This week's Buzz of Northwest Georgia (click)
-Rumor of the week: Mellow Mushroom looks at Johnny Carino's site.
-Monday Focus: Natalie Simms looks at holiday parties and the economy.
-Busy night for Alcohol Control Commission with Johnny's, Peach Palace.
-New photo studio joining downtown Rome lineup off First & First.
-Another dose of dinner theater on the way next month.
-Peaks & Valleys: Celebrating the life of Jo Heyman.
John McClellan's latest playoff picks>Football Report
-Close win--1 point--for Calhoun while Twiggs County poised to end Darlington's post-season run.
Your latest forecast:
-Monday: Some drizzle, then fog. High of 57, low of 45.
-Tuesday: High of 63, low of 46. Drizzle, then 20% rain chance.
-Thanksgiving Day: Partly sunny, high of 62.
-Extended forecast> Click Local radar / regional radar
Norman Arey's Sports Commentary>Arey
-With seemingly half the college coaches on the hot seat, it is time for the season to end.
Sports/Rome Braves/State Mutual Stadium> Sports
-Dec. 5/Annual half-price sale at The Trading Post.
-Links to winter baseball leagues.
-NAIA playoffs set with final two winners due in Rome for national football championship game on Dec. 19> NAIA
-Registration, training begin for 3rd Berry Half Marathon March 6.
Georgia High School Football Daily> Details
This week's Buzz:
-Mellow Mushroom franchise looking at Johnny Carino's?
-Monday Focus: Natalie Simms looks at holiday parties and the economy
-Busy agenda for Alcohol Control Commission: Johnny's, Peach Palace.
-New photo studio for downtown Rome; dinner theater returns.
-Peaks & Valleys: Celebrating the life, contributions of Jo Heyman
Mellow Mushroom coming to Johnny Carino's site?
This report is picking up steam day after day. The skinny: Investors are looking at opening a Mellow Mushroom franchise at the former home of Johnny Carino's on Turner McCall Boulevard. For months, we've been hearing talk about MM franchisees scouting locales in Greater Rome and Cartersville. Much of that talk centered on Broad Street until recent weeks.
The Carino's site has had a few names over the years including Up the Creek. The leasing fee has been an issue in the past but apparently some changes have been made, making the property more attractive to would-be franchisees.
We dropped a "sufficiently ambiguous" hint about this the other week. If it does come to be, Mellow Mushroom would be a nice stimulus to the Village Theaters area. The strip has had its ups and downs with the car service spot now vacant north of Verizon; the empty car dealership; the remodeled Days Inn; the idled Carino's; and the currently closed theaters. On the flip side, the area has seen the arrival of the DLS Financial Center and RiverWalk with Ledbetter Properties studying another retail venture on the opposite side of Riverside Parkway.
One more sign of life: MB's at Village Theatres will be home to a New Year's Eve Party featuring the Georgia Blues Brothers and the Back Street Boogie Band. Details: 706-234-2200, ext. 203.
Foxworthy Studio coming to East First Street
A new photo studio is coming together at 137 E. First. St. in the warehouse area behind Cotton Block. Stan Foxworthy, who recently left Pirelli, and his wife Sharon are preparing the shop for clients and customers. Foxworthy previously was marketing manager for Pirelli's motorcycle division and is an avid photographer. The Foxworthys attended Friday's Downtown Development Authority coffee break and shared some of their plans for the studio. It is another new player in the "Cotton Block" stretch of Broad Street and downtown Rome.
Busy night for Alcohol Control Commission
-Monday's 5 p.m. meeting includes:
-Reviewing a new beer, wine and liquor pouring license for Johnny's NY Style Pizza, 233 Broad St., to Robert Blumberg. Johnny's will go in where Riverside Gourmet now sits. Riverside is exploring new locations.
-Peach Palace under review. Two agenda items deal with the restaurant and bar at 425 Broad St. A noise ordinance violation and an update on the stabbing outside the establishment Nov. 7.
-For more, click ACC
Also Buzzing this week:
-A Christmas dose of dinner theater is coming together for next month. We'll have details later this week.
-The trees are here or on the way: Kroger wins the "first trees" award this Christmas season with deliveries due at Home Depot and Tree City at Kmart this week.
-Eight teams remain in the hunt for the NAIA national championship game at Barron Stadium on Dec. 19. Both of last year's finalists, Carroll College and champion Sioux Falls, are in the hunt again this year> Click Details
Troubled economy means some cutbacks for holiday parties although local caterers, event managers say impact not severe
By Natalie Simms
Its seems the economy will be putting a damper on some holiday cheer this season as local caterers are seeing some decline in corporate events. While most are still booked in December, some events are scaled down to help curb costs.
"We are still booked up and busy, but a lot of our regular customers will not be able to have Christmas parties because of the economy," says Marie Brinson with The Catering Co. at The Palladium. "Several of our previous customers have gone out of business or have had to cut back.
But, she adds, "We have a lot of smaller parties like Sunday School class parties and our Sunday buffet has definitely increased. And those that are booked are still doing as much as before, so we've gained a lot of new people, which is great."
Barbara Triplitt and Ellen Keene with Two Can Do Catering are staying busy, too. While their larger corporate accounts have slowed, they are still booked in December.
"Things are going great this holiday season and we are almost booked for December," Triplitt says. "We've had a little slow down on our larger corporate things but everybody else wants to have a good time and a nice party."
However, they have noticed companies being tighter with their budgets.
"They are being cautious with their pocketbooks and not ordering caviar or stuffed filets with lobster," she says. "But they are still picking nice menus. So we can't say the economy has drastically affected us."
Others like Audrey Polczynski with Rome's Magretta Hall have noticed a lot of cut backs.
"It is slower than last year but we still have to keep on going," she says. "We do have stuff scheduled but it's on a much smaller scale. And we still have some Friday and Saturday nights open in December. The economy is just really affecting things everywhere, not just us."
One of the area's largest employers, Harbin Clinic, elected to cancel its annual Christmas party for approximately 1,000 employees and physicians because of a current salary freeze.
"The clinic did decide not to have the Christmas party this year but we are planning a toy drive after Thanksgiving so that we can still contribute to Angel Express," says Becky Wiggins, Director of Human Resources. "Employees will be receiving the Christmas gift check from the physicians based on years of service."
Another event venue, The Forum, hasn't seen a slowdown, says General Manager Brent Poplin.
"We haven't really noticed a difference," he says. "We had some large corporations that canceled their events because of the economy but we've been able to make up the difference."
From Thanksgiving through Dec. 31, there are 51 events schedule at The Forum compared to 50 for the same time period in 2008. Poplin also says there is a 13 percent increase this year in the number of patrons for these events.
"Our rates are better Monday through Friday than they are on the weekends because I have to pay extra staff on the weekends," he says. "So people are planning events during the week so they can have all day to set up and decorate at a lower cost than on the weekend."
Poplin also notes that January will be one of the busiest months The Forum's had in a number of years. Planned are a Motorcross event, a bull-riding event, another "Battle of Rome," the annual bridal show and a major country artist concert.
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
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