This building at the intersection of Madison and North 3rd Streets was transformed to the Walker Events Center, and opened April 21. JOHN WRIGHT | The Sun
Michael Tripp (left) and Chad Schafer assist a pair of customers during Quilt Week at their Rivertown Dogs hot dog stand in downtown Paducah. The venue made its debut during the American Quilter's Society Show & Contest with a setup at 2nd and Broadway streets. JOHN WRIGHT | The Sun
Jerry Pace and David Curtis, former owner of Backwoods Barbecue in Paducah, teamed to renovate the 7,800-square-foot space to host special events from weddings to family and class reunions to business meetings.
Pace said the building includes a 3,000-square-foot oak dance floor. Interest in the new venue is high, Pace said, with about 25 events scheduled as of April 15.
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Paducah & Louisville Railway moved into its new headquarters at 200 Clark St. — a new 24,000-square-foot building with state-of-the-art environmental and logistic features.
The headquarters holds 60 of P&L’s management, customer service representatives and dispatchers. It also serves as the home base for the company’s customer service and dispatching services for affiliate railroads Evansville Western Railway, Inc. and the Appalachian and Ohio Railroad, Inc.
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David Guess of Paducah purchased the residential building near the corner of Ninth and Jefferson streets with plans to reopen the building’s six units as rental apartments.
The building, which is old enough to bear a water mark from the 1937 flood, was most recently an apartment complex before it sat vacant for close to a year.
Guess said he plans to update the units’ electrical and air systems and rent them out some time before 2013.
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The J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study ranked Edward Jones highest in employee adviser satisfaction in the Financial Investment Firms category.
Eight financial services firms ranked in the fourth-ever study conducted by J.D. Power that has employees report satisfaction ratings in nine different areas.
Edward Jones employees ranked the company highest in firm performance. Based in St. Louis, Edward Jones has 10 offices in McCracken County and 17 more in far western Kentucky and extreme southern Illinois. In 2011, Edward Jones employed 354, according to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
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Downtown Paducah lost its mother hen after Mother Duncan’s bar and restaurant at 225 Broadway closed its doors for good. Restaurant owner Patricia Duncan had worked as a bartender at that location for 20 years when it was known as Jeremiah’s Restaurant.
After new restaurant management closed Jeremiah’s in March 2009, Duncan took over the business in November that year and had run it as Mother Duncan’s.
“I’m going to miss it,” Duncan said. “I hate to see the business close but I know it’s God’s way of telling me it was time to get out.”
Tom and Martha Sanders still own the building. Duncan said new partners recently brought in to help run the restaurant reported to her last month that the restaurant wouldn’t be able to pay its bills. She said she’s moved on and looks forward to a new venture where she will work somewhere other than 225 Broadway.
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Glisson Vineyards & Winery of Paducah was awarded the Xtreme Business Makeover organized by technology firm KeeFORCE of Symsonia.
Two other finalists — Signs & Signs Graphic Design Studio and The Pasta House Co.— survived to the final round. The makeover’s prize package is worth $40,000 of resources and materials designed to helped an established small business get over the hump and reach another level of business development.
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Southern Business & Development magazine named Gov. Steve Beshear its Person of the Year.
The national economic development publication’s latest issue, which hit mailboxes in late April, applauds Beshear’s leadership in economic development and his ability to get past partisanship to accomplish his goals, according to a release from Beshear’s office. The magazine’s story highlights Beshear’s work with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to tackle the Ohio River Bridges Project.
“It is an honor to be personally recognized by a leading economic development publication for my commitment to create and retain jobs across the commonwealth,” Beshear said in a statement.
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The Business Education Partnership of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Kentucky Work Ready Community” kickoff luncheon May 8 at the Emerging Technology Center on the campus of West Kentucky Community & Technical College.
Held in conjunction with the West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board, the event informed the local business community of the value of being a Work Ready community. For more information, call 270-443-1746 or email sthomas@paducahchamber.org.
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The Rivertown Hot Dogs cart that served hot dogs, chips and drinks downtown during the AQS Quilt Show & Contest week will be downtown at various events this summer.
The stand’s owners, Michael Tripp and Chad Schafer, plan to operate the stand during Live on Broadway and festivals. Priding themselves on authentic Chicago-style hot dogs, the business partners from Lone Oak also serve Sterzing Potato Chips, an Iowa-based brand the two have known and loved since childhood.
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Paducah-based Supply Solutions will open a retail store and warehouse location in Marion, Ill. Supply Solutions is a distributor of janitorial, chemical and paper goods, as well as restaurant supplies and equipment.
“Opening this second location will enhance our abilities to service our growing Illinois business,” said Jim Garrett, company owner, in a release. Supply Solutions purchased many of the assets of the former Landmark Chemical company in Marion, and plans to continue manufacturing private label products at its new location.
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The Party Shop opened at a new location at 2420 New Holt Road.
Owner Carla Cruse said she moved the 8-year-old party supply business from 455 S. 31st St. to New Holt Road for greater visibility. Cruse’s shop offers decorations, balloons, plates and napkins and anything else party throwers might need.
New store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 270-442-0833 for more information.
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Five businesses with local offices ranked among large companies in the eighth annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky competition held by the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management state council and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Businesses were selected among two categories: small/medium companies (25 to 249 U.S. employees) and large companies (250 or more U.S. employees).
St. Louis-based financial firm Edward Jones ranked second; Independence Bank, based in Owensboro, ranked fourth; Hilliard Lyons, headquartered in Louisville, ranked 13th; Heritage Bank, based in Hopkinsville, ranked 24th; C.A. Jones Management Group, LLC in Murray ranked 25th.
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A new Edible Arrangements opened in earnest May 6 at 5187 Hinkleville Road in Suite F, which is in the same shopping complex that holds its neighbor, Swirl’s Frozen Yogurt.
Owner Priyesh Nathu said he decided to open a local store for the national chain after seeing a store his wife’s family owns in South Carolina.
“It’s a unique idea that brings people together. It’s something everyone can enjoy,” Nathu said.
The delivery and in-store gift shop and juice bar offers “fresh floral-shaped fruit bouquets,” or edible fruit arrangements resembling flowers.
Nathu said the store’s 10 employees either deliver the movable feast, or locals can buy from the location’s gift shop and drink counter that offer smoothies, parfaits and fruit salads.
For more information visit ediblearrangements.com or call 270-908-4555.
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Patina looks to bring new life to downtown and to old furnishings at 224 Broadway.
All the home decor and furniture offered by Patina owners Darrell and Robin Martin of Marshall County are re-purposed or made from reused or recycled products.
Robin Martin offered the example of a grand piano sitting in the showroom that when opened becomes an entertainment unit equipped with a large plasma TV.
Robin said husband Darrell does most of the remodel and design work to turn older furniture and other decor pieces into new items all together.
Martin said store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. For more information visit patinainpaducah.blogspot.com or call 270-408-1518.
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The Midtown Market at 3000 Broadway opened May 16.
The new market owned by Andy Carloss at the corner of Broadway and Nahm Street resembles those known in the Northeast for their made-to-order meals and open-air displays.
About half of the building’s 7,000 square feet is retail with food storage and offices taking up the other half.
The new market returned a locally-owned grocery to the spot where Myrick’s supermarket operated for 43 years before closing in 2003.
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Free oil changes and a chance to see the BIGFOOT monster truck were up for grabs May 4 at a grand opening for Plaza Tire Service at 5155 Hinkleville Road.
The Hinkleville Road location is the company’s third location in Paducah with the two other locations being at 2854 Lone Oak Road and 3033 Irvin Cobb Drive.
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An excavator was busy the week of May 6 preparing the ground beside Ingram Barge Company, 900 S. Third St., for additional parking.
A building that formerly housed a consignment shop was torn down to make way for another 70 to 80 parking spaces, according to John Operle, vice president of operations.
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The Virginia Association of Community Banks endorsed the Web@Work portal from Computers Services, Inc. in Paducah.
Web@Work simplifies communication by providing two designated online platforms, one for employee intranets and one for board communications, according to a company release.
The Virginia association’s endorsement makes the 17th by a state banking association for the program.
CSI reported record revenues and net income Tuesday for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Feb. 29, according to a company release. The record results for fiscal 2012 marked CSI’s 12th consecutive year of revenue growth and 15th consecutive year of growth in net income.
The company’s revenues for fiscal 2012 were $178.2 million and rose 8.8 percent compared with $163.8 million for fiscal 2011. Net income rose to $25.5 million in fiscal 2012, a 6.2 percent increase compared with fiscal 2011 income of $24 million. Net income per fully diluted share increased 6.8 percent to $1.72 compared with $1.61 last year.
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America’s Mattress locations in Murray and Paducah were among just over 100 mattress retailers in the country to be selected as an Elite Retailer by Tempur-Pedic.
The recognition goes to retailers who offer quality selection, service and satisfaction. Owners Scott and Wanda Vaughn own the locations at 944 S. 12th St. in Murray and at 451 Jordan Drive, Suite J in Paducah.
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Precision Steel, LLC of Calvert City, owned by Harper Industries Company, achieved 10 years with no lost-time accidents. The company specializes in structural and miscellaneous steel fabrication, beam, heavy gauge and plate fabrication, along with custom steel work.
Precision Steel has averaged 60 employees over the 10-year period and has amassed more than 1.1 million work hours with zero lost-time accidents.
“In our heavy industrial industry, this safety accomplishment is practically unheard of,” said Edwin Donohoo, Precision Steel president, in a statement. “We are dealing with extremely heavy metal, lifting, cutting, and welding on a daily basis and to accomplish this work with no accidents is a tribute to our people and the safety culture that we have instilled throughout the organization.”
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For the sixth year out of the past eight, financial firm Edward Jones ranked highest in investor satisfaction with full service brokerage firms in the J.D. Power and Associates Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study.
The study measures overall investor satisfaction with full service investment firms based on seven factors: investment advisor; investment performance; account information; account offerings; commissions and fees; website and problem resolution.
The St. Louis-based firm had 354 Kentucky employees as of Dec. 1 and 10 offices in McCracken County along with 17 more in far western Kentucky and extreme southern Illinois.
