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Consumer Stories
Consumer Stories

New quick serve business opens at busiest Aiken intersection

When you pull into a bay at one of the three Take 5 Oil Change businesses in the Augusta market (which includes the newest one in Aiken) prepare to think you are seeing a ballet in blue jeans and with sound effects. The three or four technicians that will service your vehicle are dressed as you would expect, but they work with dispatch, swiftly moving on to their next task as soon as they have finished the last, and it’s very vocal, like an army cadence that they have sung

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Stephen Delaney Hale November 15, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Mondays with Rick: Giving Back

Editor’s Note: Dr. Rick Franza, the Dean of the AU Hull College of Business School just returned from a conference in the Tampa, Florida area. Hull is accredited through the Association of Advancement of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB) and in 2020 the AACSB updated its standards related to the responsibility a member school has to serve their communities. ABD: Rick, what areas does the AACSB look at for schools like Hull to engage within the community? Rick: Here are the suggested areas that each school will pick from

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Neil Gordon November 15, 2021 No Comments
Closings

Long-time car audio business closes its doors

After 33 years in business, a local car audio installation company has closed its doors permanently. Founded in 1988, Anything Audio was located at 3906 Washington Road in Augusta. The business’s owner, Richard Hurt, says he decided to close for a combination of reasons. At 63, Hurt figured it was time to retire and enjoy spending time with his first grandchild. “I wanted to retire at 60 and then thought I could hold on until 66,” he states. “I made it halfway.” Hurt say he faced significant supply-chain issues. “Right

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Josh Heath November 12, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

CSRA mom uses faith to meet the need to be kneaded

You can’t help but feel like a new person once you arise from Angela Odom’s massage table. Ask any of her dozens of clients. They say it’s like an out-of-body, spiritual experience when her hands touch parts of you didn’t realize needed to be decompressed and de-stressed. She’s been a licensed massage therapist for over a decade. “Hands & Stones, LLC, is a gift and a ministry,” she says. “People need me, so I knead them.” However, an encounter with a client in her in-home studio in April 2021 threatened

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Monique Williams November 12, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Real Talk Real Estate: Zillow can drive you Zany!

Zillow is a big deal in Real Estate. They have a great platform that keeps up with all the active and pending listings from all the real estate boards nationwide. They keep the public informed with historical data and pictures of homes. For the most part, I feel like they add value to a very overwhelming space in the market. I have recommended their searching platform to countless buyers over the years and have adapted my business, knowing that to be successful, I need to see the value it brings

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SHAWNA WOODWARD, RE/MAX REINVENTED EVANS November 12, 2021 No Comments
B2B Stories

German company hiring 125 in Augusta to make dent in CSRA job loss

A German metal recycling company is coming to the CSRA and bringing with it 125 skilled manufacturing jobs. Yesterday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Aurubis AG has authorized the construction of a $340 million recycling and secondary-smelting plant – the only one of its kind in the U.S. – located at 4760 Mike Padgett Highway in Augusta Corporate Park. The plant is expected to open by early 2024. Jobs Aurubis is scheduled to begin hiring for various positions at the new plant in summer 2022. Cal Wray – President of the

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Josh Heath November 11, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

A Fox’s Tale – Rare Memories and a Secret Path back to your Youth

Imagine that you set out to write a story about an adorable independent bookstore in a quaint shop in downtown Aiken, S.C., and when you got there, you found several businesses, scores of seemingly unrelated merchandise, a glorious selection of many of the best books ever printed and then found there is another business off-premises where the owners deal in another world of publications. Co-owner Holly Segar, with husband Jeffrey Rovenpor, is a native of Aiken and after learning the rare book and retail sides of the business at prominent

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Stephen Delaney Hale November 11, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Business Lunch Review: Tbonz

Editor’s Note: Wes Hennings never met a meal he walked away from and is an opinionated eater! Each Monday 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 November 11, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

THIS MORNING: Local insurance agent treats veterans

Veterans Day is personal to State Farm Insurance Agent BJ Jordan and he wants to talk about over a free cup of coffee. The agent’s grandfather served in the Army, was a Vietnam Vet and retired as Master Sgt. Jordan’s State Farm office is on Columbia Road in Grovetown and he and his team will travel to nearby Harlem to give free coffee to the veterans who start coming in after 6am. “Our veterans have risked so much and have given up time with their loved ones to serve their

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Neil Gordon November 11, 2021 No Comments
Consumer Stories

The business of golf improvement in the CSRA

She’s got to be in the right place! She’s a physical therapist with a specialty in the golf swing in the Augusta, Ga., Aiken, S.C., area. Most of my golfing buddies know they need therapy for their golf game, but they look for it on the 19th hole! It’s not there. But it can be found at PerformanceAbove, Aiken’s only golf performance physical therapy clinic at Houndslake Wellness Associates at 920 Houndslake Drive, a grouping of six wellness and therapy practices in an office building just to the left of

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Stephen Delaney Hale November 9, 2021 No Comments
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