Unity House bids $8.5M for former W hotel

A nonprofit organization that serves union workers was the high bidder at a foreclosure auction Tuesday for the Lotus at Diamond Head hotel.
Unity House Inc. bid $8.5 million for the former W Honolulu hotel, outbidding lenders First Hawaiian Bank and Central Pacific Bank at the public auction outside 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu.

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http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/08/17/daily27.html

London restaurants ride out recession

The economic downturn has not dimmed Londoners’ appetite for eating out with fewer restaurants closing in the past year than at any time since 2000 according to the latest edition of Harden’s London Restaurants.
Only 64 London restaurants have closed over the past year which is slightly below the normal annual level while the average price of dining out rose 1.6 per cent to £40.73.

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article6804384.ece

That order taker may be at home

Instead of getting the usual greeting from a restaurant worker shouting over the din of a noisy kitchen, customers who drive through the McDonald's in Sellersburg, Ind., might have their orders taken by a stay-at-home mom in North Dakota.

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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908150334