Wed, April 29, 2026

Facebook-f Youtube Instagram
Newsletter Sign up
Show Support
Menu

B2B Stories
B2B Stories

Longtime Aiken horse feed and tack supplier expands to a new location

A few weeks ago, Aiken Saddlery packed up and moved, but you won’t have a hard time finding their new digs at 1090 E. Pine Log Road, a short distance from their original place. The main difference is a much bigger location and even more equipment for horse lovers and their four-legged friends. “We just outgrew the footprint of our old place,” owner, Amy Hebert explained. “The additional space here will allow us to offer even more products.” Aiken Saddlery has been in business since 1979. Hebert has been the

Read More »
Mitzi Oxford July 12, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Tires keep Aiken County’s economy rolling on

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest tyre (tire) manufacturer in the world is Lego! Although Lego did not start producing tires for their sets until 1962, by 2010 they were producing more than 380 million tires. The largest real tire manufacturer in the world by revenue is Michelin, which overtook Bridgestone in 2021. Bridgestone had previously held the No. 1 spot for 11 years. Bridgestone opened its off-the-road radial tire plant in Aiken in 2014. At that time, there were 6,818 manufacturing jobs in Aiken County

Read More »
Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor July 12, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

UGA small business development center to offer business plan workshop

Every great business starts with a plan, but many aspiring entrepreneurs don’t know where to start in developing that plan. The University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center wants to help. The center’s Augusta office, which provides a variety of support services and resources for local small businesses, will offer an in-person Business Plan Workshop on Tuesday, August 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The workshop will meet in person at the SBDC located at 2907 Professional Parkway. Participants will learn the key components of a business plan and

Read More »
Josh Heath July 11, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Local businesses provide protection against school shootings

Like everyone else, Rian True was saddened by watching news coverage of the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that killed 21 people. But True, a local business owner is now doing his part to help prevent tragedies like that in the future. He owns and operates two local businesses: Carolina CoverTech, a manufacturing facility in North Augusta, and School Safety Solution, a company that sells and ships a variety of products designed to keep students and employees safe in schools throughout the U.S. One of

Read More »
Josh Heath July 10, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Mondays with Rick: The numbers gap between young women and men in college

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about the disparity in college enrollment between women and men and the value of the trades. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: A statistic I saw recently was startling – the ratio of women to men in college is around 60-40. What is happening to the young men? Rick: That’s true in business schools as well and it’s been going

Read More »
Gary Kauffman July 10, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Local fast-food restaurant to be demolished by ANGC

The Augusta National Golf Club has found a new purpose for a longtime fast-food restaurant. Local Wendy’s franchisee, Mike Iezzi leased the location at 2738 Washington Road next to Olive Garden from a company called Meadows Inc. from 2007 until a few years ago, when Augusta National purchased the property. Iezzi said he’s been paying the golf club monthly rent to operate the busy franchise location. According to Golf Magazine, the restaurant property was purchased for $3.4 Million by AGNC. Iezzi added that Wendy’s will close permanently on Sunday, July

Read More »
Josh Heath and Neil Gordon July 7, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Best labor markets in Georgia, S.C. are on the coasts

Last week, I compared the labor market in Augusta to other metro areas in Georgia. However, two counties in the August metro area are in South Carolina (Aiken and Edgefield), so how does Augusta stack up against South Carolina cities? Like Georgia, the fastest-growing labor markets in South Carolina are on the coast. The Labor Market Index (LMI) for Charleston grew at 2.5 percent over the last year and by a whopping 4.7 percent in Myrtle Beach. (The fastest growth in Georgia was Savannah at 3.6 percent). Over the past

Read More »
Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor July 6, 2022 1 Comment
B2B Stories

Local business owner invests in three downtown properties

A local business owner and investor has added three more properties to his growing portfolio of dozens in downtown Augusta. Rafy Bassali has purchased 1293, 1296, and 1297 Broad St., according to the Finem Group with Meyboym Commercial Properties, which represented the seller in this transaction. Bassali, who owns the building next door to these businesses, said all three are currently occupied. “It’s the gateway to downtown Augusta, and I think in the future, it can be beautified,” he said. The Girl Cave Boutique occupies 1293 Broad St.; Johnson, Laschober

Read More »
Josh Heath July 6, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Thoughts from the General: Insights from flawed leaders and their enablers….

I may be one of the few folks in our area who watched, on live TV, the McCarthy, Nixon, and Trump hearings. There are some interesting comparisons between and among these powerful political leaders and their close advisors. As a cadet at West Point, I watched the McCarthy hearings in 1953. I was in the hospital and a black and white TV was at the far end of my ward. Twenty years later, I watched intently many of the 1973 Watergate hearings. Within the past couple of weeks, the January

Read More »
Ret. Maj. General Perry Smith July 6, 2022 No Comments
Load More