Crime

By Lee Becker | March 1, 2015 11:43am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Commercial development has its downside, District Attorney Ken Mauldin told the Oconee County Board of Commissioners during a recent work session.

“The more stores you have out there, you’re going to have more shop lifting,” Mauldin said.

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In the Loop: Caterpillar Has Created 932 Jobs

By Lee Becker | February 10, 2015 2:03pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Caterpillar has created 932 of the 1,300 jobs it has promised to generate at its local plant, according to a report filed on Jan. 29 by Rick Waller, chairman of the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority, with the state agency that is overseeing the project.

The 932 jobs are more than double the 364 that Waller reported Caterpillar had created in a similar report a year ago.

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In the Loop: Bed Bath & Beyond, Party City Are the Latest Stores to Leave Atlanta Highway

By Lee Becker | January 27, 2015 10:49am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Oconee County has issued a permit for a 39,000-square-foot building at Epps Bridge Centre to house both Bed Bath & Beyond and Party City.

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