The Good News Report

[KJHburg]

File this under good news especially uptown Charlotte.  

Your Office Called. They Want You Back At Work. | WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source

[tozmervo]

Our office is officially all back in on June 1, right in line with the comments in that article. 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Hope that cap on the elevator shaft isn't too tight on the Carolina Theater project LOL.  Bring on the Intercontinental!!!  I always said they should have just built through the pandemic even though travel was down...by the time the tower would be complete, we would be on a rebound.  WFH will def be more flexible but CEOs want workers back in offices imo.  

[KJHburg]

Spectrum adding a nationwide call center in Charlotte with  360 jobs serving 41 states and I guess that would include their Hawai'i operations which means 24 hour operations.

Spectrum hiring event in Charlotte | wcnc.com

Aloha I want to cancel my cable service

CLT Rep:  Lets discuss a new less expensive option for you.  

Hana hou?

CLT Rep:  Lets discuss a new less expensive option for you.  

Maholo! 

and yes I know Hawaiians living in the Charlotte metro and if you want some authentic food that will broke ya mouth try L and L Hawaiian BBQ in Kannapolis.

L&L Hawaiian Grill - Concord (hawaiiangrilltogo.com)

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by KJHburg

[carolinaboy]

15 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Spectrum adding a nationwide call center in Charlotte with  360 jobs serving 41 states and I guess that would include their Hawai'i operations which means 24 hour operations.

Spectrum hiring event in Charlotte | wcnc.com

Aloha I want to cancel my cable service

CLT Rep:  Lets discuss a new less expensive option for you.  

Hana hou?

CLT Rep:  Lets discuss a new less expensive option for you.  

Maholo! 

and yes I know Hawaiians living in the Charlotte metro and if you want some authentic food that will broke ya mouth try L and L Hawaiian BBQ in Kannapolis.

L&L Hawaiian Grill - Concord (hawaiiangrilltogo.com)

 

KJ, you are a treasure sir. Your local knowledge is astounding. Thanks for sharing with us.

[KJHburg]

news from last hour or so: from ATL Biz Chronicle 

Atlanta's Colonial Pipeline said Wednesday evening it is beginning to return to service, days after it halted most operations following a ransomware attack, leading to fuel shortages along the East Coast.

Colonial Pipeline initiated the restart of pipeline operations today at approximately 5 p.m., the company said in a statement.

"Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal. Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period. Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal," the company said.

[KJHburg]

Okay I am not even sure I believe this LOL.  Charlotte #3 best city in America for BBQ  (no mention of Noble Smoke?) and we are tied with VA Beach? 

America's Best & Worst Cities for BBQ - Chef's Pencil (chefspencil.com)

[Norm2]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Okay I am not even sure I believe this LOL.  Charlotte #3 best city in America for BBQ  (no mention of Noble Smoke?) and we are tied with VA Beach? 

America's Best & Worst Cities for BBQ - Chef's Pencil (chefspencil.com)

I definitely wouldn't believe that. Went to Midwood Smokehouse this past weekend and the food was ....not good. The best BBQ I've ever had was in Brooklyn.

[HopHead]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Okay I am not even sure I believe this LOL.  Charlotte #3 best city in America for BBQ  (no mention of Noble Smoke?) and we are tied with VA Beach? 

America's Best & Worst Cities for BBQ - Chef's Pencil (chefspencil.com)

Further evidence that these "best of" lists are stupid lol. Charlotte certainly has it's share of really good BBQ restaurants. But, all the best BBQ in the state is east of I-95. B's BBQ in Greenville is one of my all time favorites. 

[KJHburg]

13 minutes ago, HopHead said:

Further evidence that these "best of" lists are stupid lol. Charlotte certainly has it's share of really good BBQ restaurants. But, all the best BBQ in the state is east of I-95. B's BBQ in Greenville is one of my all time favorites. 

B's is very good in Greensville so is Monk's Lexington BBQ up the road a bit. 

 

[KJHburg]

Maybe this study won't create as much controversy.  3 NC cities show up on the list of best places to start a business Charlotte # 6

2021’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business (wallethub.com)

as I said before when our state or city consistently shows up on the top of lists like these we are doing something right.  Notice there are 4 Texas cities on the list. 

[KJHburg]

Charlotte, Austin and Nashville noted for office relocations in this study.    And we have some growing fast companies in temporary space now like MUFG Union Bank, Moody's and Better.com and I still think US Bank will need to consolidate it space out of Truist Tower. 

Sun Belt Boomtowns Ride Out the Pandemic (cpexecutive.com)

[J-Rob]

How much space does US bank need? If @KJHburg's source indicated they want new space, I wonder if the east tower at Vantage is a likely landing spot.

[KJHburg]

37 minutes ago, J-Rob said:

How much space does US bank need? If @KJHburg's source indicated they want new space, I wonder if the east tower at Vantage is a likely landing spot.

Meant new to them not necessarily brand new space.   Though they could anchor a building anywhere they go and last time I counted it up it was over 200,000 sq ft I thought.   I would think a Tryon Street would be important to them.

[KJHburg]

Charlotte one of the best in terms of fiscal responsibility in the top 5 best Raleigh in the top 10.  Nashville on the other hand is in the top 5 bottom fiscally responsible cities called a Sinkhole city.

Financial State of the Cities 2021 : News : Truth in Accounting

[KJHburg]

while overall tourist spending was way down in NC as it was everywhere is USA our market share increased from the Biz Journal.

""North Carolina, like other states across the U.S., saw tourism tank during the pandemic. Overall visitor spending was down 31.7% in 2020. Marlise Taylor, director of research at Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, told the board that the state’s tourism market share actually increased during the pandemic. “Volume went down, let’s be clear,” she said. “But when you look at the share of domestic visitor volume … our market share actually increased from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.1% in 2020.”""

No better place to social distance than the NC mountains or NC coast 

[carolinaboy]

2 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

while overall tourist spending was way down in NC as it was everywhere is USA our market share increased from the Biz Journal.

""North Carolina, like other states across the U.S., saw tourism tank during the pandemic. Overall visitor spending was down 31.7% in 2020. Marlise Taylor, director of research at Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, told the board that the state’s tourism market share actually increased during the pandemic. “Volume went down, let’s be clear,” she said. “But when you look at the share of domestic visitor volume … our market share actually increased from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.1% in 2020.”""

No better place to social distance than the NC mountains or NC coast 

I'm here to say that if you want social distancing, the northern Outer Banks (Corolla, Southern Shores, Duck, Kitty Hawk.....) are not the place to be. Very busy already, which is good. Still though, you can find quiet places if you know where to look. 

[DownEast]

43 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

while overall tourist spending was way down in NC as it was everywhere is USA our market share increased from the Biz Journal.

""North Carolina, like other states across the U.S., saw tourism tank during the pandemic. Overall visitor spending was down 31.7% in 2020. Marlise Taylor, director of research at Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, told the board that the state’s tourism market share actually increased during the pandemic. “Volume went down, let’s be clear,” she said. “But when you look at the share of domestic visitor volume … our market share actually increased from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.1% in 2020.”""

No better place to social distance than the NC mountains or NC coast 

Im pretty sure the increase in market share was due to many skipping places like NY, DC, CA and especially Las Vegas. Not much to do when casinos are closed. HI was also pretty much closed to the Mainland as well.

Edited May 26, 2021 by DownEast
Snakeoids

[KJHburg]

Charlotte already home to a huge Frito Lay chip plant and the huge Lance Campbell Snacks plant and HQ now has another snack food maker.

HA! aka Macro Snacks

Charlotte Inno - Charlotte startup Macro Snacks steps away from health-food moniker with complete product rebrand (bizjournals.com)

HA! The Healthier Alternative Snacks! High Protein, Low Calories – Macro Snacks (snackmacro.com)

[carolinaboy]

Saw some Census 2020 city population data yesterday:

Charlotte: 900,350

Raleigh: 474,414

Greensboro: 297,878

Durham: 285,897

Winston-Salem: 248,112

[KJHburg]

Looks like they had 50,000 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600 race which is great since they only lifting all the restrictions a few weeks ago.  This was the biggest event in Charlotte in a year and half for sure.

2021 Coca-Cola 600 brings boost to Concord businesses | wcnc.com

good for tourism and businesses in the area. 

[rancenc]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Looks like they had 50,000 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600 race which is great since they only lifting all the restrictions a few weeks ago.  This was the biggest event in Charlotte in a year and half for sure.

2021 Coca-Cola 600 brings boost to Concord businesses | wcnc.com

good for tourism and businesses in the area. 

Even with all of the restrictions lifted, these figures pale in comparison to turnouts just prior to the pandemic; even then, NASCAR's attendance has been in a precipitous decline since the 2008 recession!

[KJHburg]

I get that but since the governor only lifted the restrictions a few weeks ago it is hard for people to committ to going on the last minute of .  I think the fall October race will be much bigger in attendance but of course NASCAR ratings have dropped.  Nothing like the NBA though. 

[Rickybobby]

On 5/26/2021 at 4:35 PM, KJHburg said:

Charlotte already home to a huge Frito Lay chip plant and the huge Lance Campbell Snacks plant and HQ now has another snack food maker.

HA! aka Macro Snacks

Charlotte Inno - Charlotte startup Macro Snacks steps away from health-food moniker with complete product rebrand (bizjournals.com)

HA! The Healthier Alternative Snacks! High Protein, Low Calories – Macro Snacks (snackmacro.com)

I went to UNC Charlotte with Justin the guy who started this brand. His family have been into new ventures like this for as long as I have known him. Very cool!

[carolinaboy]

On 5/31/2021 at 9:59 AM, rancenc said:

Even with all of the restrictions lifted, these figures pale in comparison to turnouts just prior to the pandemic; even then, NASCAR's attendance has been in a precipitous decline since the 2008 recession!

Yes. Bad news for NASCAR.

The Indianapolis 500 had 135,000.