Kiger's Notebook

Mayo Clinic pulls plug on Middle East heart services

Here's an interesting snippet. Mayo Clinic is pulling the plug on the cardiac care offered at its Middle East office. There's more detail here.

Mayo Clinic has ended cardiology services at its office at Dubai Healthcare City in Dubai, mostly because of economic troubles in the once-booming city in the United Arab Emirates.

In addition, Mayo has found it difficult to sustain a viable financial model in Dubai because of its remote location, said Mayo spokesman Chris Gade.

The Dubai office will remain open and continue to serve Middle Eastern patients who have questions about coming to Mayo Clinic or who need help arranging clinic visits. The Dubai office also will continue to provide sales of high-end laboratory testing for hospitals and medical providers in the Middle East.

Here's some from a quote by Dr. Hugh Smith back in April of 2005 when the office began seeing cardiology patients:

"This new effort represents Mayo Clinic's commitment to providing ongoing care supported by research and education to patients residing outside the United States."

Smoothie shop closes doors

  It looks like Froots, a fruit smoothie franchise in south Rochester, has closed up shop.

I got a tip from Jennifer and Kendal Rasnake that something (or nothing, actually) was happening at Froots, which is in Broadway Corner Plaza at 102 20th Street S.W.

I swung by there last night and found out they were certainly correct. Thanks, Rasnakes.

According to the note on the door, it looks like it closed last weekend. Froots opened in 2008, not too long after the center was built on the site of the former Harnack's Furniture store. Kathy Drysdale is the franchise owner.

I remember people being pretty excited about the national chain coming top Rochester. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out for them.

Rochester retailer + Oprah = Happy Birthday

I think I've got this worked out:

Oprah Winfrey's birthday is today and she decided to have people who also have Jan. 29 birthdays come see the show.

Mason Duckett, the son of Amish Store owners Kevin and Barb Duckett, made the trek to Chicago and went to the taping of today's show with his sister.

End result?

On his 23rd birthday, Mason Duckett was given two free nights stay at any Hilton hotel in the world. After giving that nifty freebie out to all of the birthday people, then O gave the same deal to everyone in the audience.

Mason helps manage the Amish Store with his parents.

Thanks for the tip, Julie Grobe

Crenlo layoffs, reducing a strike contingency

Since a new labor contract was approved at Crenlo last week and the union did not vote to strike, the manufacturer is now reducing the "hedge" of additional workers and inventory that been built up as a strike contingency.

That means more than 30 employees who were recalled to work in late October were laid off again Thursday.

Hiring the 'hedge" of workers was agreed on by the Rochester company and United Auto Workers Local 2125 to prevent a loss of contracts in case a strike occured. That plan was made after two contract proposals were voted down by union members in October.

In addition to this week's layoff, the plant is implementing a production cut back reduce an overstock of inventory that was "banked" as a strike contingency.

The plan includes "shutdown days, short work weeks and reduced run rates on some product lines," according to Crenlo CEO Lance Fleming. The goal is to get inventory back to appropriate levels by the end of March.

Much of the plant will be quiet next week as most production lines will be shut down.

Once the inventory surplus is reduced, things could pick back up at the plants.

"They are saying the guys being laid off could possibly recalled in the March to April timeline," says Dave Zebaugh, the president of U.A.W. Local 2125.

Crenlo, which makes products such as cabs for construction and agriculture vehicles as well as electronic enclosures under the Emcor brand, employs about 600 people at two facilities in Rochester.

New board president, members of Roch. CVB

Here's some from a note I got this afternoon about the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau from Ellingsen Brady Advertising in Milwaukee, Wis.

The RCVB has appointed three new members to its board of directors and announced John Beltz, property manager for the Broadway Residence & Suites, will take over as the 2010 board chair. 

The board of directors advises the activities, budget and policy of the RCVB, which is the official destination marketing association for Rochester.  In 2010, the board is focused on upgrading the organization’s communications systems, destination marketing, and the impending Mayo Civic Center expansion. 

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  RANDOM NOTE FROM JEFF - Improving communications is always a great goal for public-private nonprofits like the RCVB, because many of my readers as well as simple journalists like myself get confused about how all of the pieces fit together. The other day someone asked me to name the current board members and I could only remember some of them.

I'm sure that list was readily available somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Then I remembered seeing the list on RCVB's 990 form filed with the IRS.

I've attached that list on two pages from the 2008 990 document. Click to enlarge them.

And now back to your regularly scheduled press release:

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John Murphy of Mayo Clinic’s public affairs department, Erin Hansen from IBM’s executive briefing center, and Bruce Dahlstrom, owner of Hers Clothing Store, are new members of the 23-person board of directors.  Beltz, already on the board, takes the chairperson reigns from Joe Powers, owner of the Canadian Honker restaurant.  Chair-elect is Teresa Puetz, program director for continuing education and professional development at the University of Minnesota-Rochester.

Major initiatives for the RCVB in 2010 include supporting the “Destination Medical Community” strategy of Mayo Clinic, which will mean further focus on hospitality industry improvement and marketing.  The RCVB will upgrade many of its communication systems this year, implementing a new customer relationship management technology system, integrating existing information systems and upgrading its Web site for both external and convention customer service.  Continuing to support the legislative agenda for the expansion of the Mayo Civic Center is also a focus.

Back to the Fifties - Diner to start rockin' Monday

Ready to do the Twist again?

Actually, a better dance for a rock 'n' roll-flavored business opening Monday might be the Mashed Potatoes.

Dish It Up Diner is ready to drop a dime in the jukebox and start serving burgers, fries and malts at 10 a.m. Monday.

"I really love the 1950s and '60s. (Rochester artist) Greg Wimmer has painted murals everywhere in my store; there are pink Cadillacs and people dancing on walls," says owner Heather Tlougan. "People really need to stop in and see how fun it is."

This is part of Tlougan's latest tweak to the food business she opened at 3456 East Circle Drive N.E. in 2005. First, it was a meal preparation place, where customers would buy and assemble a week's or more worth of meals to freeze and use later.

The novelty of that business model wore off, so Dish It Up changed to taking orders from customers and preparing multiple meals to be picked up by the customers.

That aspect is still cooking along in the back portion of the business with the addition of a deli case that has fresh, prepared meals ready for people to take home and cook.

Tlougan's trip to the past fills the front section of the space. It seats more than 40.

Expect daily hot lunch specials like meatloaf. To sweeten the deal, she is adding the full line of Bridgeman’s Ice Cream products, including the massive Lollapalooza sundae.

To staff the new diner, Tlougan is hiring about 10 people in addition to seven she already has on staff.

Civic Center Drive Walgreens work starts when?

OK. I keep checking on the status of the proposed Northwest Civic Center Drive Walgreens store, the other half of the set of drug store bookends slated for Rochester.

Obviously, the first one of the matched set went up on South Broadway late last year.So now people are waiting for the other shoe (or store) to drop.

When it does, the International Buffet restaurant at Civic Center and 11th Street will be scraped off the site as completely as kids (or sugar-addicted adults like myself) licking cake icing from a mixing bowl.

So last Friday I checked with Walgreens' vigilant voice Vivika Vergara. She sent back this note - "We still don't have a lease signed so this is not a location I can comment on at this time."

However, while there may not be a signed lease, the construction crews do seem to be gearing up.The Midwest Real Estate news site posted this info in an article:

Despite the sluggish economy, and the general slowdown in retail development, Benson-Orth Associates has continued to build new Walgreens stores for developers in New Prague, Grand Rapids, Roseville and Rochester, Minn.

Benson-Orth completed a new 14,450-square-foot store in New Prague late in 2009 that will celebrate its grand opening in early March.

A late February completion is expected for the new 14,450-square-foot store in Grand Rapids, while the building demolition and site preparation for a 14,820-square-foot store in Roseville began in early January.

Plans are being finalized for a new 12,874-square-foot store in Rochester that will begin in late February.

So the answer to the question of when construction of the Civic Center Drive Walgreens' store appears to be… late February.

Action in Kasson?

Hearing some buzz that a prominent empty commercial space in Kasson might soon have a new tenant.

I have calls in on this, so I should find out the chatter is right or not in the near future.

And yes, for all the funny people out there, I am certain this is about Kasson and not another nearby K city.

Or at least I'm pretty sure.

Heh.

"I've been....junked?" Who you gonna call?

Being haunted by a dead stove or maybe the maybe the moldering corpse of an old, rolled carpet?

Who are you going to call?

All 1980s movie quips aside, Dan and Marcia Pretzer of Rochester have taken their experience in rehabilitating old homes and are hitting the road in a flashy-painted van.

Junk Busters is the name emblazoned on the side. "We've got a lot of experience of hauling junk out," says Marcia Pretzer.

Anything they can't haul? Not really, she says.

One way to look at Junk Busters is as an alternative of renting a large Dumpster… and they haul the stuff out of the building.

The couple launched the operation in mid-December. The plan is start off small, but hopefully add "A couple of trucks and hire more people" as the demand grows, she said.

"I think the city is big enough to support this," Pretzer says.

Action in Roch. tonight

This is what is cooking in Rochester tonight. Will be interested in hearing what people say about it all Wed. (and what they tweet tonight)

Hang on. It will be a busy night.

I'll give special props to anyone who makes it to all three events. How about that for a challenge?

 

Rochester Downtown Master Plan Open House

Date:	Jan 26, 2010
Time:	5:30 -7:30 p.m.
Location:	Mayo Civic Center 30 Civic Center Drive S.E. Rochester,
Website:	www.rochesterdowntownplan.org

Consulting team will provide an analysis of Downtown Rochester and work that has been accomplished to date.
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Rochester Area Builders February Member Mixer

Time: 5 to 7 p.m.

Location: Rochester International Event center

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1st Rochester Tweet-up - gathering of people in area that use Twitter

Time: 5 pm - 8 pm  Add to Calendar

Location: Catch 22 Bar & Grill, 2280 Superior Drive N.W.