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Consumer Stories
Closings

Family issues and business obstacles lead to closing

Things were upbeat and happy in May 2022 when ABD’s Gary Kauffman profiled a local family living a dream of running Sarge’s Soda Shop, next to Food Lion in Grovetown. Just a year later, family squabbles led to the permanent closure of the place with the fun, 1950’s vibe. A former vendor said that the “cool,” hang-out spot is closed permanently. “It was part family issues, road construction, and staffing issues,” the vendor said. Three brothers and sisters couldn’t all come together to make it work, plus time running the

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Neil Gordon and Gary Kauffman August 22, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Best Places to Work: Tri-Development Center of Aiken County

Tri-Development Center of Aiken County 1016 Vaucluse Road Aiken, SC 29801 hwaddell@aikentdc.org 803-642-8802 The Tri-Development Center of Aiken County is recognized across the state as being a leader in the provision of services and support to people with disabilities. They serve children and adults with autism, head and spinal cord injuries, intellectual disabilities, and related disabilities as well as providing support for their families. Heather Waddell enjoys her life of service. She’s been at TDC for 25 years in six different roles but was named executive director in 2021. “Being

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Mitzi Oxford August 22, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

New crop of apprentices joining the Savannah River Site workforce

A training partnership between the Savannah River Site and Aiken Technical College has graduated its latest cohorts of students. The SRS Apprenticeship School involves three missions at the site, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), and Savannah River National Laboratory. “The site is going through tremendous growth over the next five to 10 years and their workforce challenge is that a lot of their current employees have been out there for 40 years and are now retiring,” said Dr. Steven Simmons, dean of the School of

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Dana Lynn McIntyre August 22, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Mixed news for Augusta labor market

Over the first six months of the year, ten Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Georgia saw improving labor market conditions and four declining conditions as measured by the Labor Market Index (LMI). By contrast, the best-performing labor markets were Dalton, Columbus, and Rome. The worst-performing metro area was Warner Robins. The Augusta MSA grew by 0.2 percent, slightly below the state average of 0.5 percent. In Augusta, employment fell slightly, and unemployment increased between December 2022 and June 2023. However, the labor force and average weekly earnings increased. Hours worked

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe August 21, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

CSRA roadside café set to close

On the edge of Aiken County, almost close enough to throw a rock to the Barnwell County line, Almost There Café opened for business last fall. Owner, Dawn Redmon and her cooks served up good ole Southern fare fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, cornbread, and a variety of other dishes that soon became favorites. The building at 245 White Pond Road in Williston had been a donut shop, a chicken joint, and a mercantile over the years. It wasn’t a big place, but locals seemed to love the food.

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Mitzi Oxford August 21, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

United Way announces goal for 2023 campaign

Trying to raise $2.5 million in 13 weeks. That was the ambitious goal announced Friday for the United Way of the CSRA’s 2023 campaign. Business leaders, employees, and volunteers packed the Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church of Augusta for the annual breakfast kickoff. Some were dressed for the office, but a majority were in work clothes, boots, and tee shirts emblazoned with the campaign’s rallying call, “Together We Can!” That group was participating in the United Way’s Project Serve Day of Caring Campaign. Immediately after breakfast, they headed out

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Dana Lynn McIntyre August 20, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Real Talk Real Estate: Guarding against the growing threat of rental home fraud

In today’s interconnected digital age, renting a home has become mostly web-driven. This has left space for a new menace to emerge, threatening the dreams and financial stability of consumers, and rental home fraud. As the housing market evolves, so do the tactics of unscrupulous individuals seeking to exploit unsuspecting renters. The convenience of online transactions has been a good thing for most of us. Prospective renters can peruse listings, virtually tour properties, communicate with landlords or property managers, sign a lease, and pay the deposit without ever stepping foot

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Shawna Woodward, Re/Max Reinvented Evans August 17, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Latest report shows almost $3 billion impact from AU and AU Health

Augusta University, both the Health Sciences campus and the Summerville campus, are educating the workforce of the future while pumping millions into the state and local economies. The latest report by the University System of Georgia found Augusta University and AU Health, including the campus in Athens, are responsible for a $2.94 billion economic boost to the Georgia economy in 2022 and employed 21,250 people. Add to that, the $8.6 million and 69 jobs from campuses in Albany, Savannah, Brunswick, Rome, and Dalton. “Augusta University and AU Health are not

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Dana Lynn McIntyre August 16, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Best of Business Lunch Review: Carolina Ale House

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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Wes Hennings August 16, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Last chance this year for meeting city employers at job fair

Editor’s note: This is part 3 in a series of reports that Dana Lynn McIntyre has compiled for ABD regarding hiring events by the city of Augusta. Job seekers have one more chance today to meet face-to-face with City of Augusta department heads. The city has been holding a mega job fair over the first three weeks of this month. As with the two previous events, this one will be from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Linda Beazley Room in the Municipal Building at 535 Telfair Street. This

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Dana Lynn McIntyre August 16, 2023 No Comments
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