Bring your Bible and your credit card
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?This church gets how I live,? said Amy Forrest, who attends Stevens Creek Community Church in Martinez, Ga.
?If you give cash, you think about it. If you swipe a credit card, you don?t. It makes it easier to type that 4-0,? she told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Stevens Creeks is one of a growing number of churches that has ?giving kiosks? located outside the church chapel. Much like walking up to an ATM terminal, church-goers simply walk up to the machines to make a donation.
If this sounds a little weird to you, I agree. I know we live in a fast-paced society, but should we really be making decisions on where we attend church based on whether Visa or Mastercard is accepted?
Stevens Creek pastor Marty Baker says he has no problem with the new technology.
?We?re just trying to connect with the culture,? Baker said. ?It?s more than an ATM for Jesus. It?s about erasing barriers.?
Baker is actually the one who came up with the idea three years ago when his east Georgia church was preparing for a fundraising drive. He realized that, like many in his 1,100-member congregation, he rarely carried cash. So he hired developers to find a way for his congregation to pay with plastic.
Since the machines were first installed in 2005, the church has seen an 18 percent bump in donations ? and an average gift of more than $100 each time a card is swiped.
The results prompted Baker to start a for-profit company called SecureGive. By the end of this month, SecureGive expects to have terminals in 15 churches.
The next step, and brace for this one, is to attach a credit card reader directly to the collection plate. Yes it sounds far-fetched but so does the idea of church credit card centers.
In keeping with the church theme, I bring you the story of Georgetown University student Brian O?Neill whose dad bought him a $2.4 million off-campus house. Who says kids today are spoiled?
Anyway, the student wanted eight of his friends to live with him in the mansion but ran into trouble when it was discovered a Washington, D.C. zoning law forbids more than six unrelated people from living together in the same house.
In an effort to sidestep codes, O?Neill and his roommates filed paperwork declaring themselves a church named The Apostles of O?Neill because churches are allowed to house up to 15 unrelated people. Now if they could just get one of those ?giving kiosks? they would really be in business.
Fortunately, D.C. officials aren?t buying the church story.
Local Dollar General stores
are safe ? for now
When Dollar General announced about two weeks ago it would be closing 400 stores, I immediately thought about our four stores in Warren County. Apparently other people have had similar thoughts and I?ve received several Dollar General-related questions.
The logic I?ve heard the most is that the Dollar General on Main Street would be shut down because that store has yet to fully recover from sluggish sales it experienced during downtown construction.
Whether that?s the case is yet to be seen, but I can report all four local Dollar General stores survived the first sweep of store closings. Dollar General spokeswoman Tawn Ernest told me Thursday the company has decided on 133 of the 400 closings and that those stores have already been notified.
Ernest said Dollar General would begin notifying the second batch of stores, also expected to be in the 133 range, in February. The timetable is for all stores to be notified by the end of 2007 at the very latest.
?It?s important to stress that we are not exciting any markets,? said Ernest. ?Most of our markets have multiple locations and will continue to have multiple locations.?
This is just me sitting around and thinking out loud, but I believe one of the three Dollar Generals in McMinnville will be closed. That?s just my hunch.
I think the store in Morrison is safe because it?s so new and that?s the same reason I believe the store on Sparta Street is also safe.
However, I think the other two locations would be prime targets. From what I understand from other tenants, the rent at Cumberland Plaza is pretty steep so that could be a reason for closing that store. And obviously the store on Main Street is located in a much older building so that could be a reason for closing that store.
D&G Antiques
to relocate on Main Street
Speaking of downtown, the empty block of Main Street is about to get a little emptier with the departure of Corky Keel and his store, D&G Antiques and Collectibles.
Corky isn?t traveling too far. His store is currently located in the old Touch O? Klas building next to Fraley?s. He?ll be moving to the far end of Main Street across from the fire department.
?I know I won?t draw what I do here, but I?m wanting a smaller place,? said Corky. ?And I?ve lost a good bit of business since New York Grill closed in the day. You might not think that would make that big of a difference but a lot of people went in and out of there for lunch.?
Corky says he plans on moving between Christmas and New Year?s Day. Asked how he?s going to transport so much stuff, he said he?ll rely on his relatives for help.
?I should have all kinds of kinsfolk here to help,? said Corky. ?But I?ll probably look up and it will be me and my wife.?
Since Corky has been at the same location before, during and after Main Street construction, I asked him if the project has revitalized his business.
?It really hasn?t been that bad lately,? said Corky. ?I?d say it?s back to where it was before the street closed.?
The bigger question for me is what can be done to help the ?dead? portion of Main Street? New York Grill doesn?t open till the evening, Fraley?s remains a black hole, City Drug is still empty and D&G Antiques is soon to follow.
Such a success story only means one thing. It?s time to start on phase II of downtown revitalization!
Game room transformed
into discount store
Most Warren County folks are familiar with the old Northside Game Room. Now close your eyes and imagine the game room has been transformed into a discount store with affordable clothes for the entire family.
Now open your eyes. That store has appeared and Kenneth and Paula King are the owners. It?s called Yours, Mine and Ours Discount Outlet and it?s open Tuesday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
?We wanted a place where everybody can afford to shop,? said Paula.
Added Kenneth, ?This has always been a great location but it?s always had a bad name. We?re going to change the image of this place and make a good business out of it.?
The store offers a full line of affordable clothing from jeans and slacks to dress shirts, T-shirts and scrubs. All used clothing is sold for $2.50 and there?s also a $7.50 rack. All name-brand new items are 30 percent off every day and customers can take an additional 10 percent off if they buy more than $50.
?You can come in here without much money and buy something nice for yourself or your house,? said Paula. ?Or you can get something nice for your kids to wear to school.?
In addition to clothes, there are movies, hats, toys, knives and even stereo equipment for sale. Kenneth says he?ll consider merchandise brought into his store for resale, just don?t think too highly of your stuff.
?I?m going to price it to move,? said Kenneth.
The phone number is 507-8507. For people who aren?t familiar with the old Northside Game Room, the store is located at the intersection of Old Smithville Highway and Yager Road near the fairgrounds convenience center.
Don?t forget car
giveaway at mall
You probably don?t need me to remind you that a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt will be given away this Thursday night at Three Star Mall. But in case you do, the giveaway starts at 6 p.m.
Be sure to redeem all your mall receipts by 4 p.m. Thursday to be eligible to win. Every $50 in mall receipts is good for one ticket. As always, best of luck.
New Mexican restaurant
opens on Northgate Drive
For those of you keeping track at home, the score is now check advance companies 19, Mexican restaurants 16.
OK, so that?s not an official count but it can?t be far off. And it might be a low-ball estimate for all the check advance stores around every corner.
But I regress. My point is to tell you about a new Mexican restaurant that just opened last week. It?s in the spot formerly occupied by Willie Lee-Lee?s BBQ, which is the spot formerly occupied by Pinoy?s.
If you?re looking for authentic Mexican food and menu items you can?t find anywhere else, Lacabana Taquera is the place to go. It all starts with the chef, whose name is Chente. Like all great chefs, he only goes by one name, sort of like Cher or Madona if they could cook.
?He has a different style and creates unique dishes,? said Hugo Barrientos, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Graciela Gutierrez.
If you want to try an authentic Mexican soft drink, Lacabana Taquera has it. If you want an authentic Mexican beer, for people who drink those sort of beverages, the restaurant has it. And of course there?s some great-tasting authentic Mexican fare.
I have to say Hugo and his wife treated me like a king when I stopped by Friday. They prepared an absolute feast and urged me to eat my fill. When I got up, their kids rejoiced because I didn?t even touch a heaping portion of grilled meat and cheese and they were ready to dig in.
Lacabana Taquera is located behind Pizza Hut and First National Bank. If you?re looking for something tasty and different, this would be it.
Bonnaroo back
for another year
Bonnaroo, the most profitable music festival in the world, announced last week that it will return to Manchester for its sixth year. The Bonnaroo festival has been confirmed to take place June 14-17, 2007.
Even though it?s one county over, Bonnaroo still brings a steady flow of money into Warren County.
That?s all folks
Even though this is the week before Christmas, I don?t plan to take a vacation. Just like Santa (but without the beard and bowlful of jelly), I?ll be working around the clock this week to bring you all the latest business news. And I do it all without elves or pesky reindeer.
To phone in your business tips, the number is 473-2191.