Entries by Bud McLaughlin

Toyota to Add 450 jobs, Increase Production at Huntsville Engine Plant

With an investment of more than a quarter-billion dollars, Toyota announced Wednesday it is increasing its production and workforce at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Huntsville. The automaker said the $288 million will increase the engine production capacity from some 670,000 per year to 900,000 by the end of 2021. New production lines for […]

Urban Engine Salutes Women in Technology, Female Entrepreneurs

Urban Engine, a local nonprofit organization aimed at accelerating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)-focused innovation and entrepreneurship through education, announced a series of free events that will celebrate women in technology and showcase female entrepreneurs in conjunction with Women’s History Month. The series of events includes: Wednesday, March 6: Women in Tech-themed Co-Working Night […]

A Brand New Time in South Huntsville or, Rather, a New Brand

In the next couple of months, south Huntsville will enter a new era. In fact, a “brand’ new era. South Huntsville business owners, community members and government officials are coming together to create a vibrant and thriving district. Extending from, essentially, Martin Road south to the Tennessee River, South Huntsville Main Street will be a […]

Huntsville Among Best Cities to Start a Restaurant

We all know that restaurant openings have become almost a monthly occurrence here in the Rocket City. Well, now we know why. According to bidonequipment.com, a restaurant equipment supply business, Huntsville was ranked 23rd among the 150 most populous U. S. cities, just behind New Orleans (22nd) and ahead of such “food cities” as Memphis […]

State DOT Filling Potholes, Investigating Cracks

The torrential rains that brought flood conditions to the area also wreaked havoc with the highways, creating potholes and cracks as wide as a lane. State Department of Transportation crews began filling potholes that made Interstate-565 resemble a moonscape more than a highway. Seth Burkett, ALDOT’s North Region public information officer, said “several tons of […]

You Can Go Back to the Stone Age – for Korean Barbecue

Barbecue is synonymous with the South. And a restaurant coming to Huntsville offers its barbecue from the South, as in South Korea. The Stone Age Korean Steakhouse is slated to open late this fall in the Times Plaza development on South Memorial Parkway. “Korean barbecue is a growing trend in many major cities that will […]

Good Economy Attracts Bad Daddy

Huntsville’s growth continues to draw companies from out-of-state, hoping to latch onto the good fortune here. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar is opening its first Alabama eatery in the Rocket City. The restaurant will be in Times Plaza, the work-retail-dining development on South Memorial Parkway. “We chose Times Plaza as our first Alabama location […]

New Tower is Hospital’s Largest Project in Nearly 40 Years

Huntsville Hospital has broken ground on the biggest medical construction project in the downtown area in almost four decades. The new Orthopedic & Spine Tower will feature 375,000 square feet of surgical, patient care and specialized physical rehabilitation space in the heart of the hospital campus. The tower will house the hospital’s orthopedic and spine […]

Super Chix to Open Its First Alabama Store in Times Plaza

Why did the Super Chix cross the road? Well, that may not be the right question but the Dallas-based chicken and frozen custard restaurant is coming to Huntsville. Super Chix is slated to open this summer in Times Plaza, the retail-office-dining development on South Parkway, adjacent to Arby’s, Crunkleton Commercial Real Estate announced. “Super Chix […]