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Compass Group Adopts "Menus of Change" Principles in 2015

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Compass Group USA is proud to announce the adoption of four new, key initiatives based on the Menus of Change Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus beginning immediately.

Menus of Change is a national, multi-year educational project developed by The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition that was launched in 2012. The goal of the initiative was to bring together representatives from all areas of foodservice – including everyone from chefs and nutrition and environmental scientists to farm and fisheries experts to foodservice executives and policy makers. It was this collaboration that inspired and informed the Menus of Change Principles.

Compass Group has been involved with Menus of Change since its inception and is a founding member of the Menus of Change Sustainability Leadership Business Council.

Beginning immediately, Compass Group has committed to adopting four key initiatives based on the Menus of Change Principles across its foodservice business portfolio to support the industry transformation that is necessary to ensure a sustainable future. These four new Compass initiatives, building on the existing commitments that Compass has already made towards addressing health and sustainability imperatives, include:

Increasing customers’ access to vegetables and fruits by focusing on globally inspired, largely plant based cooking.
Including recipes and concepts where meat plays more of a supporting role, reducing red meat portion sizes and offerings, and leveraging strategies from seasonal and local flavors, vegetable proteins and global cuisines.
Increasing our offerings of grain options that are at least more than 50% whole grain.
Employing conscious menuing and messaging that promotes health and sustainability through inspiring menus, customer interaction at the chef’s table and telling the story about great food.

“Not only is this the right thing to do for a sustainable future, it’s also a progressive wellness benefit for our clients and a significant menu expansion for our customers,” says Rick Post, Compass Group’s Chief Operations Officer. “Compass Group serves seven million meals a day and adopting this program may benefit clients by improving healthy lifestyle choices of their associates and the health of the planet.”

Compass Group has developed a Menus of Change scorecard to help benchmark and measure the progress of this program. Developed in conjunction with Foodbuy, the global purchasing organization of Compass Group, this scorecard will measure the purchasing volume of produce and red meat as well as the spend on whole grains.

“Increasing fresh produce and whole grains has always been front of mind, but now we are formalizing these efforts with clear parameters and the ability to track our progress,” says Christine Seitz, Vice President of Culinary for Compass Group USA Business Excellence. “Compass is also empowering its chefs to lead with ‘flavor first’ to ensure we provide delicious, nutrient-dense meals for our guests. The new recipes and promotions our culinary teams have developed to support these programs are truly inspired.”

“We congratulate the leadership of Compass Group in taking these critical next steps in further aligning its menu and business strategies with the evidence-based Menus of Change Principles,” comments Greg Drescher, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Industry Leadership at The Culinary Institute of America. “By adopting these initiatives, Compass signals to our industry that now is the time for all of us to embrace the aspirations of our customers who want more food choices that are at once craveably delicious, healthy, and sustainable.”

“Compass Group is to be congratulated for its leadership in providing meals that are friendly to our planet and our wellbeing while also being a great dining experience,” says Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and Chair, Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.

ABOUT COMPASS GROUP USA
Based in Charlotte NC, Compass Group North America is the leading foodservice management and support services company with $13.6 billion (£8.2 billion) in revenues in 2014. With over 500,000 associates worldwide, its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC had revenues of £17.1 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.

Compass Group’s participation in the Menus of Change initiative seeks to drive new culinary approaches for healthy, delicious and sustainable food, while helping the food industry better navigate a rapidly changing world.

ABOUT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent, not-for-profit college offering associate and bachelor’s degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, culinary science, and applied food studies, as well as certificate programs in culinary arts and wine and beverage studies. As the world’s premier culinary college, the CIA provides thought leadership in the areas of health wellness, sustainability, and world cuisines cultures through research and conferences. The CIA has a network of 47,000 alumni that includes industry leaders such as Grant Achatz, Anthony Bourdain, David Burke, Anne Burrell, Roy Choi, Cat Cora, Steve Ells, Johnny Iuzzini, Charlie Palmer, and Roy Yamaguchi. The CIA also offers courses for professionals and enthusiasts, as well as consulting services in support of innovation for the foodservice and hospitality industry. The college has campuses in Hyde Park, NY; St. Helena, CA; San Antonio, TX; and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu.

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SOURCE Compass Group USA

Tagged with: Charlotte

"Big Leagues": Democratic National Convention a Boon to Philly’s Stature, But …

Posted on February 13, 2015 by

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When the Democratic National Convention descends on Philadelphia next year, it will bring with it thousands of delegates, press from around the globe and possibly the next leader of the free world.

The quadrennial political gathering could also bring a bigger boost for one of the country’s most formative cities: a multi-million dollar injection of cash into the region and its local businesses.

“Our hospitality community is on fire,” Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday, shortly after the pick was announced. “We do have this opportunity literally to make history again with hosting this convention.”

Organizers and party officials estimate that the July 2016 convention will generate an overall economic impact of between $170 and $250 million in direct and indirect spending. That includes everything from hotel room rates and restaurant tabs to security details, infrastructure upgrades and construction jobs.

Excitement Over Philly’s DNC Win

[PHI] Party Leaders Weigh-In on DNC in Philadelphia

And while economists and others caution that figure won’t necessarily translate fully to cash in the coffers of the city and its businesses, local backers say the lasting economic impact could extend beyond the dollars spent heading into and during the political production.

“First and foremost, landing the DNC for us is huge, huge visibility for the city,” said Julie Cocker Graham, executive vice president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in an interview Thursday. “It puts us on an international and national stage in terms of visitors and convention attendees coming to Philadelphia, and it really does prove what we’ve always known — that we are the city that offers the complete package.”

Projections for how much Philly could take in during the convention are comparable to figures reported by other recent host cities, including 2012 convention host sites Tampa, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa injected $214 million directly into the local economy, with the bulk of that going to infrastructure upgrades and security reinforcements, according to local reports on a study commissioned by the host committee. Taxable sales in the region increased by $363 million year over year in the month it was held, even though organizers shortened the convention by one day because of a storm.

DNC 2016 Impact to be Felt Far Beyond Philadelphia

[PHI] DNC 2016 Impact to be Felt Far Beyond Philadelphia

In 2008, when Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention, the convention translated to a regional economic impact of $266.1 million in the city’s metro area, its host committee estimated. Visitors spent more than $42 million during the convention, according to a report released by the committee, including $15.6 million on lodging and $19 million on food and drink.

But Dr. Dan Murrey, who was executive director of Charlotte’s host committee in 2012, said the effect there went far beyond the roughly $170 million in economic impact they estimated that the event generated.

“Before the convention, we had people who had asked where in South Carolina Charlotte was, when we were in North Carolina,” he said. “So that was a big plus for us. Since then, there is a sense that people get more of what Charlotte’s about.”

Murrey said the city sought to make the effects of the convention bump last, dispatching volunteers to work on projects like community gardens and installing new recycling baskets to benefit residents long after the delegates had gone. They also used the convention to make a pitch to businesses, foreign representatives and others who might make return visits or investments.

Charlotte Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bob Morgan said that while a convention might not necessarily transform a city’s economy, it’s still significant. His city, he said, was able to treat the 2012 convention “like a debut” for national and international audiences.

“It was an opportunity to spiff things up, to tell the story of Charlotte as a New South kind of city that’s on the rise, and we had just unprecedented opportunity to do things,” he said.

It paid off, he and Murrey said, with business deals and roughly 25 ambassador visits coming out of conversations and connections made during the event.

Philadelphia, already a major convention hub, is hoping to see its profile rise even higher with the Democratic convention and a visit by Pope Francis this fall. One major winner of the convention will likely be the region’s hospitality industry, which Cocker Graham of the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau said employs 120,000 workers.

In 2000, when Republicans flocked to Philly to nominate George W. Bush, attendees spent $24.9 million on hotels, according to a tourism report cited in local media. This time around, a top Democratic National Committee official cited “proximity of their arena and venue to the hotel rooms” as a major factor in the decision to award the contract to Philly over rival cities Brooklyn, New York, and Columbus, Ohio.

“The fact that there are 18,500 hotel rooms within a 15-minute walk of the arena, the Wells Fargo arena, the fact that you would have an opportunity for delegates to be coming back and forth and interacting very cohesively in Philadelphia was a big strength of theirs,” DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told reporters in a conference call.

Still, economists and veterans of conventions caution that even with the major investment, the actual impact can be mixed for local businesses and residents. The economic impact on Tampa varied, its committee report found, with some businesses near the convention site taking a hit because of too few workers at local offices and increased security.

Murrey, who headed Charlotte’s host committee in 2012, said his city’s convention wasn’t a boon for all, either. “Some restaurants won, and some didn’t,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that every restaurant and every venue would say it was a home run.”

The events also come with significant price tags — an estimated $85 million in Philadelphia’s case — and economic impact projections don’t always reflect the full picture.

Marc Stehr, a professor of economics at Drexel University, said that while Philadelphia “probably going to make some money on this,” the actual revenue that is both generated and kept at the local level is “nowhere close to the full amount that would be spent.”

“When people are tallying up sort of the benefits of bringing up a big convention like this they tend to count benefits, but not cost, and they tend to ignore things like substitutions,” he said.

For example, workers from the suburbs might decide to stay home instead of brave traffic to go to a favorite restaurant, even if it’s off the beaten path of the convention crowd. Or a family might decide to change their summer plans once they learn about the convention.

Still, local boosters say they still believe the city will come out ahead in what would otherwise be a slow month for convention business, especially given the lasting impression the city will be able to leave for an international audience.

“You’re at the center stage for three nights for the world,” Nick DeBenedictis, a former Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce president who helped work on the 2000 convention, said. “It basically puts you in the big leagues.”

Tagged with: North Carolina

WCU to host conference on festivals’ impact on tourism – Asheville Citizen

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CULLOWHEE – The impact of successful festivals and events on the economy of the 26 westernmost counties of North Carolina will be the subject of a daylong tourism industry conference from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 21, presented by the Western Carolina University College of Business.

The second annual tourism-themed conference hosted by WCU, the event will be held in the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

Titled “LEAD:Tourism,” the conference is expected to attract elected and appointed government officials, representatives of tourism and economic development organizations and chambers of commerce, and owners and operators of private sector businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry.

The focus on planning festivals and events designed to lure visitors to Western North Carolina arose during last year’s inaugural tourism conference, said Steve Morse, director of WCU’s Hospitality and Tourism Program.

“Attendees last year said they wanted to learn more about planning festivals and events to highlight local culture, music, food, crafts and history,” Morse said. “In Western North Carolina, seasonal festivals and events are sometimes the highlight of many tourist trips, offering the opportunity to share local flavor and culture while also generating local jobs and taxes. These festivals and events can have a tremendous impact on the local economy, if they are successful and run properly.”

In addition to examining the impact of festivals and events, the conference will include seminars and workshops on the essential elements of planning; secrets to getting financial sponsorships and volunteers; success with food and craft vendors; strategies for generating more revenue; and the top ways to ensure success of a festival or event.

In addition, representatives from three regional tourism marketing groups — Smoky Mountain Host, Blue Ridge Host and High Country Host — will provide updates on the state of the travel and hospitality industry.

The conference also will repeat a popular attraction from last year’s event, when the nearly 150 tourism and economic development professionals from across WNC and the Southeast in attendance received customized “tourism economic fact sheets” with detailed analysis on the impact of tourism on the economies of counties across WNC. The fact sheets are compiled by a senior-level tourism business analysis class in hospitality and tourism taught by Morse.

This year’s tourism conference is the first in a series of scheduled “spin-off events” from November’s LEAD:WNC, a one-day summit convened by WCU to discuss solutions leading to sustainable economic and community development. Additional conferences and workshops on growth and development issues in other aspects of the WNC economy are in the works, including a summit on entrepreneurship and small businesses scheduled for April 22.

Cost to attend the conference is $99 before April 3, $149 thereafter, and the fee includes lunch. To learn more or register, visit http://tourism.wcu.edu or call 227-7397 or 800-928-4968.

The event is sponsored by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Duke Energy, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Tagged with: Asheville

NC State’s visit to No. 9 Louisville tops ACC schedule

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Local News

Horry leaders reconsidering fire service agreement that impacts hundreds of South Strand residents

Tagged with: Raleigh

Midstate tourism bureaus expecting bigger boost from pope visit than …

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Local politicians are hopeful the economic impact of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia will spill into the region, but some area tourism bureaus aren’t as convinced.

The 2012 convention in Charlotte, N.C., gave the city a $164 million economic boost, and the 2008 convention in Denver delivered a bigger $226 million punch, according to Tourism Economics, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm that was hired to study the economic impact of the last convention.

In both cities, the largest chunk of the money was spent on lodging. The rest was mostly divvied up among food, ground transportation, and overtime and extra equipment for police.

“We think the World Meeting of Families with the pope is going to be a much, much larger crowd, and it’s a much better demographic of a crowd for us because it’s family oriented. The DNC convention is more of a business trip,” said Rick Dunlap, spokesman for the Harrisburg Hershey Regional Visitors Bureau.

Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia this fall to attend the World Meeting of Families and lead an outdoor mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Hotels in Philadelphia and surrounding areas are already sold out for the event.

That includes hotels in the midstate, which are already being booked for the papal visit, Dunlap said.

The World Meeting of Families is scheduled for Sept. 22-27, and Roman Catholic leaders in Philadelphia are expecting about 2 million visitors.

By comparison, about 35,000 people attended the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, including 15,000 media members, according to Tourism Economics.

It’s unclear how many people the Philadelphia convention will attract the week of July 25^th, 2016.

2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia energizes Lancaster, York Democrats

The city’s host committee is predicting a $170 million to $250 million economic impact.

While it’s not anticipated to be as much as the pope’s visit, getting any economic impact from the convention would be a good thing, Dunlap said.

The Harrisburg Hershey Regional Visitors Bureau already considers Philadelphia as a target market for its spring and fall advertising campaigns, and “summer carries itself with the draw to Hersheypark,” he said.

“We may investigate ways to work with event producers to attract some of that convention traffic here,” Dunlap said.

Discover Lancaster will also look into advertising during the convention.

“If it’s about 35,000 attendees, we’ll have to analyze whether there’s enough bang for the buck for marketing,” said Joel Cliff, spokesman for Discover Lancaster.

“I think the convention will be great for Philadelphia. We might see a bit of a bump, but that would be very speculative at this point,” he added.

Cliff said he wasn’t aware of what marketing efforts the Lancaster tourism bureau may have used during the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

Discover Lancaster and other local tourism bureaus say the convention visitors most likely to check out the central Pennsylvania region will be those from the Midwest or western states.

“We will reach out to them. There’s a ton of history in York, and we’re a convenient stop along the way to Gettysburg,” said Anne Druck, president of the York County Convention Visitors Bureau.

She said the bureau would consider some advertising in Philadelphia during the convention.

“We don’t have a big ad budget, but for something special…we will welcome the delegates,” Druck said.

Tagged with: Charlotte

Catamounts to visit East Carolina in 2016

Posted on February 12, 2015 by

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Cullowhee, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – The Western Carolina and East Carolina football programs will end a 35-year hiatus in their in-state series when they kick off the 2016 season against each other.

They have signed a contract for a Sept. 3, 2016 meeting at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.

Western Carolina opted out of a game that week at North Dakota State, the four-
time reigning FCS champion, to face East Carolina.

East Carolina has won the last seven meetings at home against the Catamounts
and holds a 17-13 series lead.

Western Carolina is coming off a 7-5 season, its first winning record since
2005 and the most wins since 2001. With a 5-2 mark in the Southern Conference,
coach Mark Speir’s program tied for second place to match the best finish in
school history.

Tagged with: North Carolina

Shooting victims among 5 honored before Virginia-NC State – KLAS

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The three people killed in a shooting in Chapel Hill were among five people honored with a moment of silence before Wednesday’s game between No. 2 Virginia and North Carolina State.

Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, died in Tuesday’s shooting.

The couple were newlyweds who met while running the Muslim Student Association at N.C. State. He was pursuing an advanced degree in dentistry at North Carolina, and she was going to join him in UNC’s dentistry school this fall.

Abu-Salha was a N.C. State student who was visiting them at the condominium complex.

N.C. State students wore green ribbons in their honor. And Wolfpack starting freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu, also a Muslim, knew Barakat and Mohammad.

Abu posted a photo on Instagram of himself with the couple earlier Wednesday, with a caption saying he attended their wedding and thanking Barakat for showing “unconditional love.”

After the game, Abu said he met Barakat during his recruiting visit.

“He was one of the people that you see that make an impact on your life right away with his happiness, his joy, his support for me before I got to State,” Abu said. “Then when I got to State, always excited to see me, always ready to spread good and positive vibes. He ran many charities. Overall, he was just a world-class person.”

N.C. State also honored retired Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith – who coached rival North Carolina – after his death Saturday; and former area and Wolfpack sports broadcaster Don Shea, who died last week.

Virginia beat N.C. State 51-47.

Tagged with: Raleigh

3 Muslim students shot dead near University of North Carolina: Report

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Updated at 9:05 a.m.: Hicks reportedly condemned all religions on Facebook, and was a self described “anti-theist”.

This image provided by the Durham County Sheriff’s office shows a booking photo of Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, who was arrested on three counts of murder early Wednesday Feb. 11, 2015.The Associated Press

North Carolina police have charged a man with with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of three Muslim students near the University of North Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, is being held on three counts of first degree murder after allegedly shooting his neighbors, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19.

Barakat was a doctoral student at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Dentistry. The two women were N.C. State University Students. All three were found dead at the scene in the quiet Finley Forest neighborhood.

Police responded to a report of gunshots at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday.

An investigation is ongoing.

Before his death, Barakat was reportedly raising money with a YouCaring fundraising page to visit Turkey and provide dental care to Syrian refugees. NBC News reported that donations began pouring in after his death, helping exceed the original goal of $20,000 by July. The page has raised over $23,000 so far.

Tagged with: Charlotte

Best and worst cities for Valentine’s Day

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It would seem that with so much going on in the Coachella Valley this weekend, this place would be a no-brainer for anyone looking for Valentine’s Day fun.

There really is no need to settle for a nice, expensive meal with your sweetheart — though those are very much in availability here. You two may want to head off on a, say, 25-mile bike ride by participating in the Tour de Palm Springs. (All the better for working up an appetite for that fancy meal!)

How about taking in a Modernism Week party or double-decker bus tour? Definitely not the typical way to spend Valentine’s Day, and so much fun.

That being said, the folks at WalletHub, a consumer finance research site, have come up with the top Valentine’s Day cities, and perhaps more interestedly, the most undesirable places to spend this somewhat goofy holiday.

The top five Valentine’s Day cities are: San Francisco; Seattle; Orlando, Florida; San Diego and San Jose.

The roundup for some of the most unappealing Valentine’s Day cities include: nearby San Bernardino (95); Winston-Salem, North Carolina (96); Toledo, Ohio (97); North Las Vegas (98); Laredo, Texas (99) and Detroit (100).

Just so you know, this is no arbitrary list. WalletHub examined 100 of the most populated U.S. cities across 15 key metrics. The data set includes such measures as restaurant meal costs, the number of attractions and the number of florists per capita.

For example, the city of Riverside ranks at No. 13 for “Valentine’s Day Budget,” but falls to No. 63 in the category of “Valentine’s Day Activities.” Which is probably about right. Miami ranks as the most expensive place to spend Valentine’s, but comes in at No. 5 for “Valentine’s Day Gift Accessibility” ranking.

Some of the key findings:

•The cost of a restaurant meal for two is four times higher in Miami than in Plano, Texas.

•The average price per movie ticket is four times higher in Detroit than in Fremont.

•The number of chocolate shops per capita is 26 times higher in San Francisco than in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (What do people in Oklahoma have against chocolate?)

•In 2015, the average lovebird will dish out $142.31 on gifts and merchandise, up from $133.91 in the previous year, according to WalletHub. Most celebrants will splurge on traditional Valentine’s Day consumables such as candy, flowers and a romantic evening on the town. Other popular Valentine’s Day staples include jewelry, apparel and gift cards.

Tagged with: North Carolina

Answer Man: New Belgium booms? Field & Stream store? – Asheville Citizen

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Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: Why are there containment booms in the French Broad River near the future New Belgium brewery that’s under construction? Did they have a spill?

My answer: No, but it does give me an idea for a new tourism campaign, based on an intentional beer spill into the river — “Asheville: We’re swimmin’ in beer!”

Real answer: McCray Coates, the city of Asheville’s stormwater services manager, told me the boom is a “turbidity curtain” used to control sediment that washed into the stream after recent heavy rains. It has nothing to do with the brewery and actually is part of the city work on a greenway and stream restoration project there.

“The turbidity curtain, what that does is prevent any turbidity — the fine particles and sedimentation mixing in the water — from leaving that area,” Coates said. “Basically, we pulled out that little delta that had formed at the confluence of the two streams.”

Penland Creek, which runs through the New Belgium site, enters the French Broad River where the booms have been place. Sediment had collected, forming a small delta.

The city is conducting a stream restoration project on Penland Creek, as well as a lot of greenway and road improvements in the area. The booms went up last week after city workers noticed the sediment collecting and contacted the N.C. Division of Water Quality.

The booms, which run about 30-40 feet, should come out this week.

The restoration project should be finished by December, Coates said, and will include some hardscape, grading and walls by parts of the stream, as well as a pedestrian crossing. New Belgian will also have two pedestrian crossings over Penland Creek, which runs between what will be the brewing area and a tasting room.

The city is using multiple funding sources for the restoration/greenway project, including $1.1 million in federal Economic Development Administration funds, $300,000 from the Golden Leaf Foundation and $400,000 from the Clean Water Management Trust in Raleigh.

CITIZEN TIMES

Whirlpool of a ride to New Belgium brewery

CITIZEN TIMES

New Belgium begins hiring push for West Asheville brewery

Question: I’ve heard that a Field Stream store is going to open at the new Asheville Outlets? Can you check that out? Supposedly, it’s coming to the former Belk store.

My answer: There’s nothing I love more than a good rumor that allows me to put a major retailer’s name in an online headline. Wait, did I say that out loud?

Real answer: “I haven’t heard that,” Asheville Outlets general manager Sharon Morgan said.

She also said the stores do their own permitting, though. Morgan said she just received the keys to the former Belk store a week ago Friday, after a liquidator came in and store fixtures were removed.

Alan Glines, interim director for the city of Asheville’s Planning and Urban Design Department, said he hasn’t seen anything specific, but …

“The plans received in the permit office do not specify the tenant, only that it will be retail,” Glines said. “When a developer submits a plan, they are not actually required to specify the tenant. Parking counts, for example, are based on the type of use, not a specific tenant.”

The proposal for the space is 52,000 square feet, he said.

A new Field Stream store that opened in Cary last year is about 50,000 square feet.

The Triangle Business Journal reported last September that the store was “only the fifth Field Stream-branded store to open across the country and the first store to open that’s south of Crescent Springs, Kentucky. The Cary Field Stream store is also only the second store to open in a brand new building location.”

The stores look sort of like a Bass Pro Shop on the exterior, and they cater to hunters and anglers. Dick’s Sporting Goods is the parent company of Field Stream, and I left multiple messages with its media relations department, to no avail.

By the way, a reader asked awhile back if the Cinebarre movie theater that had operated at Biltmore Square Mall would reopen when Asheville Outlets opens May 1. Morgan said, “I can tell you they won’t.”

We’ll keep you posted on the Field Stream. Asheville Outlets will have some 75 stores.

CITIZEN TIMES

Asheville Outlets moves closer to May 1 opening

CITIZEN TIMES

Asheville Outlets opening May 1, stores hiring

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com

Tagged with: Asheville