A 35-acre plot in Waterford Business Park has become the apple of two companies' eyes, and at least one may be moving to the Rock Hill area.
Economic development officials last week met with a medical equipment company at Waterford. The company, said to be a German-based kidney dialysis equipment manufacturer with a strong North American presence, was scheduled to meet with officials from the S.C. Department of Commerce, Rock Hill Economic Development Corp. and York County Economic Development Board on Wednesday, RHEDC officials said Tuesday. The company is projecting building a 125,000 square foot manufacturing or distribution center that would employ about 150 workers, according to a RHEDC memo.
The other organization eyeing the spot, labeled "Project Sunfish" by RHEDC officials, is a manufacturing or warehouse operation that would bring about 100 jobs and invest about $20 million, but that's all the information officials are releasing right now.
"That site is drawing a lot of attention," RHEDC marketing manager Rick Norwood said at last week's board meeting. "Hopefully, we'll have some good news next month."
The kidney dialysis company seems to be the bigger possibility right now. Neither city nor RHEDC officials released the company's name. But the top German-based maker of kidney dialysis equipment with a North American division is Fresenius Medical Care.
Calls to Fresenius last week didn't lead to many answers, but a spokesman acknowledged the company has dialysis treatment centers in Rock Hill, Fort Mill and a distribution center in Charlotte.
Taco Bueno, the fast food spot on Cherry Road, rolled its last burrito Monday. Company officials said the store closed that night and won't reopen.
Juan Howard, general manager of the Taco Bueno on Heckle Boulevard, said poor sales doomed the restaurant since it opened last summer. The Heckle store, however, will remain open.
"Sales here aren't as good as we wished," Howard said Thursday. "But it's improving."
Taco Bueno, despite dumping dollars into a massive renovation, is the latest franchise to falter at the site across from Winthrop's dormitories. Preceded by Church's Chicken (2000-2005), Calabash Brothers (1998) and Taco Mayo (1996-1997), Taco Bueno couldn't shake the location's apparent curse on eateries. Meanwhile, neighbors McDonald's and White Horse have flourished.
A suggestion for the next risk-taker: Try something besides fast food on that corner. Sure, there's a market for cheap meals next to a college, but you can't argue with history. I'm sure the undersized building and less-than-popular names that have occupied the space played a role in the demise of each one, but the next company that challenges that corner's hexed reputation may consider supplementing their business plan with a sorcerer's guide to curse-breaking.
More Nishie G's
Rock Hill may be losing its newest taco joint, but its gaining an additional location for one of its favorite Greek-American diners.
Nishie G's cafe, located on Mount Gallant Road, is adding a second location at the corner of India Hook Road and Herlong Avenue. The sign is already on the building (the former Bellacino's Pizza that closed last year), and flyers about the expansion are posted in the Mount Gallant Road dining room touting an opening this month.
Etc. ...
• Several members of Keller Williams Realty Breast Cancer Benefit Committee recently presented a check to the American Cancer Society for $20,000. Last month, Keller Williams hosted a benefit for breast cancer research, joining 300 guests at The Palisades Country Club for a night of music, food, horse and carriage rides and a silent auction to raise money.
• Winthrop University graduate Kimberly Flynn Evans, principal and creative director of Indiblu Design Group, is featured in the January issue of Southern Living magazine's "North Carolina Living." The graphic design firm is profiled in an article titled "Design that makes a difference." The article is part of a series profiling young entrepreneurs in the Southern region. After graduating from Winthrop, Evans, a Spartanburg native, opened the Charlotte-based firm in 2002, specializing in branding, design and marketing for educational institutions, health-care entities and nonprofit organizations.
• Employees at Family Trust Federal Credit Union recently donated $6,500 to two charities in York County. The employees presented Pilgrims' Inn with a check for $3,500 and the Children's Attention Home with a check for $3,000. The money was not a budgeted contribution but raised by Family Trust employees who volunteer in year-round fundraising efforts including hot dog cookouts, gift baskets, doughnut sales, spaghetti dinners and selling chocolate bars and Beanie Babies to members in the branch offices.
• The Phil Dibrell Agency, an Allstate Insurance company, is the Greater York Chamber of Commerce's January Business of the Month. The agency is located at 817 E. Liberty St.
• Joyce Richards of Prudential Carolinas Realty's Rock Hill office recently was among a group of graduates from the company's Real Estate Dynamics course in the Charlotte region. The class is designed to give new sales associates a proven path to industry success.
