Newspaper Page Text
New hotel
planned off
Market Place
Holiday Inn Express
could open in late ’08
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
Work has begun on Forsyth
County’s fifth hotel.
The 88-room Holiday Inn
Express Hotel & Suites will be
off Hwy. 20, behind the Lowe’s
and near Ga. 400. The hotel
should be completed by year’s
end and will employ up to 25
people.
John Merkin, the senior vice
president of brand management
for Holiday Inn Brands, said in a
statement that the area is an ideal
location for a Holiday Inn
Express.
Among the factors he cited
were “new commercial develop- •
ments, a new hospital and expan¬
sive residential growth. •'
The hotel site is near the
retail-heavy Market Place
Boulevard corridor and not far
from Northside Hospital
Forsyth, where a new Women’s
Center is set to open in August.
In fact, there once was a
Holiday Inn Express next to the
hospital, but it was razed when
Ga. 400 Exit 14 was revamped.
The new, four-story hotel will
feature a fitness area, indoor pool
and spa, business center and 700
square feet of meeting space.
The extra space is a big deal
to James McCoy, president and
chief executive officer of the
Cumming-Forsyth County .
Chamber of Commerce, who
noted the county has few meet
mg space options.
McCoy attended a Forsyth
County Development Authority
meeting Wednesday, when the
group reviewed a target market
analysis.
One of the weaknesses of
our community overall, for larger
picture economic development
initiatives, is the limited accom¬
modations and meeting space,”
he said. “And this certainly
.
.
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Photo/Jennifer Sami
The 88-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites will be
off Hwy. 20, behind Lowe’s and near Ga. 400.
Business briefs
New menu debuts
at Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A, which generat¬
ed record sales of $2.64 billion
in 2007, is celebrating its 40th
consecutive year of positive
sales by rolling out a new
menu.
Changes began in March
with a coffee caramel milk¬
shake, offered through Aug. 2,
but other long-term menu items
debuted Monday, including a
chargrilled chicken and fruit
salad to its salad menu. All sal¬
ads will be served in a larger,
deeper bowl.
Other changes include
using wheatberry bread with
green leaf lettuce for their
chicken salad sandwich, and
serving three wraps with high¬
er-quality multigrain flatbread.
The new Chick-n-Strips
will be served in 50 percent
larger portions, as a meal and
as part of an entree salad.
Five additional side item
choices also will be offered as a
substitute for waffle potato
fries, part of tluf chain’s
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
helps.”
Having the additional hotel
rooms also will give the chamber
and county parks and recreation
department leverage in their push
to lure sports marketing initia¬
tives.
“In order to get more state
and regional competitions here,
one of the limitations has been
accommodations,” said McCoy,
adding the hotel will also be
attractive to businesses with
international ties.
“[It] helps businesses who
have folks flying in all the time
to do work with them ... it does
help to have accommodations
here for them rather than out of
our county.”
Hotel features will include
free high-speed Internet access
and local phone service, which is
a draw for potential businesses; It
also will offer a breakfast bar,
similar to a cafe.
The new hotel also will
encourage tourism. A 5 percent
occupancy tax helps the commu¬
nity generate income on top of
the standard sales tax.
The city collects the 5 per¬
cent tax for city hotels, and the
county does the same for county
hotels. Both governments give
the money to the chamber.
Of that money, the chamber
designates 40 percent of that
money to promote tourism and
the remaining 60 percent goes
toward economic development.
“It will also certainly help our
Hospitality Highway partner¬
ships along the corridor,” McCoy
said. “We’ll be able t6 use that
money, as well to enhance our
sports marketing promotion with
the county parks and recreation
department, as well as things like
the Christmas parade and other
initiatives that draw folks to the
community.”
E-mail Jennifer Sami at jen
nifersami @forsythnews. com.
response to demand from
health-minded customers.
Troncalli takes
part in gas special
Troncalli Chrysler-Jeep
Dodge will offer $2.99 gas for
three years to customers buying
a new vehicle.
Any customer purchasing
most models of Jeep, Dodge or
Chrysler vehicles until June 2
will receive a “Let’s Refuel
America” gas card, good for 87
octane regular, E85 or diesel fuel
at $2.99 per gallon.
The program is being offered
by all 3,511 Jeep, Dodge or
Chrysler dealerships nationwide.
The program covers a maxi¬
mum of $400 in gas per day, but
is limited to between 1,500 and
2,400 gallons of gas annually for
the three-year period.
For more information on the
program, contact (770) 889-
8951 or go online at
www.chrysler.com/en/refuel/ind
ex.html.
•v From staff reports
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
MARKET IN BRIEF At the close of May 23,2008
DOW S&P 500 NASDAQ
-1 45.99 Close: -18.42 Close: -19.91 Close:
12,479.63 1,375.93 2,444.67
Stocks of local interest
Sign Stock Last Change
ATG AGL Resources 35.20 -0.50
DELL Dell Computer 21.99 +0.30
DAL Delta Air Lines 5.50 -0.27
F Ford Motor Co. 6.87 -0.29
GM General Motors 17.60 -0.83
HD Home Depot 26.77 -0.14
INTC Intel Corp. 23.41 -0.47
KO Coca-Cola Co. 58.63 +0.36
MCD McDonald’s Corp. 57.73 -0.80
Look What’s COMING UP at
Dawson’s Newest Community Bank!
m ]
Monday June 2
✓ 11:30 a.m. —
Ribbon-cutting
fj ceremony
i:
Friday June 6
✓ 11 a.m.-2 p.m. — Lunch
by The Dawsonvitle
WfS* Pool Room
k ^ ✓ Drawing:
Toro LX426
Lawn
% Tractor*
♦Must register for drawings, but you need not be present to win. For more information, cal! 706-216-5900.
Join us for an exciting GRAND OPENING celebration
with prizes, food and fun the week of jUlie 2-6!
First Citizens Bank of Georgia ,
70 Carlisle Road off GA 400 ........... —
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V '\ ' \ v. X ML I ■ ‘i 1 i i.
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Member KMC www.firstcitizensbankofga.com
L 70 Carlisle Road « Qawsonville, GA • 706-216-5900
9/
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FORSYTH COUNTYNEWS - Sunday, May 25, 2008
John M. Weaver
Branch Manager, PIM Portfolio Manager
210 Dahlonega St., Wachovia
Cumming, GA Securities
(678) 455-0016
Financial Network
Sign Stock Last Change
MSFT Microsoft •28.05 0.42
PEP Pepsico Inc. 68.26 - 0.12
RF Regions Financial 18.66 -0.48
SGMS Scientific Games 29.75 -0.42
SO Southern Co. 36.00 -0.81
T AT&T 38.53 -0.65
TSN Tyson Foods 17.82 -0.54
UPS United Parcel Service 67.02 -2.33
WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 55.75 -0.30
Information has been obtained from sources believed to be
reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.
3 Grills, 1 Tractor and a
Whole New Way to Bank!
There’s a new flag flying over Dawson County
as First Citizens Bank of Georgia celebrates its
GRAND OPENING June 2-6. Come join us for a
week of fun, food and prizes. You may just discover
a better way to bank. We’re a different kind of
bank with a fresh outlook and a new approach
to banking.
FIRST
CITIZENS
BANK
of Ge< h
You’ll notice the difference.
Tuesday June 3 Wednesday June 4
Wal-Mart ✓ Wal-Mart Gift
Gift Cards \ J ' % Cards to first
to first 25 ■ m 25 people who
people who " register for
register for prizes prizes
Drawing: Charmglow ✓ Drawing: Charmglow
4-burner Gas Grill* 4-burner Gas Grill*
FREE Presentations
Thursday:
• HowTo Protect Yourself from
Identity Theft
Friday:
Master Gardener Larry Dumas:
• Planting Tomatoes —A Better Way
• Gardening for Birds & Butterflies
• Garden Planning for Less Water
& Less Work
PAGE 9A
Thursday June 5
✓ 11 a.m-2 p.m. -
FREE lunch by
Chick-fil-A®
✓ Drawing:
Charmglow
4-burner
Gas Grill*
▼ 6/3,6/4 & 6/5.*
Plus:
Money Machine
Cash Grab every
hour from Noon-5 p.m.
on Friday June 6
(must register Friday to be
eligible for hourly drawing)