Baxter Village project nears completion
BIZ BUZZ
Baxter Village's phase two is ready to go.
Crews were recently working on paving the parking lot. Andy Anderson, founder and chief executive officer of Anderson Financial Group, the owner/developer of Baxter Village on Highway 371 North, said with a few final touches the project is complete. A clock tower is expected to be finished next month.
Anderson said Christmas lights are expected to be added for the season on both phases, which includes the original which is anchored by Famous Dave's. While no one has signed a lease yet, Anderson said there has been a lot of interest in the center, which has about 21,000 square feet. And with businesses focused on their major retail season, this isn't likely to be a time to make a move. But Anderson said he wouldn't be surprised to see activity in early 2008.
"I'm really pleased with how it turned out," he said.
The Morey's fish icon, a legendary part of the Highway 371 skyline before the business moved into the Baxter Village, was spotted in the parking lot on a trailer.
Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
BISYS Retirement Services, with offices in Brainerd and Baxter, has a new name: Ascensus. The company reports the name is a Latin word in origin that means "a moving upward."
Matt Walsh, owner of Matty's restaurants in Lake Shore and now along Highway 210 near Brainerd, said the new restaurant will be identical to his Lake Shore site with a few extras in the works as the restaurant gets going. A 1987 Brainerd High School graduate, Walsh said he's not put off by the challenge of opening the restaurant that has changed hands with regularity since its hey day as Hasse's.
"I guess I kind of thrive on taking the one that doesn't work," he said. In fact, the Lake Shore restaurant, which opened nearly four years ago, was a similiar reclamation project. Walsh said the Highway 210 building was inspected and is in good shape with money invested into its kitchen. The restaurant will seat 100 with a couple of lounge areas. Employees should number 15 to 20. Walsh said his experience and passion for the work should help here where others may have stumbled. The restaurant is expected to open before Christmas.
"I'm commited to the location," Walsh said. "I've been wanting to be in Brainerd for 10 years. It took me a lot longer than I thought."
Walsh said his target market is the people of Brainerd who aren't being catered to while Baxter has a multitude of choices.
"I'm just basically bringing the burger back to Brainerd," he said. "I want to bring the same style of service, and the same quality of food we are known for."
In an update on Source Interlink's closing in Brainerd, Janet Chaffey, human resources manager, said the company's closing as a business consolidation came as a surprise. Chaffey worked with the Brainerd business for 26 years. She said most employees of the 40 employees here are 35-50 years old in a variety of jobs from the office to the warehouse. Many have been with the company for decades and the closing will mean leaving people who have become like family, she said.
Ten additional workers who are drivers outside the area also will lose their jobs. A larger facility in McCook, Ill., will serve customers in the Brainerd area. Chaffey said the consolidation is a trend in the industry, which now uses third parties like UPS or Fed Ex to deliver the products instead of their own fleet. The business handles thousands of magazines, basically anything in a rack at a checkout counter comes from magazine distribution.
The company is offering an industry standard for severance, Chaffey said, and more notice was given regarding the Feb. 1 closing to give employees more time. The company is working with Rural Minnesota CEP and is offering help on resumes and job interviews as well as services for the emotional turmoil that comes with job loss.
"We are doing what we can to make a bad situation the best we can for everybody," Chaffey said. "We have an excellent workforce here with a lot of talented employees and any future employer will be lucky to have them. I wish I had a business I could hire them all."
Bed & Biscuits Pet Inn, 7767 County Road 45, four miles south of the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds, is open with new owner Missy Fletcher. The business was formerly known as Brainerd Bones & Biscuits.
The business provides pet boarding, pet day care and grooming and homemade biscuit treats.
A Brainerd High School and San Jose State University graduate, Fletcher is also involved in dog rescue with the American Brittany Rescue organization. As an owner of two Brittan dogs, two cats and a parrot, Fletcher this business is a life long dream to work with animals.
RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.