Hastings is one of my all time favorite stores. For those who may not remember, Hastings offers a unique mix of music, movies, books, and more. It was like a one stop shop for anything fun.
It has been over eight years since our Hasting’s at the Northgate Center closed in March 2013 and most left only a touch of sadness.
Two years later, in May 2015, Serenity Thrift moved into the building and tried to breathe new life with old clothes. Serenity Thrift managed to stay in business for more than four years before closing its doors in November 2019.
Now, after almost two years of quiet vacancy, there are signs of a new tenant for the old Hastings building. Property manager Ray Martin confirmed on Wednesday that a new tenant has a keen interest in the building, but stressed that a lease had not been signed.
Ray said he didn’t want to comment until he had a signed lease in hand, which is completely understandable. Deals break down all the time, often at the last minute.
From what I hear, and this is just one word on the street that may or may not be true, the company interested in this place is Planet Fitness. According to the Planet Fitness website, the company touts it as a great workout facility at an affordable price.
There are Planet Fitness locations in Tullahoma, Cookeville, Murfreesboro Shelbyville, Smyrna, and Crossville, so McMinnville seems like a logical place too. The company claims to have more than 2,000 locations, which means it has to do something right.
From a personal point of view, I love the idea of more fitness. Good health is a powerful tool, so we hope Planet Fitness can bring greater wellbeing to our community.
Editor’s note: If Planet Fitness is not the company that cares about the old Hastings building, please ignore the previous report.
Apollo ready
Start
Like candy falling from a piñata, it keeps raining business news over Warren County. We’re getting a new hotel for the first time in 30 years, a Fazoli’s is on the way, and even a new Dollar General graces our presence on the Smithville Highway.
To borrow a set of t-shirts, life is good.
More big news is in the pipeline. The old Aquatech building on Red Road has a new tenant, Apollo Medical Solutions. The signs have come off and the company hopes to be operational by the end of the year.
It will be a manufacturing facility that will soon be hiring new employees. I heard that Apollo will be posting these positions here on the Southern Standard so you won’t have to search long and hard to find out how to apply.
I spoke to a company representative on Friday and was told that I should expect a big announcement and more details later this week. From what I’ve heard, this will fit in well with our community and give us a little variety in our automotive-heavy industrial base.
The building is 137,000 square feet so it can house a fairly large operation. I call it the old Aquatech building, but it was also the home of WastAway and, most recently, Newell.
I will provide more information on the Apollo Medical Solutions opening in Warren County as it becomes available.
Barnes joins them
Galligan & Newman
Galligan & Newman law firm has hired a bright, young star. It’s none other than Bailey Barnes, 2015 Warren County High School senior junior.
When it comes to Bailey, ambition could be said to be his middle name. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech just three semesters after graduating from high school. Two years later, he received his masters degree from MTSU, and in May of that year he graduated from The University of Tennessee College of Law, second in his class.
Bailey is a perfect fit for Galligan & Newman and addresses its personal injury share. A pending case in November involves a Warren County resident who suffered third degree burns when an e-cigarette exploded in his pocket. This case is being heard in Chattanooga.
“The argument will be that a manufacturer’s error made the product inappropriately dangerous,” said Barnes.
Baily was offered a job as a clerk for a federal judge, but decided to stay closer to home so he could be around his loved one, Larissa Lopez. They got married in September and settled down with their house and dog. It’s all very comfortable.
Bailey has published over a dozen articles in legal journals and is due to speak at the University of New Hampshire to mark the 50th anniversary of the war on drugs.
Bailey says he’ll use Warren County as a blueprint that the war on drugs wasn’t exactly a success.
“Mental illness and substance abuse are extremely linked,” said Bailey. “And in rural areas, mass incarceration is the only solution. If you only view substance abuse as a criminal problem, you’d better start building more prisons. ”
“If there is evidence that this strategy works, that would be one thing,” Bailey continued. “What we do is not work. At $ 60 a day to house an inmate, it becomes expensive. But most of all, it doesn’t work and we see the same people in jail.”
Bailey says he has seen people in very difficult situations in his short time at Galligan & Newman. His main reason for staying in Warren County and joining the local law firm is because he wants to help.
“I’ve seen some people in this office cry because they need help,” Bailey said. “They were in a wrecked car and can’t work anymore, and they have to feed children and pay bills. It’s very difficult to see. “
The world is blessed with a few bright minds, and Bailey Barnes is one of them. Business Pulse is happy to return to Warren County to make a difference in our community.
Liquor store
Opens in Newtown
A year-long project has finally reached the finish line. Sid Patel has worked his way through red tape and hurdles on his way to opening a liquor store in Newtown called Hina’s Liquor & Wine.
For those of you who count home, McMinnville now has four (4) liquor stores.
“We have a great variety of spirits and we also have a range of craft beers,” said Sid. “Everything at very good prices.”
Sid’s daughter Harsha Patel runs the shop and she was busy Friday afternoon.
“It gets very crowded here on the weekends,” said Harsha, noting that Jack Daniels is a popular drink.
Sid said a great thing about the store was its location. For folks coming from Centertown, they don’t have to navigate McMinnville to get to a liquor store. It’s an easy stop on the outskirts.
Sid is also keen to promote McMinnville Pharmacy, which is right next to the liquor store. It is available for all of your medications.
As I noted in a previous column, Newtown is almost a completely self-sufficient area. It has its own Dollar General and its own Mexican restaurant, two standards of living in Warren County.
Now Newtown also has a pharmacy and liquor store. If the Board of Education built a school in Newtown, you could argue that you could live there all your life and never leave.
Hotel not
Still done
The opening date for our new Hampton Inn hotel on Sparta Street has been postponed for a few days this Tuesday, October 26th due to supply chain issues.
At the monthly meeting of the Industrial Development Board on Thursday, Executive Director Don Alexander said the hotel is still awaiting the arrival of the bed linen. It is terribly difficult for a hotel not to have sheets.
Don told IDB members that everything else was ready, but the hotel cannot open without his sheets. When the bed linen arrives, the hotel may be able to open this week.
I toured the new hotel earlier this month with the owner, David Hunt, who very kindly took the time to show me around. The hotel looks like a piece of heaven provided heaven has its own waffle maker in the breakfast area.
One thing I want to highlight about our new Hampton Inn is this. It fulfills a blatant need for Warren County to have a more upscale hotel. I’ve been writing about this need for probably a decade, and I’m excited to say that Mr. Hunt is the only one who is literally stepping on the plate and making a $ 11.3 million investment to make it happen.
Now that the Hampton Inn is only days away from opening, I will turn my attention to Warren County’s next greatest need. These are nice apartments.
If we’re a community that wants to attract young residents – which we should be – we need to have some nice apartments. Not all adults in their mid-20s are ready to buy a home. Some want to stay in an apartment, even if it’s only for a year.
For example, suppose a 26-year-old just found a job at River Park Hospital and wants to rent an apartment in town. Which apartment would you recommend? Um. Um.
When it comes to economic development, the three topics of conversation seem to be jobs, jobs, jobs. But let’s not forget about living. There is really no point having jobs if we don’t also have a place to live.
That’s it guys
Halloween is a week away. Have you chosen your costume?
In between planning your trick or treat route, don’t forget to check out the business news. You can email me business tips at editor@southernstandard.com. Tips can be communicated orally by calling 473-2191.
