Category Archives: New / Expanding Business

Jeff Rucker’s Business Expands

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MATHNASIUM signed the lease Thursday May 23 to open their second location in the CSRA. They will be located right next to HHGregg in the Augusta Exchange shopping center. They will open the day after Labor Day — perfect timing just prior to the first report cards coming out in the CSRA.

Mathnasium of Evans opened Dec 1, 2011 in the Mullins Shopping Center. Jeff and Christine Rucker are the local franchisees and employ a team of Math instructors. They prefer these types of locations as they are close to family-friendly shopping choices like Target and restaurants like Chick-fil-A. It allows parents to take care of errands while their child is getting helped at Mathnasium . Their initial marketing push included Public Relations, TV and Radio spots and Special events with their mascot, but in the past year they have relied almost exclusively on purchasing direct mail lists with targeted demographics including proximity to the location, income levels, and children in the home ages 7-16.

In full disclosure, Buzz on Biz founder Neil Gordon has helped the Ruckers with their marketing since 2011.

www.mathnasium.com

Coffee Roaster Getting Ready To Open Coffee Shop in Midtown

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Buona Caffe hosted a private food tasting at their new location on Central Avenue Sunday. They are waiting on final inspections, but will be opening very soon

It is across the street from their current location where they roast coffee—

They will be open Monday – Saturday from 7am until 3pm serving a variety of savory and sweet bites to go along with their different types of coffee.  John Curry, one of the owners, indicated that they will open as soon as all of the inspections are done.

Curry and his wife roast coffee fresh each day and sell coffee wholesale to many restaurants in the CSRA and provide coffee for many catering events.

BIG LOTS TO OPEN COLUMBIA COUNTY STORE

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The former Food Lion store next to Home Depot is being built out to fit Big Lots’ specifications. Demolition began four weeks ago and Big Lots officials tell Buzz founder Neil Gordon it should be about July 1st for the department stores’ opening.

50 to 60 people will be employed. Big Lots has stores on Wrightsboro Road in Augusta and Martintown Road in North Augusta along with other rural stores in the CSRA.

Big Lots is known for its discount merchandise—often selling closeouts and second quality items at deep discounts.

Food Lion closed three CSRA stores in 2012—including the one adjacent to Home Depot in Evans—one on Evans to Locks road, and an older store on Old Petersburg Road.

EDGEFIELD FAMILY PLANS GRAND OPENING OF MR ROOTER FRANCHISE

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An Edgefield family that used to run a “mom and pop” handyman company now controls the entire CSRA territory of Mr. Rooter. They purchased a portion of the territory and purchased the other territory from a franchisee with several thousand customers. They are now operating several businesses out of their facility in Edgefield. Mr. Rooter is planning a grand opening celebration on Saturday June 1st featuring events for kids, demonstrations on the four Mr. Rooter trucks, Domino’s Pizza and a radio remote from BOB FM. It will be held at the Odell Weeks center in Aiken.

NORTH AUGUSTA MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO EXPANDS

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Premier Martial Arts featuring 6th degree black belt Aaron Hensley has moved within the Fred’s Plaza on Martintown Road in North Augusta. Hensley was able to double his space at an efficient rate by moving within the center and doing the build-out and painting himself.

The layout allows Premier to train up to 22 children in an afterschool program—so Hensley has added a “Premier Pick Up Bus” to go to North Augusta schools to transport children.  His afterschool programs are similar to most daycares, but include free Karate and Martial Arts.

They feature several adult and childrens’ classes and can hold up to 120 students at one time.

For more info, www.hensleypma.com

 

Home Furnishings Store Opening In Martinez

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The Carpet and Mattress Gallery is completing its build out of the end cap unit in the Ashley Square Shopping Center in Martinez. They are in the Washington Road Plaza across from the Gerald Jones Dealer Group. They will offer beds, bedroom furniture, mattresses and boxsprings. The space is in the former Sign O Rama unit in the plaza. The Carpet and Mattress Gallery joins several other furniture stores within a few miles on the Bobby Jones Expressway(Great Deals), Washington Road (Andrews Gallery) and the Riverwatch Parkway(Weinbergers)

Southpoint Media to Open Second Location in Augusta

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Southpoint Media announces the opening of its new Augusta location. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Thursday, June 6th at 11 a.m. at historic Enterprise Mill, 1450 Greene Street, Suite 80, Augusta, Georgia 30901.

Southpoint Media is a web design firm founded in 2004 by Brad Morrison, a technology entrepreneur with more than 15 years experience in the industry. This new office will be Southpoint Media’s second location, and is their first outside of the firm’s Savannah home on Broughton Street.
“Augusta is an emerging high-tech hub and we wanted to be here,” said Morrison. “We see a lot of energy and talent in Augusta, and see a tremendous opportunity to help small business owners promote and grow their companies.”

Southpoint Media specializes in building websites for small and medium-sized businesses, using the WordPress content management system.
“WordPress lets us build sites that are customized for each client, but which are affordable to develop, and can be launched quickly,” Morrison added. “We understand the needs of small businesses, and how important it is for them to have reliable tools and people they can talk to for support.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at the Enterprise Mill, an historical residential and office complex located alongside the Augusta Canal. Built in 1848 and restored in the 1990s, the Enterprise Mill is home to a number of professional and high tech businesses. “We think this is the perfect location for our new office, right in the center of Augusta’s redevelopment,” said Morrison.

Southpoint Media is a leading web design and development company with offices in Savannah and Augusta, Georgia. Founded in 2004, Southpoint Media employs ten talented employees and serves over 500 businesses and non-profits across the Southeast.

www.southpointmedia.com

 

TBONZ ADDS LUNCH AT NEW LOCATION

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TBonz has been quite crowded many evenings for dinner at their new location in Evans. Staff are “dipping their toes” in the water by offering a scaled down lunch, featuring many of the dinnertime favorites. The restaurant is not open during the day, but you can call in an order and pick up your food after 1130am on weekdays. Staff has been doing a lot of “guerrilla marketing” by passing out menu’s to large employers in Columbia County.

The original TBonz is open for lunch and dinner on Washington Road in Augusta.

COPY CENTER PLUS CHANGES ITS “BIZ” MODEL

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Copy Center Plus on Wrightsboro Road is changing its business model and soon will be called BIZ MAX. The owner Bill Downie, also an IHOP franchisee is renovating his store and will be partnering with franchises such as Sign O Rama and Embroder Me to provide different resources for small businesses. Downie will also be leasing out a large conference room on the property. BIZ MAX will continue to offer printing and screen printing on t-shirts and expand its offerings. The buzz is Downie made this decision to grow his other brand after failing to secure another IHOP to replace the National Hills location that just closed