(Crain’s) — A Maryland hotel firm is buying $69 million in debt on the landmark Allerton Hotel as part of a plan to take control of the struggling Michigan Avenue property.
DiamondRock Hospitality Co. said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire the senior mortgage loan on the 443-room hotel, which was hit with a foreclosure suit earlier this month.
Read More:
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Burger King wins a round in Value Meal Battle with Franchisees
A Miami federal court judge ruled that Burger King has the right to dictate value menu pricing to its franchisees.
The ruling issued late Thursday marked a partial victory for the Miami fast-food chain in its battle with the National Franchisee Association over the $1 double cheeseburger.
Yet the court also still left the door open for franchisees
Read More:
The ruling issued late Thursday marked a partial victory for the Miami fast-food chain in its battle with the National Franchisee Association over the $1 double cheeseburger.
Yet the court also still left the door open for franchisees
Read More:
Tavern On The Green Without An Operator
NEW YORK (May 21, 2010) Restaurateur Dean Poll has stepped aside as Tavern on the Green's new operator following months of failed negotiations with the union that represents the restaurant's 400 workers, a spokesman for the operator said.
The fine-dining restaurant, located on the west side of Central Park, is a New York City landmark and, before it closed last December, was for years one of the most successful restaurants and catering establishments in the United States. The restaurant is owned by the city, which contracts out the licensing agreement to operate the facility.
Read More:
The fine-dining restaurant, located on the west side of Central Park, is a New York City landmark and, before it closed last December, was for years one of the most successful restaurants and catering establishments in the United States. The restaurant is owned by the city, which contracts out the licensing agreement to operate the facility.
Read More:
Everett bikini barista pleads guilty
EVERETT, Wash. —
A Bikini barista who had faced a prostitution charge pleaded guilty Monday in Everett Municipal Court to working without an adult entertainment license and was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
The Daily Herald reports she is allowed to serve her time under home electronic monitoring. Judge Timothy O'Dell also ordered the woman to be fully clothed - no bikini or lingerie - when she works at an espresso stand.
The 21-year-old had been charged with prostitution after detectives photographed her licking whipped cream off another barista.
Four other baristas charged after a lewd behavior investigation last year at the Grab-n-Go Espresso stand will have charges dropped if they stay out of trouble for two years.
A Bikini barista who had faced a prostitution charge pleaded guilty Monday in Everett Municipal Court to working without an adult entertainment license and was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
The Daily Herald reports she is allowed to serve her time under home electronic monitoring. Judge Timothy O'Dell also ordered the woman to be fully clothed - no bikini or lingerie - when she works at an espresso stand.
The 21-year-old had been charged with prostitution after detectives photographed her licking whipped cream off another barista.
Four other baristas charged after a lewd behavior investigation last year at the Grab-n-Go Espresso stand will have charges dropped if they stay out of trouble for two years.
Brothers' bikini-clad barista business dream became legal nightmare
Adam Marshall and Steven Rotan figured they had struck marketing gold: espresso stands staffed by bikini-clad baristas.
The Salem duo created a stir in 2007 when women at their Mission Street SE coffee drive-through started wearing bikini tops. The business, once called Coffee Nation, morphed into the Bikini Coffee Co.
It wasn't long before its three outlets — two drive-throughs in Salem and one walkup store in the Portland area — were touted as a Hooters-like phenomenon. Marshall and Rotan boasted of plans for a nationwide franchise and even an international expansion.
Read More:
The Salem duo created a stir in 2007 when women at their Mission Street SE coffee drive-through started wearing bikini tops. The business, once called Coffee Nation, morphed into the Bikini Coffee Co.
It wasn't long before its three outlets — two drive-throughs in Salem and one walkup store in the Portland area — were touted as a Hooters-like phenomenon. Marshall and Rotan boasted of plans for a nationwide franchise and even an international expansion.
Read More:
Investors battle lender on stalled Chicago hotel
(Crain’s) — Chicago developer Duke Miglin and an Irish group he recruited to invest in his stalled River North hotel project are striking back at the lender trying to foreclose on the property, now just a 16-story concrete shell draped in canvas.
Mr. Miglin and his prospective partner allege that the lender, CapitalSource Finance LLC, reneged on an agreement to recapitalize and restart the planned Staybridge Suites hotel at 127 W. Huron St., which has been idle for nearly two years.
Read More:
Mr. Miglin and his prospective partner allege that the lender, CapitalSource Finance LLC, reneged on an agreement to recapitalize and restart the planned Staybridge Suites hotel at 127 W. Huron St., which has been idle for nearly two years.
Read More:
Group hopes to raise hotel tax
SAN FRANCISCO — A bid has been launched to temporarily increase the tax on San Francisco hotel rooms by 2 percent, and to garner more tax dollars from online hotel booking companies, to aid the deficit-ridden city.
A coalition of community groups that rely on tax revenue to provide services such as education and public health in San Francisco is aiming to place a measure on the November ballot to garner more dollars from hotels and various websites that offer room bookings for visitors
Read More:
A coalition of community groups that rely on tax revenue to provide services such as education and public health in San Francisco is aiming to place a measure on the November ballot to garner more dollars from hotels and various websites that offer room bookings for visitors
Read More:
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Hotel developers seek bail to fight US tax charges
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A father and son who developed a thriving hotel business are seeking release on bail in Florida so they can fight federal tax charges.
Prosecutors claim 77-year-old Mauricio Cohen Levy and 46-year-old Leon Cohen Levy would flee prosecution and should be kept in custody. They were living in the principality of Monaco before their arrests last month in New York.
A judge in Fort Lauderdale scheduled a hearing Thursday afternoon on the bail request.
The Cohens are charged with failing to report U.S. income from the $33 million sale of one of their New York residential hotels, which operate under the Flatotel name. Their attorney insist both men will stay in South Florida to fight the charges.
Prosecutors claim 77-year-old Mauricio Cohen Levy and 46-year-old Leon Cohen Levy would flee prosecution and should be kept in custody. They were living in the principality of Monaco before their arrests last month in New York.
A judge in Fort Lauderdale scheduled a hearing Thursday afternoon on the bail request.
The Cohens are charged with failing to report U.S. income from the $33 million sale of one of their New York residential hotels, which operate under the Flatotel name. Their attorney insist both men will stay in South Florida to fight the charges.
Atlantic City casinos report 25 percent drop in profits
ATLANTIC CITY — New Jersey casino regulators say Atlantic City's 11 casinos saw their gross operating profits decline by 25.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010.
Gross operating profits totaled $111.2 million for the three-month period. That's down from $148.7 million from the same quarter last year.
Read More:
Gross operating profits totaled $111.2 million for the three-month period. That's down from $148.7 million from the same quarter last year.
Read More:
Las Vegas Sands closes on $1.75B in Macau loans
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Sands Corp. says it has secured $1.75 billion in financing to build its next two phases of development in Macau. The Las Vegas-based casino company said Thursday the money will be used to build hotels along with casino, convention and retail space in the Cotai area of the Chinese gambling enclave. Sands chief executive Sheldon Adelson says a total of 6,000 hotel rooms will be built in phases to attract large conventions and trade shows. Adelson says the development's first phase includes 3,700 hotel rooms and will open during the third quarter of 2011.He says another 2,300 hotel rooms will open in 2012.The owner of the Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas already owns three casino-resorts in Macau.
Government seizes $850,000 from company it says brought foreign hotel workers to Orlando illegally
The federal government has seized money from a company that it says misled hundreds of foreign workers brought to Orlando illegally to work in hotels.
The forfeited funds are tied to labor-contracting company Very Reliable Services, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The government took nearly $850,000 that is either in VR Services' accounts or owed to the company.
Read More:
The forfeited funds are tied to labor-contracting company Very Reliable Services, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The government took nearly $850,000 that is either in VR Services' accounts or owed to the company.
Read More:
Buddha Bar goes into administration
The well-known London nightspot Buddha Bar on Victoria Embankment has entered administration with the loss of 80 jobs.
Buddha Bar, famed for an 18ft-high Buddha statue in the dining room, opened in August 2008, shortly after the collapse of the bank Lehman Brothers.
The venue ceased trading immediately after administrator Baker Tilly was appointed yesterday and 80 full- and part-time staff were made redundant
Read More:
Buddha Bar, famed for an 18ft-high Buddha statue in the dining room, opened in August 2008, shortly after the collapse of the bank Lehman Brothers.
The venue ceased trading immediately after administrator Baker Tilly was appointed yesterday and 80 full- and part-time staff were made redundant
Read More:
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
People who down half a bottle of wine daily are HEALTHIER than teetotallers... at least that what French say
People who drink up to half a bottle of wine a day are healthier than teetotallers, according to a surprising new study.
This is because those who enjoyed three glasses of wine a day tended to take more exercise, have a higher social status and suffer from less stress, according to researchers.
Read More:
This is because those who enjoyed three glasses of wine a day tended to take more exercise, have a higher social status and suffer from less stress, according to researchers.
Read More:
Captain D's sold to Sun Capital affiliate
Private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. has announced that an affiliate has completed the acquisition of Captain D's Seafood Kitchen, the second largest casual seafood chain in the United States. Terms of the purchase from Sagittarius Brands Inc. were not disclosed.
Fort Lee hotel to be privatized after it’s built
The new 1,000-room hotel approved by Congress to be built on Fort Lee to house many of the Army’s transient student population will be sold sometime after the hotel is completed in early 2012.
“The Army is intent on privatizing the hotel through a public, competitive bid process,” Fort Lee Commander Mike Morrow told members of the Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce’s Government Relations Committee last week. About 10 years ago, all branches of the military began outsourcing the maintenance and civil engineering of bases to local businesses.
Read More:
“The Army is intent on privatizing the hotel through a public, competitive bid process,” Fort Lee Commander Mike Morrow told members of the Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce’s Government Relations Committee last week. About 10 years ago, all branches of the military began outsourcing the maintenance and civil engineering of bases to local businesses.
Read More:
