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Boba tea cafe to open in Paddock Arcade this spring

in Local Business 147 views

Sgt. Joshua Whiteside and his wife, Patcharin, were thinking about starting a food truck offering boba teas and crepes.

But developer Jake Johnson suggested he take a storefront that was still open in the Paddock Arcade, which Mr. Johnson purchased last summer.

Sgt. Whiteside rents space from Mr. Johnson in the Commerce Building for a video business.

So now the entrepreneurs are opening O-HO Boba Cafe in the former location of European Cakes, which moved into a more visible storefront in the historic downtown mall.

The cafe, where downtown workers can get a quick breakfast on their way to work, will offer authentic boba teas and sweet and savory crepes when it opens in April.

In recent years, boba tea shops have become a popular addition to the restaurant industry. They’ve been popping up in communities throughout the country.

In Watertown, boba teas are sold in two locations, including Juju66 and the Pink Kettle Boba Tea Shop in the Salmon Run Mall. But the crepes are going to set O-HO apart from its competition, Sgt. Whiteside said.

“We will be the only boba tea shop that offers this combination of drink and food, which will allow us to stand out from other companies,” the 10th Mountain Division soldier said.

While the owners expect to serve people from ages 15 to 45 years, the popularity of the boba tea shop will mainly attract high school and college students. The boba tea cafe comes just a few months after a Vietnamese coffee shop opened in another storefront in the Paddock Arcade.

Members of the Watertown Local Development Corporation, also known as the Watertown Trust, think that O-HO will find its niche in the local competitive food landscape, partly because it will be in the Paddock Arcade, Public Square.

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Popeyes to open Watertown location Monday

in Food/Local Business 138 views

Popeyes will open its Route 3 location at 10 a.m. Monday, according to its operator, Liberty Restaurants of Syracuse LLC.

The restaurant is located at the site of the former Bob Evans restaurant on Route 3, also known as outer Arsenal Street, adjacent to Interstate 81 in the town of Watertown.

Alvin C. Copeland Sr. opened the first Popeyes restaurant in 1972 in a suburb of New Orleans. It was called “Chicken on the Run,” and served traditional Southern-fried chicken, according to the company website.

“After several months of lackluster performance, he reopens the restaurant as ‘Popeyes’ (after Popeye Doyle of The French Connection). This time he sells spicy, New Orleans-style chicken,” the website says.

The company has been franchising since 1976 and now has more than 3,700 restaurants in 46 states and 30 countries. The company had net revenue of $579 million in 2021 and employs more than 2,000 people, according to its annual report.

“Watertown has been one of our most important markets since we began our Upstate New York market, and we are very excited to finally open to the Watertown community,” Heidi Cousineau, LRS’s vice president of real estate and construction, said in a statement. “We look forward to joining the community and are excited for the entire Watertown market to try Popeyes.”

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Bar and tanning salon opening on Arsenal Street

in Local Business 202 views

WATERTOWN — If you ever wanted to have a beer when you went tanning, there’ll soon be a place for you.

Shannon M. Exford, owner of The Bad Apple Garage and the Bad Apple Saloon, is opening a tanning salon that will serve beer, hard cider and wine.

The venture will be located at 300 Arsenal St. in a building at Arsenal and Massey streets that also houses a Chinese takeout and a sushi place.

The tanning salon will feature a variety of tanning equipment, including six tanning beds, a stand-up tanning bed and an automated tanning spray machine. Massage Therapy and other related services also will be offered.

Ms. Exford, who also owns One Solution CPA., has operated a tanning salon before.

Although he doesn’t know much about tanning businesses, Donald W. Rutherford, CEO of the Watertown Local Development Corp., also known as the Watertown Trust, described Ms. Exford as an experienced businesswoman and restaurateur.

“She’s done well with restaurants so I think she will be successful,” he said.

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New Stewart’s Shops opens on Washington Street

in Local Business/Local News 240 views

WATERTOWN — The new Stewart’s Shops on Washington Street opened for business Wednesday, and work is already being done to the old building.

The new building, 715 Washington St., replaces the old Stewart’s at 1226 Washington St.

Chuck Marshall, real estate representative for Stewart’s, said Wednesday that the building is being sold to Tall Timbers Holdings, which is owned by Robert D. Ferris and he isn’t sure what the plans are for the building.

Mr. Ferris is a Jefferson County legislator representing the towns of Rutland and Watertown and a businessman who owns various properties across the north country.

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Town of Watertown delays action on new DICK’s Sporting Goods store

in Sports 112 views

WATERTOWN — The town planning board on Monday took no action on a new 50,000-square-foot DICK’s Sporting Goods store proposed for Towne Center, the sprawling retail center on Route 3 with Target as the anchor store.

The planning board discussed the project on Monday afternoon, with the zoning board of appeals still having to sort out whether DICK’s needs to obtain a variance for a setback for the new store.

Tim Freitag, project manager for Bohler Engineering, Albany, argued that the project doesn’t need the variance.

The entrance to the store would face Route 3.

But the two boards have decided that the side of the building that faces Target requires a setback because a road leads to Beaver Meadows apartments, located behind the Target store.

The appeals board must interpret whether the setback should be from the center of the public but privately-owned road or whether the setback should be from the side of the road.

Mr. Freitag contended that future development would be financially impacted if faced with the same situation.

“You make a good argument,” planning board co-chair Thomas E. Boxberger told him.

At the request of the planning board, the developer now plans a two-color motif to that side of the building.

The engineering firm also would add some trees, green space and a sidewalk, with a crosswalk and a handicapped ramp between Target and the new DICK’s store.

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Mini Wind Turbines For Rooftops: ‘Up to 50% More Power’ and No Spinning Blades’

in Uncategorized 124 views

A company has shrunk the wind turbine from being as tall as the Statue of Liberty to a 10-foot bladeless box that provides more power than 15 solar panels.

They are designed for small-scale, commercial use, as they’re noise free, and incapable of killing birds. Because they sit on the edge of roofs, they pair well with solar panels. If a building also has batteries to store the energy, it could be near to total self-sufficiency.

The relentless march of innovation in renewable energy continues at breakneck speed. Perhaps more so than solar, wind power is plagued criticism of the danger it presents to wildlife, and high maintenance requirements.

Called Aeromine, their boxy turbines generate energy in 50% greater amounts then a solar panel, and 16-times as much when the wind is right.

It takes works off the fact that when wind strikes a flat building wall, it accelerates as it rushes up and over the obstacle. Catching these wind gusts through a small opening, it channels the force towards an internal propeller located at the bottom of the unit.

“I like to think of this as kind of disruptive and complimentary to the solar business,”  Aeromine cofounder and CEO David Asarnow told Fast Company. “Our production can be stronger. At the same time, when you pair the two, you really have a path for on-site energy independence.”

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Lumber Company Grows Trees That Smile With Massive Grin for Oregon Drivers

in People/Place 96 views

Every autumn in Oregon, motorists traveling down the route 18 receive a “beaming” smile from the hills above the roadway.

That’s because years ago, Hampton Lumber company logged the trees on that hill, and decided to replant early-changing larch in the shape of a smiley face.

Surrounded by evergreens, it stands out like an emoji on the road between Grand Ronde and Willamina in Polk County.

Autumn is a stunning time in the Pacific Northwest, enough to bring a smile to your face and to the very hills themselves.

“After every harvest, our foresters start planning the reforestation process,” Kristin Rasmussen, a spokesperson for Hampton, told Oregon Live. “They typically plant a variety of native species depending on the elevation and soil conditions, including Douglas fir, western hemlock, noble fir and western red cedar.”

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State Street Quilt Shop waiting for sign approval

in Local Business 115 views

WATERTOWN — Rhonda Spencer just wanted to put up a freestanding sign in front of her quilt shop that she opened in February on State Street.

But a quirk in the city’s zoning law has prevented her from doing so.

There’s already a sign for the Allstate Insurance office, located in the back of her shop. The city’s zoning ordinance doesn’t allow for two freestanding signs on the same parcel.

What’s so unusual is that the Allstate office is located on a separate parcel from her shop and she can’t put a sign up on her own property.

Last week, Mrs. Spencer, who owns The Quilt Shop at 1625 State St. with her husband, Robert, went before the zoning board of appeals to get a use variance for her sign, but the board could not take action.

She has to wait a month, until the Oct. 19 ZBA meeting, so that the Jefferson County Planning Board can consider the sign.

The merchant told the zoning board that her customers cannot find her shop that sells quilts, fabric and supplies, citing the lack of a sign. Although she understands that the city’s hands are tied, she was upset that she has to wait another month to get one.

On Saturday, Mrs. Spencer didn’t want to comment about the situation, saying that she and her husband don’t want to shed any negative light on the city while she waits to get her approval.

“We just feel it’s in our best interest not to comment and see what happens on Oct. 19,” she said, adding that she’s telling her customers that they’re in the process of getting the sign.

The city planning department is trying to help her through the process.

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O’Reilly Auto Parts store to open on Arsenal Street in November

in Local Business 151 views

WATERTOWN — The former Rite Aid store on Arsenal Street will reopen this fall as an O’Reilly Auto Parts store.

Months ago, work abruptly stopped on the auto parts store, leaving city officials to wonder what happened.

But a sign went up on the building earlier this week, some work on the exterior is getting done and a man who was hired there said Friday that he was told the store would open in November. Some electrical work also must be completed.

Dana Aikins, the city’s code enforcement supervisor, said the building permit is still good but some building inspections are still needed.

“It looks like it’s moving forward,” he said.

A change in ownership of the property caused a delay in the project proceeding. In August, the new owner, Dennis Wood, of Haskell, Oklahoma, said he hoped that the Missouri-based chain would still set up in the 11,000-square-foot space at South Massey and Arsenal streets.

Mr. Wood purchased the building under WTOL Arsenal LLC for $1,622,250 at a foreclosure auction in May. The building and 1.01 acres is assessed at $2,234,000.

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Total Recycling Guide Will Now Come Printed On Every Domino’s Pizza Box

in Enviroment 123 views

Domino’s are now delivering their pizzas in boxes on which are printed specific recycling instructions for the customer’s area.

Believe it or not, literally billions of corrugated cardboard pizza boxes have gone unrecycled because both consumers and recycling companies believed that the leftover grease, sauce, and cheese might gum up the recycling machinery, or weaken the bonds of the recycled paper material.

So great was the confusion that the company that makes Domino’s pizza boxes, West Rock, commissioned a study to see if boxes made up of 20% pizza grease by weight would somehow harm the recycling process.

No difference in machine function or chemical bondage of recycling paper material was observed, despite the fact that they used an unrealistically greasy box—even the greasiest pizzas can only manage to alter 2% of total box weight.

With that cleared up, Domino’s is now printing everything someone needs to know to recycle their pizza box right onto the box, including tidbits like “Grease DOES NOT Impact the Recyclability!” and “70% of Americans have access to pizza box recycling.”

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