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Consumer Stories

National bookstore chain reopens Aiken location

When Lance Danko needs stress relief, he goes book shopping, which is why he was happy when Books-A-Million reopened in Aiken late last week. Danko, administrator for Augusta University Health Imaging, and his wife have already visited the new store located at 1650 Richland Ave. West, Suite 195 near Rose’s and Hibbett Sports in the Kalmia Plaza shopping center. “It’s one of the few bookstores left besides Barnes & Noble in Augusta where you can really go in and look around,” he said. Books-A-Million had a store in the Aiken

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Josh Heath June 9, 2022 1 Comment
B2B Stories

Increased demand prompts popular pet care business to expand

On January 1 at midnight, Eric and Anne Dysinger began accepting pet boarding reservations for Masters Week. Thirty minutes later, they were completely booked. As a result of that demand, the Dysingers, owners of Paws in Paradise Luxury Resort & Spa, a 24/7 full-service facility, located at 4319 Evans to Locks Road in Evans, are expanding their business. Anne said they currently have more demand for their boarding and daycare services than they can handle. The couple has been forced to turn customers away due to a lack of space.

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Josh Heath June 8, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Construction continues on the south Augusta townhome project

Oscar A. Jessie has made a multi-million dollar investment in a south Augusta housing development that will likely benefit existing businesses in that area and even spur the construction of new ones. Jessie, a local real estate developer and owner of GreenSpace Communities, LLC is currently building the Orchard Landing luxury townhome development on a nearly eight-acre property located at 3699 Peach Orchard Road. He said the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath homes sell for between $180,000 to $205,000, 10 percent below market value. “That provides homeowners instant equity as soon as they

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Josh Heath June 7, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Local shopping center sold for more than $20 million

For nearly 17 years, Eddie and Carol Kennedy have owned and operated Great Deals on Furniture in the Village Plaza shopping center on Bobby Jones Expressway. The busy center, previously owned by an Ohio-based company, has been sold for a little over $20 million. Carol said she and her husband haven’t met the new owners yet, but they have received emails and phone calls from them. The couple isn’t worried about possible changes that could affect their business. “We had a great working relationship with the previous owners, and we

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Josh Heath June 6, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Augusta coffee pioneer opens new downtown location

The people who started the local coffee scene opened their third coffee shop today in downtown Augusta. Buona Caffe opened this morning at 520 Reynolds Street. Although it’s a new location for a retail shop, the building has been home to Buona’s bean roasting since 2018. The building also serves as a warehouse, an equipment showroom, and a training classroom. Owner, John Curry said opening a coffee shop at the location had always been part of the plan for the building, which is located next to the Augusta Museum of

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Gary Kauffman June 3, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Japanese restaurant to open near busy Martinez intersection

Hibachi Grill Express, a new Japanese restaurant, will open in a familiar Martinez location at 3861 Washington Road near the Bobby Jones Expressway intersection. For many years, the building was occupied by Taco Bell. Hibachi will serve a variety of dishes, including egg rolls, fried rice, and teriyaki chicken. Customers can either dine in the restaurant or order and pick up food at the drive-thru window. All meals cost less than $15. ABD previously reported the restaurant was expected to open by Valentine’s Day, but it still hasn’t opened. Thanks

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Josh Heath June 2, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon says: Augusta economic forecast gloomy as jobs continue post-pandemic lag

Employment in the Augusta MSA has increased by 4,000 jobs in the last year, through April – the latest available data, but remains more than 6,000 jobs off the pre-pandemic peak (see chart below). As I have written about in recent articles (April 13, May 4), this makes Augusta one of the worst-performing economies in Georgia. The more bad news was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on May 18. Job openings in Georgia declined by 33,000 in March. Georgia was one of four states to see a decline,

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor June 1, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Georgia businesses leader says worker shortage will continue for years

If you think the workforce shortage is a short-term problem, think again, says Chris Clark. Clark, President, and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce said the problem is expected to affect businesses worldwide for the next 10-12 years. He discussed the state of Georgia’s economy and possible strategies for improving it in a presentation called “The New Georgia Economy” on Thursday, May 26 at Augusta University. One of the topics he discussed was workforce development. Clark said there are currently 11 million job openings nationwide, 400,000 of which are

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Josh Heath May 31, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Fitness center will not open Riverwatch location

The owners of Endurance Fitness were prepared to open a second location in Evans in January 2022, just in time to help people launch their New Years’ resolutions. But after months of anticipation and construction, ABD has learned that the location will no longer open. For months, Cliff and Amanda Jennings heavily promoted the fitness center at 4099 River Watch Parkway, the former home of the Playhouse, through social media and billboard advertising. While Columbia County won’t have Endurance Fitness, the couple still owns and operates a successful location at

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Josh Heath May 27, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Appliance entrepreneur to open a new store in former Earth Fare building

Dave Barrett owns appliance stores on the East and West coasts, but in early July, he plans to open a fourth store in the former Earth Fare building located at 368 Furys Ferry Road, Suite 3 in Augusta. Barrett, the owner of Dave’s Appliance Warehouse, has one store just outside of Athens and two more in Orange County, California. He sells both new and B-Stock appliances, which refer to scratch-and-dent items and canceled orders, among others he buys from major companies. Unlike other appliance stores, Barrett won’t sell used items.

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Josh Heath May 26, 2022 No Comments
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