Category Archives: Business
Star Emporium Downtown General Store to Open Next Week
The Star Emporium Downtown General Store, 17 S. Main, a new grocery store offering specialty and private label products, will open on January 18 at 7:30 a.m., according to Bill Michaud with BAJA Investments.
Michaud is the owner of the business.
“One week is left before we introduce ourselves to the public,” Michaud said. “We’re excited too, although it’s tough to tell because we’re all growing tired due to the long hours and many tasks that we see still between us and being ready to open.”
The hours of the store will be 7:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, on Sunday hours are from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
“We are going to try to carry as many products as feasible to give shoppers as much variety as we can,” Michaud said.
“We are going to open with about 2/3 as many items as we expect to have down the road,” he said. “We will grow our offering in the next several months to meet the needs of our regular customers.”
The store will feature a salad bar and deli that utilizes many fresh local ingredients, he said.
“The salad bar and deli will also open on the 18th,” he said. “The deli will offer build-your-own deli sandwiches with our unique selection of deli meats and cheeses and a variety of bread alternatives. The salad bar will have about 30 salad topping and ingredient options including signature house ranch and vinaigrette dressings.”
Currently, the store has 62 feet of freezer space, a basic selection of dairy and cheese items, produce, along with both fresh and frozen meats,” Michaud said.
The store general manager is Travis Patrick. He said 10 employees are needed and eight have been hired currently.
The phone number of the store is (620) 644-4414. For more information see its’ Facebook page.
BAJA Investments was granted SPARK funds in the amount of $450,000 for the project. SPARK grants were a part of the monies given Kansas from the federal government to help with the on-going effects of COVID-19.
Jayhawk Wind Project in Final Development Stage
Jayhawk Wind, the wind energy project in Bourbon County, is in the final stages of development, according to Apex Clean Energy Inc., the developer and owner.
“As contemplated, Apex will need to secure a project sponsor to build Jayhawk Wind, and we believe the project is very well-positioned to do so,” Apex Public Engagement Manager Patrick Chilton said ” We are currently progressing discussions with a potential project sponsor, and we know that Jayhawk Wind is a strong project with proven positive attributes for investors. Apex Clean Energy has a long track record of successfully commercializing its projects, and we look forward to adding Jayhawk Wind to that list.”
“If we are able to secure this partnership, it will allow us to begin project construction in the coming months,” Chilton said.
Jayhawk Wind is located in southwestern Bourbon County and northwestern Crawford County, he said, with about 80% of the project facilities located in Bourbon County, between the areas of Porterville and Hiattville.
To view the Jayhawk Wind project boundaries:
“Once construction begins, we will establish a construction laydown yard off the highway and begin upgrading county roads that will be used during the construction phase,” Chilton said. ” We expect that foundations will be excavated later this year, and turbines will begin arriving late summer or early fall. We hope that construction will be complete by the end of the year.”
Maps of the current draft of the project’s design are located in the Girard office at 124 E. Forest Ave.
“Final maps will also be shared with the public when they are ready,” Chilton said. “Once project construction begins, we expect it will take about nine months to reach commercial operation.”
History of the project in Bourbon County
“Apex started developing Jayhawk Wind in 2016 and have continued to develop the project since,” Chilton said. ” In March 2020, the project entered into agreements with Bourbon County, which were updated in the fall of 2020. Since then, we have been working diligently to finalize the required approvals and complete all necessary research and surveys to inform the final project.”
“Despite the challenges of the past year, we made substantial progress in 2020 at Jayhawk Wind,” said Julianna Pianelli, development manager for Jayhawk Wind. “I’m excited about what 2021 will bring, and I am looking forward to completing the final steps to bring this important economic development opportunity to Bourbon and Crawford counties.”
Peerless Expands In Fort Scott
Peerless Products, Inc. , 2403 S. Main, is currently working on an expansion of its Fort Scott facility.
Fort Scott is not only the home office of Peerless Products, but where the company was founded in 1952, according to Allyson Turvey, Fort Scott Community Development Director.
“Our most recent employment numbers, which were updated in Dec. 2019, show Peerless had a total of 410 employees in Fort Scott,” Turvey said. This makes Peerless the city’s largest employer.
“The impending expansion here in Fort Scott just goes to show their continued commitment to our community,” she said.
” We don’t have a lot of details at this time,” Turvey said. “Over the last couple of months, they have been working on rezoning and annexing… lots into city limits.”
The rezoning of the property was on the Fort Scott Commission agenda for Jan.5, 2020, and was approved. The business expansion required rezoning from commercial to industrial.
One parcel is to be annexed into the city limits, one is outside the city limits, according to the request for commission action presented at the commission meeting and provided by Turvey.
“(Fort Scott Economic Director)Rachel Pruitt has been working closely with Peerless on this project and has helped facilitate the rezoning and annexation of the property,” Turvey said. “This expansion has been on the horizon for several years, and she has helped every step of the way.”
The Bourbon County Commission approved the zoning change on Dec. 8, 2020.
TIMKEN Job Fair Jan. 7-8
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Grocery Food Coming to Uniontown
Union Station Convenience Store, 684 Maple Road, Uniontown, is ready to receive staple grocery items to provide western Bourbon County residents with an option for food closer to home.
“We had already purchased the shed that we intended to eventually turn into climate-controlled storage, prior in the year,” said Ronni Clayton, who along with her husband, Dane, are the owners. “Our goal was to make one purchase at a time as the funds became available.”
But then the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, and the federal government gave funds to each state government and the Kansas government distributed funds to local entities. In Bourbon County, it was the county commission. The Clayton’s applied for a SPARK grant through the county.
To find out more about the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK)program, click here. https://covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office
“Once we received the SPARK funds in September we were able to really get things moving,” Clayton said.
The couple created another cold storage unit to accommodate the food that will be coming.
“We plan to sell staple grocery items such as bread, cheese, eggs, lunchmeat, hamburger, etc,” Clayton said.
The Claytons created climate-controlled storage outside of the main building, to free up space for additional coolers and shelving inside the convenience store, she said in a previous interview.
”The increased product space will be used for discounted grocery items as well as locally produced meats,” she said.
To see the previous interview: Union Station: Affordable Groceries Are Coming to Uniontown
“Everything is done except getting the groceries in the store,” Clayton said. ” We are still working out some details on that, but hope to start regular grocery deliveries soon. The holidays slowed everything a bit.”
” We are working with Nichols Hitching Post and Bronson Locker so far, with some other local businesses possibly in the works as well,” she said.
Learn more about Nichols Hitching Post from their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/879444012103113/
Learn more about the Bronson Locker from here:
Bronson Locker Expands Due To Demand During Pandemic
The Clayton’s employ 12 people at their store.
They have some new things on the horizon as well.
” We have a lot of new ideas slowly taking form, so stay tuned,” Clayton said.
Chamber Coffee at Moe’s Bread on Jan. 7
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Quarterly Downtown Meeting Jan. 12
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Bronson Locker Expands Due To Demand During Pandemic
Bronson Locker, 504 Clay Street, Bronson, KS has been expanding during the COVID 19 pandemic.
“We have had an overflow of work,” said Helen Bolling, who along with her husband, Raymond, known as Chubb, owns the meat locker. “We have had to put on more employees. We expanded our business. A new cooler, a new processing room.”
“People are buying local meat,” Bolling said. “People are wanting farm-raised meat. We are USDA inspected.”
Several Bourbon County meat producers provide meat to the locker, she said. J.D. Russell and Kevin Gleason from the Redfield area; Ryan Tuchscherer, Fort Scott; Henry and John Ericson, Hiattville all provide meat to Bronson Locker, to name a few, Bolling said.
They have spent a large amount of money to expand their meat locker business that processes beef, swine, sheep, and goats, Helen said. During deer season they add deer processing too.
The waiting list to process beef is up to Dec. 2021, Helen said.
“We are accepting deer anytime,” Mandie Ericson, wife of Helen’s grandson Garret, said.
Mandie and Garret hope to buy the family business from Chubb and Helen someday, Mandie said.
They do not sell deer meat, they merely process it.
Currently, Mandie is the supervisor, Helen said.
From the Bronson Locker Facebook page:
“For people discouraged about the waiting list for beef appointments…
“It is always a good idea to… call and check regularly. We want your business as much as you want to sell your beef or stock your freezers.This week we were able to work seven people up off the waiting list. This week alone. Don’t feel discouraged we will make sure we take care of as many of you as we possibly can without sacrificing quality.
“Thank you to the farmers and families for all of your continued support.”
They are currently selling beef bundles at 25 pounds for $100.
“They average $4 a pound for this farm-raised beef,” Helen said.
The locker is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be contacted at 620-939-4575.
Family Owned and Run
They have twelve full-time and two part-time employees, all from Bourbon County, she said.
This is a family-owned and family-run business and 10 of the employees are family.
Besides Chubb and Helen, their son Mike is a butcher. In addition, Amber Ericson, their daughter, works at the locker when she is not teaching school at West Bourbon Elementary School in Uniontown. Helen’s nephews Jesse, Robert and Jim Kuns, the Bolling grandchildren Mandy and Garrett Ericson, and another grand-daughter in-law, Tyler Ericson, all work at the locker.
In addition, they have a long-term employee, Tom Bradbury, technician, “who keeps us up and going,” Mandie said.
The family has purchased some of the buildings adjacent to the locker and have opened an antique store on the main street of Bronson as well.
Union Lofts Apartments Open For Rental In Downtown Fort Scott
Union Lofts Apartments, 20 S. Main in downtown Fort Scott, will be available to move into in mid-January 2021.
The building has been under demolition then reconstruction since 2018, at the corner of 1st and Main Streets.
Tony Krsnich, Flint Hills Holdings, (located at 7301 Mission Rd, 326 Prairie Village Campus, Prairie Village) is the developer.
Twenty-five apartments fill the three-story historic building, and eight have already been leased.
Some of the perks for living in them?
“The tenants will be living in a newly renovated historic building,” said Mandy Maples, Flint Hills Holdings Vice President of Operations. “There will be a courtyard area with seating and a BBQ grill, indoor workout facility, every apartment is uniquely designed.
No two apartments are the same. Every apartment is unique and holds its own personality.”
Residents may move in the middle of January and there are apartments available for leasing now, she said.
Applications can be picked up at 8 East First Street, at the apartment building across the street.
For questions, call 620-223-1718.
Following are prior stories on the building:
Flint Hills Holding
Flint Hills Holdings Group was established in early 2014. FHHG specializes in historic preservation and multifamily developments. FHHG has developed over $100MM of real estate in Kansas and Missouri since its inception in early 2014 and currently works in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Progress on Fiber Optic Projects In Bourbon County Continues
Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative Inc., Girard, is working on multiple projects in Bourbon County to provide fiber-optic lines for internet services.
Craw-Kan Telephone serves Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, offering high-speed fiber optic internet, cable TV, and telephone service in its’ service area, according to its’ Facebook page.
Fort Scott Project
“We are continuing to build fiber to non-cooperative member areas in the southeast side of the city of Fort Scott,” Zach Adams, Craw-Kan Marketing Manager said. “These are homes and businesses where we have not been able to provide services in the past.”
“The goal of our Fort Scott project is to provide 100% fiber-optic coverage in the city limits,” he said. ” The west side of US 69 HWY is complete and we are currently working on the southeast quadrant of the city. We will also connect some residences outside but adjacent to the city.”
“We are subcontracting Jim Radell Construction, Pittsburg, for construction on the southeast quadrant of the City of Fort Scott,” Adams said. “They have multiple crews working in the area. We also use multiple Craw-Kan employees in the construction and installation process. There are two or more repair and installation technicians assigned to the Fort Scott territory at any given time.”
Craw-Kan began the Fort Scott overbuild in 2017 and completion is estimated to be in 2021-2022, Adams said.
Uniontown Project
“The other large project in Bourbon County is the upgrade to the Uniontown (756) phone exchange,” he said. “This project will be replacing copper phone and DSL lines with fiber-optic lines that will bring maximum reliability and gigabit internet speeds to 100% of Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative members in the Uniontown exchange…The project will upgrade 100% of existing Craw-Kan members to fiber-optic connections to the home.”
“For the Uniontown project, Bob Hull Inc – BHI was with bid winning contractor doing the fiber upgrade construction,” Adams said. “They will be using multiple crews to complete the work.”
The Uniontown project was started in 2020 and is expected to be completed in 2021, he said.
Cost of the project
“Craw-Kan has invested several million dollars over the last four years into upgrading the connections of our cooperative members in Bourbon County as well as bringing new fiber optic services to the City of Fort Scott and surrounding areas,” Adams said.
New Furnished Apartments Open As Vacation Rentals
Roy and Jody Hoener have opened a new business in the historic Fort Scott downtown area.
“The name of the new apartments are called ‘H Bar Suites,'”, Jody Hoener said. “This was Roy’s cattle brand when he had cattle.”
The apartments are located in historic downtown Fort Scott, directly above Hole in the Wall Liquor, another business the couple own, and across from the Fort Scott National Historic Site, she said.
The physical address is 8 North Scott Street.
They are fully furnished apartments.
The Hoeners have used Ruddick’s Furniture, and local contractors: Casper Enterprises, Stoughton Plumbing, KTK Electric, and Perry Cannon to name a few. The cabinets were made by Kirby’s Cabinets.
“There are two apartments. The two-bedroom apartment is currently available, click on the link,” she said.
The couple hopes to have the one bedroom available at the end of this week, Hoener said.
“There were a few issues with furniture and appliances being back-ordered that has delayed the opening,” she said.
History of the Hoener businesses at the site
“Our project started in 2016 when we started looking for a place to move Hole in the Wall Liquor. (https://holeinthewallliquor.com/) ,” she said. “One stipulation we had to move as we wanted to remain downtown. As business owners with a vested interest in our community, we wanted to make a larger impact beyond a retail store. Downtown revitalization’s direct impact is well documented and has shown to spur local economies.”
“When we took on this old and condemned building downtown, it literally had poles coming from the middle of the street, up to the side of the building, holding up the wall, for almost a decade,” Hoener said. “This was quite the eyesore to one of the main entrances of our downtown.”
“Heather Smith, the city’s then Economic Development Director, showed us several downtown buildings,” she said. “It was a hard sale. All of the buildings were in such disrepair that it would be impossible for us to come up with the capital to make the needed improvements. The cost of replacing the roof was much more than the value of the whole building. In short, we discovered what many already knew: it would be impossible to obtain a loan on a worthless building. We learned first-hand why these buildings are sitting empty but also a few tricks, tips, and solutions to the problem.”
” Smith, through the City of Fort Scott, was able to offer us the State of Kansas Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for historic districts,” Hoener said. “This is a state-wide grant program, highly competitive, to help cities provide financial incentives to bring these condemned buildings back to life. After much thought and planning, working through the risks and unknowns of old buildings, and working with Smith and Dave Martin, we decided to take a leap of faith. ”
“Working with Smith (even after she took on a new job in Wisconsin!) and Susan Galemore at the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission we wrote and submitted a winning CDBG grant,” she said. “The grant, paired with creative financing from Gregg Motley at Landmark National Bank, and lots of sweat equity, brought new life into the building, encouraging foot traffic downtown, and being a part of the momentum to spur economic growth.”
They had a plan and worked it.
“Our business plan was developed and written in phases,” she said. “The first phase was to move Hole in the Wall Liquor to the new location and open the retail liquor store.”
” The second phase was to then take advantage of the opportunity in the space upstairs and develop housing. We are now, four years later, almost to the end of that final phase,” Hoener said.
“Our initial plans were to use the space as market-rate apartments,” she said. “We have since decided to try marketing the space on VRBO as short term or vacation rental space. We have decided we can always offer them as apartments later if that does not work out.”