B2B Stories

CEO shares story of unexpected revival of family business

When Stephanie Stuckey bought the iconic company her grandfather built, her father told her she had never even run a lemonade stand before and questioned her ability to run that company. In 2019, Stuckey, a former attorney and Georgia state representative, used her life savings to buy back Stuckey’s, a struggling company that owns and operates a chain of convenience stores that sell a variety of items, including pecan candies, gas, and souvenirs. In 1937, during the Great Depression, her grandfather, W.S. Stuckey Sr. started the company as a roadside

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B2B Stories

$68 million investment will create more than 1000 jobs in CSRA

A Vietnam-based company that makes and retreads large, commercial vehicle tires will build a manufacturing plant near Fairfax in Allendale County. The facility will be the first U.S. location for Tin Thanh Group Americas. The $68 million investment and hiring of more than 1000 employees are a boost for Allendale County which has the second-highest unemployment rate in the state. “Tin Thanh Group Americas is excited to make South Carolina home for its first location outside Vietnam and is proud to be South Carolina’s first Vietnamese company,” said Chief Executive

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Darin Myers

Coach Darin: Happy employees, happy business: Boosting morale

Employee morale has a massive impact on the overall success of your business. When employees are happy, engaged, and thriving they are more productive, less likely to call in sick, and much less apt to quit their jobs. According to a recent Gallup poll, “highly engaged business units realize an 81% difference in absenteeism and a 14% difference in productivity.” Quantitative data is important in understanding employee morale and workplace wellness dynamics. Many business owners mistakenly assess their employee morale on a feeling or general sense of their team’s perceived well-being

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Restaurants/Food

Business Lunch Review: Bonefish Grill

Editor’s Note: Wes Hennings never met a meal he walked away from and is an opinionated eater! Each Thursday, he shares the results of a business lunch he’s had with a colleague as a way to advise our business community on the good, bad, and the tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let ABD or the restaurant know where he is going and his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he visits on a 1-5 scale with “5” being outstanding. We call this our “Real Business Lunch Review”.

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B2B Podcasting

The struggle is real to find and maintain employees

If you are in any business, whether it’s retail, food service, manufacturing, or any other business, you’ve felt the pain of finding employees who show up and want to work. Neil Gordon discusses the struggle with Nate Lauger from Manpower.

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Consumer Stories

More than 60 CSRA companies will participate in upcoming job fair

Many business owners will agree that good help is hard to find, but Aiken Technical College wants to help connect local employers with qualified applicants. The college will host its Spring 2023 Community Job Fair on Wednesday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the college’s gymnasium, which is in the 900 building. The event is open to the public. So far, more than 60 CSRA employers have signed up to participate, according to ATC’s Director of Student Success, Jeff Boehl. “There really is something for everyone,” Boehl

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Consumer Stories

Local law firms to compete in statewide hunger relief fundraiser

Last year, attorneys and law firms throughout the state raised more than $880,000, the equivalent of about 3.5 million meals, to feed hungry Georgia families. Of that, local legal organizations raised a little over $33,000, which allowed Golden Harvest Food Bank to provide 99,000 of those meals, thanks in large part to five CSRA firms. In this area, the top fundraisers for the 2022 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy were the Durham Bray Law Firm, P.C.; CSRA Bench; Fulcher Hagler, LLP; The Law Offices of Nathan M. Jolles, P.C.; and Kilpatrick

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Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned: A Method to the Madness

As a sports fan, this may well be my favorite time of the year. Major League Baseball is in the midst of Spring Training, and this year, we have the extra treat of the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2017. Professional golf just held what many call its “fifth major,” the Players Championship. However, the centerpiece of the sports calendar this time of year is “March Madness,” the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. So many of us will be spending our time over the next three weeks filling

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B2B Stories

CSRA restaurateurs to open second location

Greg and Angie Pierce have owned a popular Aiken eatery for almost a year, but in the next few months, the couple plans to open a second location in North Augusta. In May, the Pierces, who own The Feed Sack located at 1593 Whiskey Road, plan to launch their second location at 1069 Edgefield Road, Suites 103 and 105. Suite 103 was formerly occupied by Crazy Buffet, a Chinese restaurant, while Suite 105 was vacant. Greg said they decided to expand because of the traffic in North Augusta, and the

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