A Jacksonville BJ's to offer early risers a gift with gasoline purchase
Wed, 22 May 2013 15:58:47 +0000
On Thursday, BJ's Wholesale Club at 12200 Atlantic Blvd. in Jacksonville will give a $15 store gift card to the first 500 customers who purchase at least 10 gallons of gas.
The station opens at 6:30 a.m., according to a news release. The offer applies only to the Atlantic Boulevard location.
People who are not BJ's members are eligible for the special gas promotion if they sign up for membership while in line for the offer. A free 60-day trial membership offer is running through July 14
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'Kitchen Nightmares' restaurant learns online reviews can make or break
Wed, 22 May 2013 14:56:31 +0000
PHOENIX — It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.
An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown.
"I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE," read the posting on the Facebook wall of Amy's Baking Co. in suburban Phoenix. "YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD."
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Working on the First Coast: Deep Search Records goes old-school with vinyl
Tue, 21 May 2013 23:04:51 +0000
Rich Rapp has a lot of new hopes riding on the old medium of recorded music at his recently-opened store in Five Points area of Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood.
In December, Rapp opened Deep Search Records on Lomax Street, hoping to lure connoisseurs of what he calls a resurgence of those who favor musical recordings on 12-inch vinyl discs, focusing on independent and alternative artists who are issuing more music on vinyl.
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Delinda Fogel named publisher of the St. Augustine Record
Tue, 21 May 2013 22:49:48 +0000
ST. AUGUSTINE | Morris Communications Group Executive Vice President Derek May announced Tuesday that Delinda D. Fogel, vice president of finance and strategic planning at The Florida Times-Union, has been appointed the new publisher of the St. Augustine Record and staugustine.com.
Her first day will be June 3.
May said, “I’m thrilled to have somebody of Delinda’s character and experience at the Record. She is going to be a real asset to St. Augustine and St. Johns County.”
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Jacksonville reaches pension deal with general employees union
Tue, 21 May 2013 22:23:56 +0000
The union representing most of Jacksonville’s non-public safety government workers has tentatively agreed to a package of pension changes that would mainly affect only new workers.
The package, similar to the deal struck between the Mayor’s Office and the Police and Fire Pension Fund, would lower the percentage of pay retirees would get and would make some retirees wait longer to start getting their pension.
It would also increase how much new workers have to contribute, from the current 8 percent to 12 percent.
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Equality Means Business roundtable at UNF touts enhanced diversity
Tue, 21 May 2013 08:31:45 +0000
While business leaders say local companies are making strides by increasing diversity in the workplace, they remain anxious about lingering perceptions of intolerance in Jacksonville which they say hurts commerce.
Those concerns were the thrust of a roundtable discussion at the “Equality in Business” forum at the University of North Florida Monday which drew about three dozen corporate representatives from around the Jacksonville area.
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First Coast home sales, prices way up, jobless figures dip down
Sun, 19 May 2013 06:46:48 +0000
University of North Florida economist Paul Mason has been tracking figures that impact the First Coast economy for 12 years, but he’s never seen the housing market jump like it did between March and April.
“We saw a monumental increase in the housing market,” Mason said Friday, with both rents and the sales prices of homes and condos increasing.
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Sunday Business Notebook: St. Johns Town Center changes
Sun, 19 May 2013 06:46:32 +0000
Lots of changes are coming to St. Johns Town Center, including particularly good news for those who need a cocktail while getting their nails done:
MShack, the burger place owned by the Medure brothers, will open in October where Ritz Camera used to be. The only other location is in Atlantic Beach.
Cosmo Nail Bar, a hybrid bar and salon complete with cocktails, opens in July where Lotus Massage was.
Pandora jewelry will have its grand opening Thursday.
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Suns' fans come out for more than just baseball
Sun, 19 May 2013 06:46:01 +0000
Myron Noodleman gets the crowds dancing at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville with his geeky gyrations and has kids wanting his autograph after he belts out “Sweet Caroline” on top of a dugout.
Though Noodleman has never turned a double play or hit a home run, he’s an important part of what goes on at the stadium: While baseball may be the focal point of the Baseball Grounds, the game itself seems almost secondary in the marketing plan.
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Intuition hopes to build bigger brewery on site of closed city park
Sun, 19 May 2013 06:45:30 +0000
Intuition Ale Works founder Ben Davis has been looking a second location for his brewery for about a year now. He originally had his eye on downtown, but that didn’t work.
Now he’s found a spot to move and enlarge his brewery: A piece of city-owned property on Forest Street that’s currently a park that’s closed because the ground is contaminated by ash from a city incinerator.
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State Rep. Daniel Davis takes over as JAX Chamber president
Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:53 +0000
Calling it the fulfillment of the dream of a lifetime, state Rep. Daniel Davis took over Friday as the president and chief executive officer of JAX Chamber.
His focus, he said during the afternoon news conference announcing the hiring, will be on increasing the value of the chamber to its membership, particularly aiming at small businesses.
With his wife and parents in attendance — he made them promise not to put it on Facebook before it was officially announced — Davis said he was excited about the opportunity to help businesses expand.
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MShack burger concept plans St. Johns Town Center restaurant
Fri, 17 May 2013 14:29:59 +0000
MShack, the burger concept from sibling chefs David and Matthew Medure, is coming to the St. Johns Town Center.
The fresh-casual, burger-fries-shakes restaurant plans to open in October at the former Ritz Camera location near P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, said Steve Schaefer, MShack’s managing partner.
The restaurant will be the second for MShack, which first opened in November 2011 at Beaches Town Center in Atlantic Beach. The Medure brothers also own and operate Matthew’s in San Marco and Restaurant Medure in Ponte Vedra Beach.
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Powerball hits $550 million
Fri, 17 May 2013 12:30:51 +0000
Florida lottery players have seen a sizable Powerball jackpot increase since California jumped on board.
LATEST LOTTERY NUMBERS
The numbers sum up the frenzy that has taken over the Golden State since it joined the madness over Powerball, which has seen its jackpot soar to $550 million for Saturday's drawing.
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Cue the music: First Coast instrument stores say they're bouncing back with personal connections
Fri, 17 May 2013 09:41:02 +0000
Lisa Kirkwood knows just how bad the recession hit musical instrument stores: She bought up the stock from stores that economically fell out of tune.
“But I believe that we’ve learned to adjust to the situation,” Kirkwood said from Discount Music of Jacksonville on Blanding Boulevard. “We’ve learned to adjust to the economy.”
That means creating more personal connections with their customers. It also means dealing with prices that have leveled off.
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Last updated at: 5/22/2013 6:53:56 PM ET