Biz Buzz has moved

We’ve moved. Biz Buzz is now on the Daily Journal’s new site, NEMS360.com (previous coverage)

Find us here:
http://nems360.com/pages/bizbuzz

Kirkland’s to leave the mall

Kirkland’s is moving out of the Mall at Barnes Crossing. The home decor retailer has signed a lease for a 7,500-square-foot space at the King’s Crossing shopping development, which is anchored by Kohl’s and Ross.

Kornel Romada, a leasing agent with The Woodmont Co., which owns King’s Crossing, said the lease was signed last week. Kirkland’s will occupy a space near Maurices in the shopping center. Romada anticipates the store will open in May.

Jeff Snyder, general manager of the Mall at Barnes Crossing, said he “hasn’t heard a word” about Kirkland’s moving, but said it wouldn’t surprise him because Kirkland’s as a company is moving toward a strip center tenant with outside access.

If the store does move, Snyder said it will leave space for mall officials to market to other tenants.

KFC’s pothole plan

Interesting branding project here  … from the pages of the Chicago Tribune:

KFC has sent off a letter to the nation’s mayors, offering to patch their potholes for free. Well, the company will leave behind a stenciled brand on the patch informing people the road has been “Re-Freshed by KFC.”

“In honor of our “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign, we want to come and Re-”Fresh” your roads!” KFC president Roger Eaton says in the letter. “Every patched pothole comes with the Colonel’s very own stamp of approval.”

The company estimated that U.S. roads are plagued with more than 350 million potholes. “That’s one mini-canyon for every man, woman and child in America.”

KFC has already tried out its campaign to stamp out potholes in its hometown of Louisville, Ky., earning a testimonial from Louisville’s Mayor Jerry Abramson who noted that “finding funding for needed road repairs is a continuing challenge.” The company will choose four other cities.

No top chef here…

An all new meaning to fire in the hole.

And, this news nugget isn’t really business-related, but it was just too good to pass up. Needless to say, when – or if – the inmate gets out, he won’t be cooking anywhere. Hopefully. From the AP:

An inmate’s attempt to heat up sausages in his toilet went up in smoke when the cooking fire forced a unit evacuation at a Washington prison.

Clallam Bay Corrections Center spokeswoman Denise Larson says 130 inmates were evacuated to a dining hall when smoke was spotted coming from a sewer vent pipe Wednesday evening.

She says the smoke was traced to the inmate’s cell and he admitted to trying to heat up snack sausage bought from a prison store in the stainless steel toilet. The inmate’s identity has not been released.

The toilet chef has been placed in segregation pending discipline at the prison on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

——————

Down in the South, we enjoy our meats hickory-smoked, mesquite-smoked, oak-smoked, etc.

Crap-smoked? Don’t think so.

Lawyer: Davis was Stanford whistleblower

Stanford CFO Jim Davis was “actually the whistleblower” who alerted the SEC to the fraud after Stanford’s senior executives met in Miami in early February to prepare for SEC questioning, according to Davis’ lawyer in a Bloomberg story.

“Jim is fully and actively cooperating, and trying to get investors who lost their money some help,” said Finn, a former federal prosecutor and Texas judge. “He’s absolutely devastated, because he knows a lot of good people got hurt.”

“After that infamous Miami meeting, he was the one who blew the whistle and brought the house of cards down,” Finn said.

Read the full story from Bloomberg. Read our previous Stanford coverage and see pictures.

Roof caves in downtown

2 p.m. update: The Biz caught up with Bill Wheeler and Jamie Franks during lunch. Franks said E-911 called his parents at 5:30 a.m. today to say there was a some sort of explosion at the Wheeler & Franks office. Wheeler said water had collected on the roof and the roof finally gave way this morning. And, when it fell the pressure blew out the front windows and shot them across the street.

No one was hurt. All four employees were at the office around 1 p.m. gathering their belongings. Wheeler said they are trying to salvage what they can but the computers and files are wet. A moving truck is on site to take the items to a temporary location. Wheeler said they haven’t figured out where they are going to go yet, but they want to stay downtown. And, he said they are going to have to tear down the front of the building and rebuild it.

1:30 p.m. update: We just got back from the office. Here’s what we saw:

New restaurant for downtown Tupelo

We hear that Guy Jenkins is planning to open a lunch restaurant in the Bistro’s former alley location off Main Street. We’re hunting down more details.

In the meantime, check out suggestions from Biz Buzz readers about what they wanted to see in the vacant spot.

Downtown restaurants heart the planet

From the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association’s e-newsletter:

Downtown restaurants are switching off their lights Saturday, March 28. No, they are not closing. They are participating in Earth Hour, a global effort to promote energy efficiency and global warming awareness.

Boondocks, Park Heights and Fairpark Grill are each offering at least an hour of candle-light dining to celebrate the event.

More sales tips for retailers

Email Insider on MediaPost dished up some tips today about how retailers are changing their e-mail marketing “tactics to coax sales from their recession-wary customers.” Here’s an excerpt from the list (full text):

1. “Save Now” is the new “Buy Now.” In a nice twist, some retailers are dropping the ubiquitous “Buy Now” button and replacing it with a “Save Now” call-to-action. For instance, in a March 20 email, Kmart promoted a $70 savings on a GPS with a “Save Now” button, and JC Whitney also used that CTA in a Jan. 27 email. Another spin on this idea is the CTA to “print in-store coupons,” which JCPenney used in a March 20 email, for example. Many consumers are not in a buying mood right now, but many are in a saving mood.

2. “Do It Yourself.” You can help consumers maintain the lifestyle they’re accustomed to by helping them do the things that they paid professionals to do for them when times were better. For instance, some consumers may no longer have enough money to go to the salon, but there’s no reason they still can’t have waxing treatments and facial peels — if they’re willing to do it themselves. In a March 4 email, Sephora taps into this thinking beautifully, comparing the cost of professional treatments to the products they sell.

Park Heights rooftop to open April 9

From Park Heights’ March e-newsletter:

Spring has arrived and the Rooftop at Park Heights will now be open Tuesday and Thursday nights begining Thursday, April 9. Enjoy dinner from our regular menu or get a group together to enjoy drinks and appetizers. Call ahead to book your private dinner party, birthday celebration, class reunion or any get together.

HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 until 10:00

And the mall isn’t the only one on Facebook:

For those of you who are Facebook users, check out our page simply called Park Heights Restaurant! See the latest pictures and info of what’s been going on at Park Heights.