Consumer Stories

Consumer Stories

Starbucks to open new Columbia County location

No matter where you live in the CSRA, you probably don’t have to drive very far to get to a Starbucks. The coffee giant will soon bring another location to Columbia County. The land has been cleared to make room for the new store, which will be located between Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Taco Bell on South Belair Road in Martinez. Starbucks already has numerous shops throughout Columbia County and the CSRA, including Grovetown, Evans, Augusta, and North Augusta. Coffee lovers can also visit locations in local Kroger and Target

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Consumer Stories

Faith Friday: Sweet tale of retirement to proprietorship gives local woman new outlook of purpose

The logo of one local business depicts a cheerful, apron-donned woman whose head is in the shape of an icing-drizzled Bundt cake. However, for Katrina Golden, baking homemade goodies from scratch is not only in her head but also in her heart. The 52-year-old retiree is now taking her heart’s desire to the masses through Lil Mama’s Sweets and Treats. “My husband and son operate the business with me and we also have a small staff,” Golden said. “We started this business after I retired from the Social Security Administration

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Consumer Stories

Local nonprofit to host 5K for a worthy cause

On Tuesday, in only two hours, the Augusta Dream Center provided food for 138 CSRA families, according to its Executive Director, Kellie Cardona. In about three weeks, with help from its corporate sponsors and the local community, the Center will host a race to help feed more families. The nonprofit will hold its third annual Run for Hope 5K on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 9 a.m. at its offices located at 3364 Peach Orchard Road in south Augusta, behind Stevens Creek Church. Corporate sponsors for the event include Cadence Bank,

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Consumer Stories

Business Lunch Review: First Watch

Editor’s Note: Our regular lunch reviewer, Wes Hennings, is taking a few weeks of paternity leave. While we assume he is still eating something, somewhere, he won’t be writing about it while he’s off duty. Meanwhile, ABD editor, Gary Kauffman will pinch-hit with the reviews of his lunches with a colleague, as a way to advise our business community on the good, the bad, and the tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let the restaurant know where he is going; his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he

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Consumer Stories

Augusta-based staffing agency launches employee car giveaway

For many companies, offering financial incentives has become a way to recruit new employees. But an Augusta-based employment agency is offering an incentive that has four wheels and an engine. Sizemore Inc., which provides staffing and recruiting services for janitorial, security, and other types of positions, is giving its new and current employees the chance to win a brand-new car. To be eligible, a worker must be employed full-time by Thursday, Sept. 1, and have perfect attendance until the drawing, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 24. The giveaway

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Consumer Stories

Mayor-elect packs the house of Real Estate and Business leaders

More than 200 realtors and home-oriented business owners got “sold” by a self-proclaimed salesman, Augusta Mayor-elect Garnett Johnson. Johnson was the keynote speaker at the bi-monthly Greater Augusta Association of Realtors—a group of more than 2,000 members. “I need your help,” Johnson told the capacity crowd. “Your group is so important to welcoming people into our area,” he said. The owner of Augusta Office Solutions and Modern Business Workplace Solutions in downtown Augusta said his next-door neighbor was almost talked out of moving onto Walton Way— to look at Columbia

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Consumer Stories

Local entrepreneurs celebrate the grand opening of a shared kitchen, retail space

When you think of a food court, large corporations like Chick-fil-A and Auntie Anne’s probably come to mind. But Onnie Sanford has launched her own food court featuring only local businesses. Sanford, the owner of Paleo Num Yums located at 359 Furys Ferry Road, has turned her shop into a new shared kitchen and retail space called OPP Kitchen, LLC. OPP stands for Other People Prepping. She now shares space with four other businesses: Angelino’s Street Tacos, PJ’s Snacky Sack, Uprooted Vegan Cuisine, and ZipChef. Sanford and the other entrepreneurs

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Consumer Stories

Faith Friday: From white collar to blue collar: Faith powers Larry Jones’ plumbing business

The year was 1985. A young Larry Jones was wearing a suit and tie daily to work as an account specialist at the Medical College of Georgia. He was also burning the midnight oil, as the adage goes, helping a friend’s father with his plumbing. He says those service calls to help others with their plumbing needs and repairs brought him more joy than the corporate world of crunching numbers. “I enjoyed it, and when there was an opening at MCG for a plumber, I applied and trained,” he said.

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Consumer Stories

Augusta University men’s basketball coach speaks at a local business meeting

When the Augusta University men’s basketball team made it to the 2022 NCAA Division II championship tournament and finished the season with a 33-4 record, some assumed they had an easy season, according to head Coach, Dip Metress. He spoke to a group of local home professionals at this month’s CSRA Home Connections meeting. At the meeting on Wednesday, Metress discussed the 2021-2022 season, which he said wasn’t easy for him or his players. “Everybody wants to see the end product,” said Metress, who has led the team for 18

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Consumer Stories

GreenJackets get new owner, little change expected

The Augusta GreenJackets have a new owner, but it will mostly be a case of the new boss being the same as the old boss. Last December, the GreenJackets had come under the management of Diamond Baseball Holdings, an organization formed by Endeavor Group Holdings. Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) owns and manages nine other minor league clubs as well. Earlier this week, Endeavor sold DBH to Silver Lake, a technology investment company. The sale is expected to close later this year. “We are excited to partner with Pat, Peter, and

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