GREER BUSINESS NEWS

Spa Lenore fills a niche in downtown Greer MAR 7

Tanika Adams and her mother, Dorothy, have opened Spa Lenore at 120 Victoria Street.

Tanika Adams and her mother, Dorothy, evidently had made it clear by their body language they were opening the spa business in Greer.

“Before we even made our decision Alan (Fore, property owner) said he had already taken the sign out of the window.” Tanika Adams said.

Kehler Bryant, Miss El Dorado Teen 2014, is making a difference in the Blue Ridge Community promoting her platform

Kehler Bryant has this idea that a beauty queen can have an impact on fashion that becomes a business with profits benefiting Breast Cancer Prevention.

Bryant, Miss El Dorado Teen 2014, is seeing her platform come to life in the Blue Ridge community she will represent in the Miss South Carolina Teen pageant and the Skyland Elementary Relay for Life team.

The new X4 is being manufactured at the Greer plant and goes on sale this spring.

BMW confirmed Wednesday the all-new BMW X4 Sports Activity Coupe, what automobile media has been reporting as a smaller sibling similar to the X6. The X4 is debuting for the first time in public at the Geneva Auto Show.

The Greer plant is manufacturing the X4 and it’s being offered in showrooms this spring. U.S. versions, offering a choice of two turbo engines, combine the performance and capability of a sports-activity vehicle with coupe styling, according to BMW’s announcement.

A touch screen display illustrates the stops for the driverless vehicle on the course mapped by GPS. Users can summon the shuttle with their smart phones.

A driverless shuttle made a brief appearance at the Cottages at Brushy Creek last week to introduce engineers, businessmen and the public to the testing of Induct’s Navia 100 – an all electric vehicle.

A touch screen display illustrates the stops on the course mapped by GPS. Users can summon the shuttle with their smart phones. Navia has zero emissions, can travel at 12.5 mph and carry up to eight passengers. It is fully electric and recharged by induction – using magnetic fields – without the need for cables or human intervention, allowing it to be self-sufficient and run 24 hours a day.

Workers are taking down the facade of the former Kmart building.

Activity at the planned Kohl's store at 1320 Wade Hampton Blvd., has increased the past week with Crane Construction of Savannah, Mo., moving its trailer on site and a work yard fenced off to protect trailers, vehicles and equipment.

A $2.3 million upfit is ongoing with the most visible sign showing the facade being removed from the former Kmart. The interior demolition is also in progress.

A $1 million gift has helped the Greenville Health System open a Rare Tumor Center, that is the nation’s first center dedicated exclusively to the treatment and research of rare cancers.

Jerry and Harriet Dempsey’s gift marks the largest individual donation ever given to the GHS Cancer Institute. A strategic alliance has also been announced with national molecular-medicine leader Foundation Medicine.

City Councilman Jay Arrowood said landscaping along Moore Street was to include a berm that would obstruct the view of the tracks at street level (left) and thus help reduce some noise.

The Inland Port has some unfinished landscaping along Moore Street and Norfolk Southern trains are causing longer than planned delays at city crossings, according to city staff and a city council member.

City Councilman Jay Arrowood first spoke out on these two topics more than a ago to GreerToday.com, at the time the nearly $50 million South Carolina Port Authority (SCPA) declared the port complete and operational with a grand opening in Greer. City Administrator Ed Driggers addressed those two topics at last Tuesday’s council meeting, confirming Arrowood’s concerns.

X3 boosts BMW February brand sales, X4 debut at Geneva Auto Show MAR 3

The Greer-produced X3 help up February sales of BMW brand vehicles, the company announced on the eve of the Geneva Auto Show. The new X4, which is being produced at the Greer plant, makes its debut at the auto show beginning Thursday.

X3 sports activity vehicles sales vaulted 51.8 percent, 3,301 vehicles last month, while sales of BMW and MINI brands fell 4.4 percent compared to the same month last year. The X1 also had high February sales, 57.2 percent, 2,329 vehicles, compared to last year at this time.

Bertha Snoddy, James Terry, Beatrice Pyles and Sarah Waters will remember the Leadership Greer Class XXXIV for coming to their homes Saturday and staying awhile.

The class, all 31 members of the Greer Chamber of Commerce, participate in a leadership program, with its final act paying it forward to the community it is vested. The past two classes raised funds for a trailer to benefit Disabled American Veterans (2012) and Greer Relief (2013).

Shannon Easton of Carolina Treasures was putting the finishing touches on furniture before heading to Charlotte for a show.

Shannon Easton of Carolina Treasures was finishing some of the goods she was taking to a furniture show in Charlotte Saturday.

Easton was painting and refurbishing some of the furniture she had collected. Will Yarborough, her father, tends to the business when Easton is traveling.

Century BMW awarded prestigious Center of Excellence FEB 28

Century BMW of Greenville has been awarded the Center of Excellence by BMW of North America.

Century is the 13^th ranked dealership of 32 that achieved the “2014 Center of Excellence” (COE) status based on its 2013 performance. There are 339 BMW dealers nationwide.

Greer public services received kudos at Tuesday's city council meeting for its clearing streets of snow and ice during the Feb. 12-13 snowstorm.

City Administrator Ed Driggers made an emergency call to Greer Memorial Hospital during the Feb. 12-13 snowstorm. All city personnel were in place – police on 12-hour and fire on 24-hour shifts and public services personnel were boarding at the operations center.

Officials warned citizens to remain home and off the streets with schools closed two days ahead and many businesses, city and state offices closed. People listened.

Kevin Duncan joins Greer State Bank as Manager/Private Banker and Assistant Vice President serving the Buncombe Road branch.

Kevin Duncan and Melody Owens have joined Greer State Bank.

Duncan, with seven years banking experience, is Manager/Private Banker and Assistant Vice President serving the Buncombe Road branch. He will be responsible for leading the branch team, business development and customer acquisition. Duncan will be involved in producing consumer and small business/commercial loans, and working to create and roll out a private banking line of business.

Dear Dave,

My 6-year old son has saved up $400. He said he wants to buy a motorcycle with it someday, but he recently changed his mind and wants to buy a computer tablet. Is it OK for him to change his mind like this, and how should I handle things?

$2.5 million substation at Victor Hill closer to formal agreement FEB 24

A substation at Victor Hill Road is moving toward a formal agreement between the Greer Commission of Public Works and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. It was reported that infrastructure at two housing developments are also near completion.

Randy Olson, interim general manager, told commissioners at Monday’s monthly meeting the substation, “is pointing closer to an agreement. We have been in contact with Duke (Energy) to see where they would like the high-tension power lines to come into the site,” Olson said.

Workers began a $2.3 million upfit that includes interior demolition and upfit and exterior renovation of the former Kmart store.

The planned Kohl’s store at Piedmont Market Place, 1320 Wade Hampton Blvd., in Greer is scheduled to open the third week in September. The company will hire about 100 full- and part-time employees.

A $2.3 million upfit is underway with Crane Construction of Savannah, Mo., handling the interior demolition and upfit and exterior renovation of the former Kmart store. Workers were at the site this week.

A $15,000 grant from Citizens Building and Loan (CBL) to Greer Community Ministries has helped with operational costs for Meals On Wheels and Senior Diners. Left to right: Jennifer Jones (CBL Senior Vice President), Cindy Simpler (Executive Director GCM) and Tommy Johnson (President/CEO of CBL).

A timely $15,000 grant from Citizens Building and Loan (CBL) to Greer Community Ministries is helping the non-profit to maintain its Meals On Wheels and Senior Diners program by providing for 5,000 meals.

“It’s always helpful to have Citizens Building and Loan to partner with us in our operating costs,” Cindy Simpler, Executive Director of GCM, said. “It then makes it a lot easier for us to apply for grants (for programs).”

Cott, a beverage bottler and distributor in Greer, is expanding its production facility on Hood Road with an additional 150,000 square foot warehouse and will add 28 trailer parks and 15 docks.

Cott Beverages is expanding its manufacturing site at 1990 Hood Road with a 150,000 square foot building that will add 28 trailer parks and 15 docks.

Part of the expansion will include 1,800 square feet for additional office space to accommodate the transfer of its logistics staff from a warehouse leased in Taylors. That lease is expiring.

IHOP at Suber Commons is scheduled to open Tuesday, March 18.

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) at Suber Commons at the corner of Wade Hampton Blvd. and Suber Road will open on Tuesday, March 18.

Hiring for staff is being conducted on site in a makeshift office.

Carmel, Ind. Mayor James Brainard will speak at the Tuesday, March 4

Upstate Forever, in partnership with the City of Greer, is hosting “Investing in an Active Downtown” on Tuesday, March 4, an after-work presentation and panel discussion featuring mayors James Brainard of Carmel, Ind., Rick Danner of Greer, Elaine Harris of Pacolet, and Chris Story, Assistant City Manager of Spartanburg.

Carmel’s population has grown from 25,000 to almost 80,000 in the past 12 years. The city was voted the No. 1 Best Place to Live in America by Money Magazine in 2012.