October 23, 200915 yr http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/plan-to-revitalize-city-a-work-in-progress-361825.html Plan to revitalize city a ‘work in progress’ MIDDLETOWN — While previous plans to revitalize downtown Middletown have failed, “there’s no excuse not to try again,” said Kelly Cowan, former Miami University Middletown dean. Cowan, who is directing an effort to develop a Community Building Institute in the city, facilitated a meeting Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Manchester Inn and Conference Center, to give about a dozen community stakeholders an overview of the latest downtown redevelopment plan.l ater in the article... Brad Schwab, a consultant with Woolpert Inc., said the principles of the plan was to consolidate the downtown’s districts, build a strong residential presence, make downtown friendly to pedestrians and functional for automobiles, leverage civic assets, create a welcoming downtown, and establish Middletown’s rail station on Ohio’s 3C passenger rail service initiative. ----------------------------- I have to wonder why this group and their effort is any different than any of the failed efforts before them? I guess Middletown will keep trying until something magically works... like economic conditions suddenly change drastically, or the right person just accidentally becomes involved.
October 23, 200915 yr http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/plan-to-revitalize-city-a-work-in-progress-361825.html Plan to revitalize city a work in progress MIDDLETOWN While previous plans to revitalize downtown Middletown have failed, theres no excuse not to try again, said Kelly Cowan, former Miami University Middletown dean. Cowan, who is directing an effort to develop a Community Building Institute in the city, facilitated a meeting Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Manchester Inn and Conference Center, to give about a dozen community stakeholders an overview of the latest downtown redevelopment plan.l ater in the article... Brad Schwab, a consultant with Woolpert Inc., said the principles of the plan was to consolidate the downtowns districts, build a strong residential presence, make downtown friendly to pedestrians and functional for automobiles, leverage civic assets, create a welcoming downtown, and establish Middletowns rail station on Ohios 3C passenger rail service initiative. ----------------------------- I have to wonder why this group and their effort is any different than any of the failed efforts before them? I guess Middletown will keep trying until something magically works... like economic conditions suddenly change drastically, or the right person just accidentally becomes involved. Sometimes that is exactly what happens. You finally get the right person(s) involved and a different outcomes starts to take shape. I give them credit for continuing to try. Some communities just give up on their downtown's and just let the core fall apart.
October 23, 200915 yr Some communities just give up on their downtown's and just let the core fall apart. Which is largely what is occuring in Middletown. I'm glad to see fresh people trying.
October 23, 200915 yr I'm glad to see fresh people trying. I'll give them some credit as well for continually trying, but I'm not sure about the person running this - Kelly Cowan. She made a number of enemies while Dean of MUM, and was effectively forced out, from what I hear. Also, she had a track record as Dean of taking a money-losing branch and perpetuating it's loses. In other words, just kept doing the same things. Contrast that with Miami-University - Hamilton and you get a 180 degree difference. MUH has grown significantly in the past few years, with lots of new and innovative programs. Oxford enrollment is down. Mum enrollment is down. No new programs initiated at MUM (OK, their new BIS program is partially there, but it was started at Hamilton and then essentually given to MUM to implement.) At this point in history, most colleges are experiencing significant enrollment upturns, especially community colleges. But MUM, under Kelly Cowan, seems to have somehow pulled defeat from the jaws of victory on this important point.
October 25, 200915 yr Another grocery store coming to area..... (from Lebanon's Western Star newspaper) http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/grocer-to-open-store-in-lebanon-363077.html Aldi will open its Lebanon grocery store on Monday, Nov. 2. Officials at the 10,000-square-foot Aldi store, located at 1280 Columbus Ave., will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. and then will be open to the public. ....... --------------------- I've never shopped at an Aldi's, but I see them around. I'm confused by these lines.... “refined” shopping hours (stores are only open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday), and having a “no-nonsense approach” to grocery shopping. “We have no bankers, no pharmacies, no photo labs,” Adams said. “We are strictly about groceries.” Shoppers also have to buy bags and rent carts at the store, but Adams emphasizes that the bags are reusable. I know there is always a segment of society that is focused strickly on pricing, but I think Lebanon is moving away from that market. They already had va discount grocery store in the Colony shopping district. It seems that in this day and age, places that close at 7pm would lose a lot of business. Heck, I often don't get home from work until 6pm or later, and I don't think I'm unique in that aspect at all. I guess they did their market research and decided there are enough stay-at-home moms to make a Lebanon store work. But if IGA could not make the concept of basic grocery store work in nearby Monroe, I'm not sure that Aldi's can do it with a store in Lebanon. Especially if cutomers have to rent shopping carts and pay for bags. (note- I saw this 'pay for bags' concept at work when I lived in Syracuse. Stores would charge 2 cents/bag in an effort to encourage recycling. The programs never lasted long, and were quickly dropped. A few years later another chain would try it with the same results.)
October 25, 200915 yr A point I never cease to flog - Aldi's is owned by a branch of the same parent company of ... drum roll... Trader Joe's. With many of the same policies, including mostly stocking store brands. Don't forget, the Lebanon area also lost its two IGA's, "Brocke and Paul's" a few years ago. The one in Lebanon still did home deliveries for the elderly. I shopped at Aldi's in Middletown a couple of times. It was very ghetto, with unsupervised kids playing on shopping carts in the store. Prices will probably be comparable with Sav-a-lot. At least the one coming here is in a relatively nice area. This should inject some real downward pressure into Kroger's prices, being right across the street. Even if we don't get there when they're open, more competition won't hurt.
October 28, 200915 yr New VA clinic to be built near Atrium (Middletown) http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/new-va-clinic-to-be-built-near-atrium-369603.html Another medical facility will soon be constructed near the Atrium Medical Center campus on North Union Road. The new $2.3 million Veterans Affairs community based outpatient clinic in Middletown will be located at 4300 N. Union Road adjacent to the Atrium campus, according to Donna Simmons, spokeswoman for the Dayton VA Medical Center. ..... ------------- Per the article, this is really just a move from an existing Middletown medical facility, albeit to a larger building. No mention of increasing the staff size, but one would expect it to happen at some time. (currently employ 28 full- and part-timers). It's interesting to drive around Middletown where I grew up. Most of the medical offices I went to as a kid are now empty buildings scattered around town. No redevelopment of the facilities. Middletown just seems to be slowly rotting from the core outward. Most of the new growth at the parimeter (on newly annexed land, no less) is at the expense of the existing core. Perhaps Middletown should consider de-annexing the interior of the city and keep only the donut shapped new-growth areas.
October 28, 200915 yr Not so much "Business" as economic news for Lebanon... http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/county-puts-judicial-center-expansion-on-hold-370228.html County puts judicial center expansion on hold Warren County has put the proposed expansion of the judicial center on hold. The county budget process for 2010 is underway and the commissioners have made the decision, with revenues falling, that they will delay adding to the cramped building. ........
November 4, 200915 yr Not exactly Lebanon-Middletow-Monroe, but it is Mason-Westchester. Close enough... http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/state-gives-intelligrated-24m-to-stay-381620.html State gives Intelligrated $24M to stay WEST CHESTER TWP. — Intelligrated Systems Inc. is staying. During an event with Gov. Ted Strickland, company officials this afternoon, Nov. 3, accepted a package from the state worth more than $24 million to keep operations in southwest Ohio. Strickland — along with Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel — met with Intelligrated Systems Inc. CEO Chris Cole at Intelligrated’s 10045 International Blvd. location to formalize the deal. Cole said the company had been courted by Kentucky to close the West Chester Twp. operations and move south.....
November 4, 200915 yr New Business in Middletown.... a rare event so I'm highlighting it here..... Owners drive new business with passion for cars http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/owners-drive-new-business-with-passion-for-cars-383511.html MIDDLETOWN — It’s not hard to see what drives Melvin and Mary Larson to open a new business: just take a look at the 1955 DeSota Hemi they’re restoring. The couple recently moved their shop, Cruisers Customs & Rods, to 460 N. Verity Parkway in Middletown from Liberty Twp. The new location offers convenience, great visibility and the ability to put all their car rebuild and restoration operations under one roof.... OK, so it's small and not likely to hire many people, ever. However, it's interesting that a small firm moved from Liberty Township to Middletown. Actually, I think this move just highlights the fact that Liberty Township is becoming a 'high-rent' district, while Middletown remains a 'low-rent' city. I can see more and more small, hobby-type businesses moving from growing sections of Butler/Warren to places like Middletown and Monroe. However, a congregation (right word?) of these types of businesses in once place does not help fuel an economic renaissance.
November 4, 200915 yr "Green Project coming to Middletown's AK works... http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/company-awarded-30m-for-green-energy-project-at-ak-steel-381324.html Company awarded $30M for 'green' energy project at AK Steel MIDDLETOWN — A $300 million project that will create about 220 temporary construction jobs and generate electricity for AK Steel’s Middletown Works operations is headed to Middletown. Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Middletown has been awarded $30 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct a combined cycle power generation plant at AK Steel’s Middletown Works, it was announced Tuesday, Nov. 3. The project is valued at $300 million and will take about two years to construct, said Alan McCoy, spokesman for AK Steel, which has its corporate headquarters in West Chester Twp.
November 5, 200915 yr New Business in Middletown.... a rare event so I'm highlighting it here..... Owners drive new business with passion for cars http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/owners-drive-new-business-with-passion-for-cars-383511.html MIDDLETOWN — It’s not hard to see what drives Melvin and Mary Larson to open a new business: just take a look at the 1955 DeSota Hemi they’re restoring. Whats a DeSota? Sounds like the writer is from Ohia!
November 10, 200915 yr Middletown strip mall owner files for bankruptcy http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-business-news/middletown-strip-mall-owner-files-for-bankruptcy-392737.html DAYTON — P.H. Investors, LLC, which owns a 10,000-square-foot shopping center on Pendleton Circle in Middletown, on Friday, Nov. 6, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Receivership has been pending since October 2008, according to K. Dean Wertz, the president and sole shareholder of P.H. Investors......
November 17, 200915 yr http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-business-news/ground-breaks-today-for-honda-dealership-in-monroe-405039.html Ground breaks today for Honda dealership in Monroe MONROE — A groundbreaking ceremony is set for today, Nov. 17 for Joe Morgan Honda to be built in Monroe. The dealership, which bears the name of the former Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame second baseman who is the majority owner of the project, will be located in the Warren County area of Monroe, said Kevin Chesar, director of development for the city. It will be on about 4.5-acres of land just south of Treasure Aisles — formerly known as Turtle Creek Flea market — off Ohio 63 and Interstate 75 on Garver Road, Chesar said.
November 17, 200915 yr Aeronca awarded B-1 bomber contract http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-business-news/aeronca-awarded-b-1-bomber-contract-401556.html Magellan Aerospace Corp. of Toronto, the parent company of Aeronca Inc., which operates a manufacturing facility in Middletown, recently received a contract from The Boeing Co. to make engine shrouds for the B-1 bomber. According to David Pugliese, who writes the Defence Watch blog for The Ottawa Citizen, Magellan reported Friday, Nov. 13, the $3.5 million (U.S.) contract in its 3rd Quarter financial statement that was released on Thursday. -------------------- One's never sure if Aeronca is still in business, so when it makes news, the word needs to get out.
November 29, 200915 yr Perhaps not "new" news per se to anyone living around here, but this Nov. 29th New York Times article is about the uptake in food stamp use across the country. The article features the Lebanon Food Pantry, and depicts places in Oregonia, Wilmington and Martinsville. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html
March 3, 201015 yr Haven't update this in awhile..... (in the interviening months, there's been a lot more negative than positive news on the economic front) Middletown to lose more jobs as First Financial moves admin staff to Springdale. http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/160-jobs-leaving-middletown-578696.html
March 4, 201015 yr Not sure where this article belongs..... Warren County has more than 12,700 emtpy lots http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/warren-county-has-more-than-12-700-emtpy-lots-578755.html from the article.... There are 12,758 empty lots, more than the total homes in some cities, that have been planned for homes or condominiums in Warren County, according to the county’s building department. Comparably, Mason, one of the county’s largest cities, has around 11,000 households.
April 13, 201015 yr Sumco of Phoenix, AZ, owner of the closing wafer fabrication plant on Grandin Road in Maineville, is offering the old plant to the photovoltaic cell industry. This item is dated April 8, 2010. From: http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/sumco_offers_ohio_wafer_fab_to_solar_industry/ Sumco Phoenix is offering its wafer fab facility near Cincinnati, Ohio, to the solar industry. The 70,000-square-foot cleanroom (Class 100) is housed in a 200,000-square-foot building on a 100-acre site that can accommodate future growth. ATREG, a division of Colliers International, has won the contract to sell the facility on behalf of Sumco. Of note, Sumco previously refused to entertain offers for the plant. From that article from June '09: "It has no current plans to sell the plant or surrounding real estate, the company said."
April 14, 201015 yr The Golden Lamb is under new management today.... http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/golden-lamb-under-new-management-650758.html Looks like the owners were not happy with the previous management company and has replaced them. I was actually talking to Rick Miller (quoted often in the article) this past weekend about the Golden Lamb.
April 15, 201015 yr Two local businesses close in same week (Lebanon) http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/two-local-businesses-close-in-same-week-655316.html Two small businesses that opened within the past year closed their doors this week. The Roots Coffee Shop and Eatery on South Broadway served coffee and luncheon items such as bagel sandwiches. The store opened in June 2009..... and The Landing Bistro, located in the Walmart Shopping Complex on U.S. 42, served French-American cuisine. The restaurant opened in November 2009. It was the second restaurant in the same location to close quickly. Tin Duck Tavern, a bar and grill, closed in early 2009 after a year of operations.
April 19, 201015 yr Two small businesses that opened within the past year closed their doors this week. The Roots Coffee Shop and Eatery on South Broadway served coffee and luncheon items such as bagel sandwiches. The store opened in June 2009..... and The Landing Bistro, located in the Walmart Shopping Complex on U.S. 42, served French-American cuisine. The restaurant opened in November 2009. It was the second restaurant in the same location to close quickly. Tin Duck Tavern, a bar and grill, closed in early 2009 after a year of operations. The Tin Duck was decent but had strange ideas about food - the "wings" were as big as a teradactyl claw (like a duck?) and the artichoke dip was served with shrimp in it. There was just an article in the Western Star about culinary students training at that bistro place, so that was a mighty fast closing. I suspect that location is "poison" to restaurants, no matter who goes in there. Lebanon seems to breed small, unique tending eateries that go out of business quickly. Best Cafe and Mighty Casey/Wild Bills come to mind. I think the town looks on the surface like it can support "upscale" and it really can't. I also checked out reviews of "The Landing" over the winter and over 2/3 were awful. The place sounded exactly like one of the joints that Gordon Ramsey does over in "Kitchen Nightmares" - fancy food done poorly. I think a basic local "triple D style" burger place to compete against the Breakfast Club would do really well here. Or a local barbecue place. I guess it's in the DNA of the type of owners who start these places here to go more upscale than they can execute competently.
April 20, 201015 yr Lebanon seems to breed small, unique tending eateries that go out of business quickly. I agree, but why do you think that is the case (apart from the possible DNA reasoning)? Lebanon seems to be a city that started to gentrify, but got cut off with the economic recession. I have pondered the city for some time and still can't figure it out. But here are some thoughts I have... 1) For all of it's recent growth (now approx 20k in city, another 12k in surrounding TurtleCreek township), it never really brought in high-paying jobs. As a result, it has a very small Yuppie/dinks/young-professional demographic. Basically, the city is made up of families. There are very few singles around, especially professional singles. 2) A lot of the professionals who live in the area work outside of Lebanon. As a result, they have easy access to nice restaurants in Mason, Westchester, Cincy, DaytonMall area. Seems most eateries opening in Lebanon can't compete. 3) Lebanon has no night-life of its own. As a family community, evenings are filled with homework and kids activities. Sure, a kid-friendly sports bar will do OK, but in general, people are trying to fit dinner in between school bus and soccer game. It has to be Quick!!!!!!!!! Fast food does well. Frische's does well. Tin Duck does not fit the bill. 4) the elderly group (and there are lots of them in the Lebanon area) go to places they've been going to for decades - Golden Lamb, Breakfast Club. So I think the demographics of Lebanon (older people plus very busy family people, but not single professionals) dooms Lebanon to a few 'community' eateries and fast food places, but not to anything better.
April 20, 201015 yr I think it's a result of two different demographics that both seem to dominate here. 1) The lumpenproletariat of Lebanon - blue and pink collar residents and working poor. "Strict" locals from the immediate area, also Appalachians here for family. Probably 80-90% of the area's population. 2) The Whole Earth crowd. Managerial, legal, medical, professional in general - who live in the vicinity or who are here because they "like" the idea of the area or who are here because they are attracted to the architecture and the place. They didn't grow up here, they don't mix with or know many people in the immediate area except in business. Think of a dual income geek or management couple that works at P&G or Lexis living here, using Lebanon like a bedroom suburb. #2 try to fund and start the type of restaurants they enjoy. Which includes the strict and careful omission of familiar comfort foods and fried things from their menus in place of thing$ like buffalo $teak$ and the like. They want to feature the plates decorated with sauce streaks. Not Mom's blue plate special. #2 tries to hire kitchen help, #1's from the area whose main dining experience is Frisches, show up (hell, it's a service job, you draw from the local area.) Big show off opening. A few months of business from friends of the owners. The inevitable decline as the artisanal ingredients get replaced with stuff from Kroger's and the basic concept of the too-fussy foods they prepare is mangled. The "Kitchen Nightmares" phase. Basically, it's pretentious outsiders who start these places, believing that deliberately excluding sub $20 items from their menu in a personal ego fest makes them "fine dining". Crash and burn, finally. The Wild Bill's owner was a chef from Cincinnati. When I read about his re-opening and some of the comments from him and his patrons I could see clearly that they didn't "get" what locals prefer (and could AFFORD... hello!!!) The news articles about the opening of "The Landing Bistro"'s owner's goals reeked an even worse ego. To get an idea: http://www.wccareercenter.com/protected/ArticleView.aspx?iid=4AG22&dasi=20B The owner clearly isn't a real local. :whip: Locals have that haggard look. I insist, a really well executed burger and barbecue place here along the lines of places that "Diners, Dives and Drive Ins" reviews is much more appropriate to this area. I think the dividing line is if you have to explain why people should patronize a restaurant and you have a "high concept", it's completely dead in the water here in Lebanon. Boy, that was merciless, wasn't it? :shoot: I was a #2 type up and comer when I moved here, and being distant from life giving good IT jobs instead of the crap that I have had to subsist on has moved me to the #1 category. So I know how both local types think. In a way, seeing these places fail gives me a tinge of schedenfreude. It probably shouldn't. The pretentious out of towner corporate employee types want to turn Lebanon into Bucks or Hunterdon County. It simply will not work here.
April 20, 201015 yr ^^^ Too, too, too funny. But hey, if you use the word "schedenfreude", then you can't truely be a #1. You haven't completed your transistion yet! I suppose I would clearly fall into your category #2, although I grew up in nearby Middletown. I currently live well outside of town, much, much closer to I-75. But for 2 years I lived on Columbus Ave, near to Dairy Queen. I wasn't quite in the true historic district, so I was a #2 surrounded by #1 neighbors. And no, we did not fit in. Seems the surrounding township has a lot more #2 in it than Lebanon itself. Thanks for your insight. It explains a lot.
April 20, 201015 yr I think people who come from the immediate area understand Lebanon. I think people who don't have a lot of experience with this area tend to misunderstand it and will project a New England or East Coast exurban community image onto Lebanon. They (especially affluent types) are subject to the groupthink of their similar income friends telling each other how cute and quaint it is and how Lebanon really needs a tapas bar NOW. Lebanon is not nearly as "rich" and cultured as it looks. Here you need to meet people's basic needs in order to stay in business. That's how I see it. One upscale tending place that seemed to do well and had great reviews was Ando Japanese. I was going to try it before they moved to Blue Ash. I think that tells a story right there. It was a good niche place, and they decided that Lebanon was not the best/right environment if they wanted to prosper. So that's kind of reaffirming the pattern I'm describing from the direction of success, not failure.
April 20, 201015 yr When I was growing up in Middletown way back in the 1970s, we used to think of Lebanon as 'the sticks'. Then I left Middletown for college, and eventually left of Upstate NY. Some 20 years after high school, I returned to the area and suddenly Middletown was 'the sticks" and Lebanon was considered something much better. Having lived in the Lebanon area for the past 6 years, I can see that most of the city hasn't changed nearly as much as I had thought (Middletown is another story). There is now a certain element of the school district that is more affluent, but when I met with my son's 2nd grade teacher at the first conference, I pressed upon her that she needed to push my son because he was expected to go to graduate school, like both of his parents. She laughed out loud, nearly fell off her chair, and replied "the parents here right before you said they saw no value to education since their kid was going to grow up and drive a truck". While Lebanon schools are considered 'excellent' by state standards, and there are a number of professional class people in the district, I think the parents right ahead of me at the 2nd grade conference reflect the attitude of a lot more of the population than people want to believe.
April 20, 201015 yr I try to not stereotype the area, as much as possible. I always fail at this intention. :whip: Lebanon is pretty much a hardened prole town. Very redneck and briar. A pretty insular and ignorant area. When I run into smart people here they almost always come from someplace else. I think there's a clique factor with the affluent here. They don't understand that most people here are Rent-to-Own types. Middletown is basically a ghetto with some OK pockets. Lebanon has a bit of cachet, Middletown absolutely none.
April 26, 201015 yr Potential development would bring 69 jobs to Middletown... http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/potential-development-would-bring-69-jobs-to-middletown-673187.html A Houston-based metal coating and metal building component manufacturing company is looking at investing nearly $18 million to create a facility in Middletown. NCI Building Systems, Inc. is considering repurposing a facility on Yankee Road to house a local branch of their international manufacturing operation.
April 26, 201015 yr I've been meaning to comment on the culture of that area. It is an area that needs a good college - preferably private and expensive. What I mean is that the area looks like it should be a college town. For visitors on first glance it looks like an any number of college towns from central ohio or the Northeast of the country, but there isn't one and I think explains some of the odd cultural reality of the area.
April 29, 201015 yr I guess I'll put this here since I don't know where to put it... http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/warren-countys-economic-development-leader-leaving-678989.html Warren County’s economic development leader leaving Kimm Coyner, county economic development director, submitted her resignation Wednesday, April 28, to take a job with Brixey Meyer, a private consulting firm based in Miamisburg with offices in Cincinnati. ... In her new job, she will be doing private consulting with businesses to leverage tax incentives and making site selection decisions. ... Coyner’s resignation was the second by a key Warren County official in less than a week. Late last week, Kim Lapensee, executive director of the Warren County Regional Planning Commission, submitted her resignation to become the township administrator of Butler Twp. in Montgomery County.
July 14, 201014 yr New Distribution center opening in Monroe.... http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/hayneedle-distribution-center-opening-thursday-810583.html [poster's note: I thought we were going to fill the area with high-paying jobs, entry-level shelf-pickers.] from the article... Hayneedle.com, an online retailer of home furnishings and lifestyle products plans to open its new customer distribution center at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 15, at the Monroe Logistics Center, at 1001 Logistics Way. In February 2010, Hayneedle signed lease with Industrial Developments International to occupy the building off Ohio 63. The facility will serve as Hayneedle’s primary customer distribution and fulfillment center. The retailer will occupy 500,000-square feet of the 720,000-square foot building. The local center currently employs 45 associates and is expected to employ up to 85 people by the end of the year, company officials said. Kevin Chesar, Monroe’s director of development, said in February that Hayeedle, Inc. has more than 220 stores.
July 14, 201014 yr This area is going to be key for logistics and distribution due to its relatively central location. This that old '90 Minuet Market' concept again. Note that the Dayton area, too, has been seeing growth in logistics/distro things.
July 19, 201014 yr 2 long-time stores closing in Middletown... Pizza Hut on S. Breiel (after what, 40 years?) Superpetx on Towne Blvd (after 16 years) http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/pizza-hut-superpetz-closing-818831.html
July 22, 201014 yr Crap, I go to that Superpetz all the time. Next closest one is in Miamisburg. @CincyDad [poster's note: I thought we were going to fill the area with high-paying jobs, entry-level shelf-pickers.] You wry dog, you... :wink:
August 10, 201014 yr Lebanon's 2nd largest manufacturer closing.... http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/420-will-lose-jobs-with-closing-of-plant-851661.html 420 will lose jobs with closing of plant The city’s second largest manufacturer will close by year’s end, forcing more than 420 people to lose their jobs. Quad/Graphics announced Monday, Aug. 9, it will close the Lebanon printing facility located at 760 Fujitec Drive by the end of the year.
August 11, 201014 yr http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-business-news/stitches-galore-declares-bankruptcy-855212.html Company with stores in Middletown, Springboro, ad Miamisburg... Stitches Galore declares bankruptcy from the article.... DAYTON — Stitches Galore, LLC, which does business as The Blue Monkey in Springboro, Miamisburg and Middletown, on Aug. 4 filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dayton. The move comes just weeks after the company lost a lawsuit for money damages filed by a landlord, Mehland Developers, in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for lease payments that were past due. The judgment was for more than $85,600, plus any additional postjudgment interest. In its bankruptcy petition, the company lists assets of $36,494 and liabilities of $108,928. “We’re not closing,” LaPierre said. (more at link)
August 13, 201014 yr is this the type of service industry you had in mind? http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/new-bbq-restaurant-opens-in-downtown-lebanon-859276.html New BBQ restaurant opens in downtown Lebanon Customers no longer have to keep patient for Silver Street BBQ, which recently opened at 20 E. Silver St. in downtown Lebanon.
August 14, 201014 yr ^ Silver Street BBQ: word on the street here is that it can stand a *lot* of improvement. Also, a former partner in the joint who came up with the concept was allegedly pushed out, according to the comments in the story. I've been so disappointed in every new local place here that I will give it a couple of months before we bother with it. The soap opera I followed about it online sort of tainted it for me.
August 14, 201014 yr is this the type of service industry you had in mind? We need more Lawncare, Pest control, Window washer, Heating and Cooling, etc (companies). We are undeserved for the population that we have. Every Addition 10-20k in population to the metro we should be adding one company of each. more or less i think you get my drift.
August 14, 201014 yr We need more Lawncare, Pest control, Window washer, Heating and Cooling, etc (companies). We are undeserved for the population that we have. Every Addition 10-20k in population to the metro we should be adding one company of each. more or less i think you get my drift. This is an interesting question. How do you measure something like this? A lot of lawncare companies are 1-5 person companies and they are probably under the radar of a search of D&B or Manta. Many HVAC companies are independent, small mom and pop operations. I know of three that operate primarily here in Lebanon. Same with small "construction companies" that are basically a guy and a truck and some tools.
August 14, 201014 yr Yes and each has the potential of growing much bigger over time. Im in pest control and i know some of the companies has more than 100 people working for them.
August 16, 201014 yr "We need more Lawncare, Pest control, Window washer, Heating and Cooling, etc (companies). " I thought EVERYONE in Lebanon (except those who moved there in the past 10 years) was one of these. When I lived in the city proper, all my neighbors were in these professions. One was a husband-wife team who did landscaping (ok, mostly mowing lawns). Another neighbor worked for an industrial air supply company but did home HVAC on the side. I think everyone did one of these jobs, either as a full-time vocation or as an 'on-the-side' job. Actually, I suspect a great deal of the work force for building all the houses in Mason/Westchester/Liberty township has come from the Lebanon area. The place is crawling with lots of males, mostly non-college educated, driving pickups with business-names on the side. I used to see a lot of them on I-75 in the morning, presumably driving to work sites. My wife would see a lot of these people picking up kids from school during the day. Lawncare, Plumbing, Electrical, Pet control, HVAC companies. I think a bigger issue for the employment scene in Lebanon is the lack of building taking place in Butler/Warren county now, not the lack of available contractors to meet the needs of the existing population.
September 1, 201014 yr MidUSA credit union moves from Monroe to Liberty Township. http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-business-news/liberty-twp-attracts-more-than-2-dozen-businesses-892742.html MidUSA Credit Union moved from its Monroe location and opened this week in the Liberty Falls complex off Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
September 1, 201014 yr "We need more Lawncare, Pest control, Window washer, Heating and Cooling, etc (companies). " Here is a list of nearly 30 businesses opening this year in Liberty Township. Notice how nearly all of them are small service businesses (ie doctor office, dry cleaner, restaurant, etc). The types of business that support the needs of existing households, but not the types of businesses that bring revenue into the area from outside the metro. http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-business-news/the-list-new-businesses-already-in-and-coming-to-liberty-twp--892685.html
September 1, 201014 yr http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/construction-under-way-for-assisted-living-complex-886098.html Construction under way for assisted-living complex LEBANON — Construction began Monday, Aug. 23, on a new assisted-living apartment complex to aid the needy and disenfranchised in Lebanon. New Housing Ohio started building the $1.4 million, 10-unit apartment complex on Hunter’s Run Drive, near the intersection of Columbus Avenue in northeast Lebanon. The complex will be able to house up to 10 people who are disabled, homeless or recovering from addiction, as well as provide counseling and other services to help them regain independence, according to NHO director Scott Boone.
October 1, 201014 yr Why are there not one, but two Goodwill retail stores in Lebanon? A new Goodwill was constructed and just completed on OH 123 at the eastern edge of town. The other new store being built at Wal-Mart on Rt 42 is also a Goodwill. This article mentions both: http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/goodwill-store-to-open-in-april-616400.html Poverty is an emerging big business in Warren County?
October 5, 201014 yr Not sure if poverty is a growing business in Warren County, but the state is paying companies to hire workers in the county...... (this concerns Franklin, which is in Warren County and next to Middletown/Lebanon area....) http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/franklin-company-will-add-20-jobs-with-expansion-963545.html Franklin company will add 20 jobs with expansion from the article: COLUMBUS — A Franklin aerospace company is expected to add 20 jobs after receiving a five-year state tax credit for an expansion of its plant. Ferco Tech will receive a 45-percent tax credit from the Ohio Department of Development, estimated at $51,389. The credit will allow the company to start a $400,000 expansion project that will create 20 new jobs and retain more than 100 jobs at the plant located at 291 Conover Drive. This project includes the reconfiguration of the company’s existing facility to expand and modernize its welding operations.
October 7, 201014 yr Why are there not one, but two Goodwill retail stores in Lebanon? A new Goodwill was constructed and just completed on OH 123 at the eastern edge of town. The other new store being built at Wal-Mart on Rt 42 is also a Goodwill. This article mentions both: http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/goodwill-store-to-open-in-april-616400.html Poverty is an emerging big business in Warren County? Actually, maybe, Yes. US Suburbs Bearing Brunt of Poverty Amid Downturn "WASHINGTON (Oct.7) -- Battered by the downturn, America's suburbs are bearing the brunt of poverty among those of working age that has climbed to its highest level in almost a half century, creating strains on dwindling safety-net programs focusing mostly on the inner-city poor. A pair of analyses by the nonprofit Brookings Institution paint a bleak economic picture for the 100 largest metropolitan areas over the past decade and in the coming years, when the U.S. poverty rate is projected to edge toward 15 percent." http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/suburbs-bear-the-brunt-as-us-poverty-climbs-in-downturn/19664578 Maybe, Monroe or West Chester are the next Over the Rhine, without the great architecture. :lol:
Create an account or sign in to comment