Friday, May 11, 2012
Champion Cheesesteaks is taking food service on the road.
Roy Brostrand knows a good Philly cheesesteak sandwich when he sees one. He has been making them for 30 years. Brostrand is founder and CEO of Champion Cheesesteaks, a business located on Lockhart Drive in Kennesaw near Kennesaw State University. The franchise business operates food trucks throughout the metro-Atlanta area featuring the Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, drinks and desserts—including the famous Tasty Kakes, made only in Philadelphia. "Food trucks are a whole new industry," said Brostrand, who was the founder of the Philly Connection restaurant in 1982, which grew to 250 stores throughout the Southeast. Brostrand sold the business and began the food truck business two years ago. "I believe food trucks are a trend that's here to…
Monday, April 30, 2012
ChefAdvantage in Kennesaw specializes in healthy food service for local child development centers, charter and private schools.
Twenty years ago, Randy Harris was a chef in the fine dining restaurant industry. Working 70 hours a week and never seeing his wife made him decide to make a career change. Harris said he began ChefAdvantage, located in Kennesaw at 975 Cobb Place Blvd., to offer "the same principles of four-star hospitality and service to young children in child development centers." That concept has worked, and now Harris and his 52 employees serve 6,000 meals every day to 54 schools around the metro-Atlanta area. Those employees include nutritionists to plan menus and chefs to implement them. ChefAdvantage offers delivery only of meals as well as chef teams to serve food daily to students. Harris said the biggest changes he has seen over 20 years is the …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Clint Turner of All Pro Auto in Kennesaw says he's still a mechanic who likes giving back to his community.
On any given day, you can stop into All Pro Automotive on North Cobb Parkway and see owner Clint Turner surrounded by car parts and automobile keys. The Kennesaw resident has had his auto repair shop at the same location in Kennesaw for 21 years and said he loves his job. "I just like to fix cars," said Turner. "I'm a business owner but I'm a mechanic, too--that's why I still wear my uniform every day." Turner and his wife, Cindy, have two children--daughter, Sofi, who attends Kennesaw State University and helps her father at the shop, and son, Tucker, who is a junior at North Cobb Christian School in Kennesaw. Word of mouth is the best recommendation for any business, and All Pro gets a lot of that. In fact, Turner says that's his best …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Kennesaw mayor admits city officials were wrong in allowing a pawn shop to locate in a shopping center near Mack Dobbs Road.
About 50 residents from the Summer Brooke and Summer Stream neighborhoods gathered Monday to hear the latest developments with a controversial pawn shop. City officials admit they were wrong when Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan was allowed to open in the Mack Dobbs Point strip mall last year, despite a 2004 agreement prohibiting pawn shops from the property. Now city officials are weighing possible solutions to the issue, which was brought to light by Kennesaw resident Bill Harris. "We approved this application erroneously, and it's a very unfortunate oversight," said Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews. "We're taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again." A hearing is scheduled for April 2 at the 6:30 p.m. city council meeting, and Mathews said …
Monday, March 12, 2012
Loud Security Systems' John Loud is one of several business leaders stepping up to lead the Keep It In Cobb initiative.
John Loud, owner of Loud Security Systems in Kennesaw, believes in the Keep It In Cobb Initiative so much that he is putting his money where his beliefs are. The Keep It In Cobb concept is to support locally-owned businesses, maintain the unique community character, provide continuing opportunities for entrepreneurs, and build community economic strength. The program was initiated by Cobb County Commissioner JoAnn Birrell during her election campaign in 2010. The program is now a partnership with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the 11 business associations in Cobb County to promote awareness of buying local and supporting Cobb businesses. It is a three-tier approach: business to business, business to consumer, and business to government, …
Monday, March 5, 2012
The new business holds its ribbon-cutting today at 11:30 a.m. in downtown Kennesaw.
Robin Jones will be realizing a dream today in downtown Kennesaw. That's when the Marietta resident will officially cut the ribbon to open her first retail business, Cottontail Quilts. Located at 2259 Lewis St. across from the Kennesaw Library, the quilt shop is housed in a beautiful 112-year-old Southern home owned by longtime Kennesaw resident Joe Bozeman and his family. "Strip shopping centers just didn't have the feel I needed," said Jones in recounting how she visited downtown Kennesaw to look at properties. "I took one look at this house and knew I was supposed to be here. This is it." Jones started quilting 15 years ago and was recently laid off from her corporate job. She decided now was better than any other time to launch her …
Monday, February 6, 2012
Take a look at the latest job openings in and around Kennesaw.
The CVS pharmacy at 3070 North Main St. in Kennesaw is looking to hire a Shift Supervisor, according to a job listing posted on the company's website. The position entails carrying out all opening and closing procedures in the absence of management. The selected candidate will supervise the store's crew, assist customers with questions and complaints, and price merchandise, among other responsibilities. The candidate must also be able to load and unload deliveries and lift 35 pounds. Check here for more information, or to apply. For more local job openings and job-related news, visit our Jobs topic page.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mayor Mark Mathews cites teamwork as the reason Kennesaw has survived the worst economy in decades.
Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews presented his State of the City address Tuesday to members of the Kennesaw Business Association at their monthly luncheon. Mathews, who is beginning his second term as the city's mayor, said that keeping the city on track during a terrible economic year was a "team effort." "By preparing for several years before the economic downturn, the city was able to weather the budget challenge with no furloughs, no service loss, and no decrease in quality of life," said Mathews, adding he feels good about where the city is headed in 2012. He introduced city council members and city staffers and thanked them for their hard work in a tough economic climate. "While we don't always agree, we work as a team," said Mathews. "…
Monday, November 28, 2011
The new downtown Kennesaw restaurant is ready for the holidays after opening in a sluggish economy.
Kelly Averill wanted to open a restaurant featuring New Orleans-style cuisine, and a struggling economy wasn't going to stop her. "If you do it right, a restaurant is almost recession-proof," said Averill, an Acworth resident with 26 years of experience in the restaurant industry. "When times are bad, people commisserate. When times are good, people celebrate. There will always be birthdays, anniversaries and holiday parties--life isn't going to stop." Averill joined forces with owner William Brunson III to open Trinity Creole Cafe at 2756 South Main Street in downtown Kennesaw in October. Formerly the home of Capers Restaurant, the pink building now houses what Averill calls "an inspired fusion of high class and low-country." The …
The Better Business Bureau offers tips on how to avoid giving online hackers and scammers a shopping bonanza this Christmas shopping season.
- HOLIDAY GUIDE
-
Monday, November 28, 2011
If you didn’t get gifts for everybody on your list on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, don’t despair, there’s always today--Cyber Monday. In fact, according to shopping experts, that has now become the most popular day to shop for the holidays—and why not? That way you get to avoid all the crowds. However, shopping online opens you up to scammers and hackers just waiting to take advantage of this latest trend. “The convenience and ease of shopping online has replaced the hassle of going to the store for many people—but online shopping has its own set of risks,” said Fred T. Elsberry Jr., president and CEO of the BBB serving Metro Atlanta, Athens and Northeast Georgia. “Taking steps to avoid the fraud online will result in a much …
Dave L
7:02 pm on Sunday, May 13, 2012
I want to thank Roy for his participation in Kennesaw's Dinner at the Depot. When the program began last year Roy was quite helpful in getting some trucks to participate. With Roy's assistance The Kennesaw Downtown Development Authority (KDDA) was able to quickly jump into the Food Truck phenomena. Once the City and KDDA realized the long term potential, the process to frame the concept in a … more ›