It may not be murder, rape, or arson, but the proposed Muscle Shoals purchase of the old Backyard Burger building on Avalon Avenue has certainly generated a lot of talk...and a lot of e-mails to us. The "facts" of the sale seem to change with each passing day.
The latest reports state the 800K maximum includes both the sale price and renovations. Whew...that's a relief. Just how much is the building at 2017 East Avalon Avenue worth? Here's the current real estate listing:
Let's see...asking price $1,150,000.00...final sale price $550,000.00. Is there a real estate appraiser in the house?
Zaxby's is certainly a much more well established restaurant than Backyard Burger, but what if the famous purveyor of chicken cuisine should decide to bail in a year or two? Perhaps Muscle Shoals City Hall will then have its own cafeteria.
In less than one month, voters will go to the polls to select a new representative for Place 1 in the Alabama House of Representatives. Republican candidate Quinton Hanson will face Democrat Greg Burdine in a race that Doc's Political Parlor has called a virtual tie. We have asked both candidates for a vision statement, and Mr. Hanson has been kind enough to reply:
Lots of people are spending lots of money trying to make you think that the situation in Alabama is hopeless. I have to tell you that I do not feel that the situation is hopeless. I feel that there is great hope in this wonderful state of which we are a part, especially in the Shoals Area.
It's true that there are problems in Alabama. But the good news is that, with proper leadership, these problems can be fixed!
Since the beginning of the primary campaign, I've been focusing on the three major areas of the state that need the most attention: the Economy, Education, and Ethics Reform. Like the rest of the country, Alabama has seen an economic slowdown because of the recession...but with proper leadership, we can continue to shape ourselves as a good place to do business, so that we are positioned to create jobs and opportunities as the economy improves.
Our state has one of the highest dropout rates in the nation, but with proper leadership we can reemphasize the value of good education and work to see that our young people have the opportunities they need as they finish their education and join the workforce. And even though Alabama has had some notable good old boy leaders who have done some very questionable things, as is evidenced by the recent indictments, it is possible to elect men and women of principle and reform the system to prevent abuse in the future.
I believe I am the person to provide the leadership we need in this wonderful state of ours. As a businessman, I understand how to make Alabama attractive to development, and understand the importance of an educated workforce. I consider myself to be a man of principle, and as a community leader have worked to be fair in my dealings with others.
We are awaiting a reply from Mr. Burdine; we expect to make endorsements in the remaining elections by October 15th.
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We've received thanks from several readers for introducing them to Phillip Oliver's Dirt Therapy. Today we wish to introduce another Shoals gardening blog, Rosedale Gardens. Blogger Mary Carton describes the subject of her work as "gardening and life with Border Collie hooligans." Who could resist such a theme? Read and enjoy: Link
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We've also been receiving several e-mails concerning Muscle Shoals' proposed purchase of the former Backyard Burger building. Most of these communications have the same theme; however, while these statements may be true, we have not been able to substantiate them.
Trader may have left our blogging group, but he will still be contributing on various issues. He will be interviewing Muscle Shoals Mayor David Bradford on this highly debated issue, and we hope to publish the new material next week.
Yesterday's column featured the almost unheard of deal the city of Muscle Shoals is giving to Zaxby's, a fast food eatery specializing in chicken. We've received several questions about this and will attempt to answer some of them.
Q. Does Marcel Black own Backyard Burger?
A. We find no connection between Mr. Black and the fast food chain. Research on the former Backyard Burger restaurants is made more difficult by some writers referring to it as "Backyard Burgers." Below is the official record for the chain. This does not mean that Mr. Black could not be connected to the business in some other way.
Q. Could Bojangles or some other chain stop this deal?
A. We would consider it doubtful. Bojangles, with corporate funds for co-op advertising, will not be as damaged by subsidized competition as the homegrown restaurants. Here's what one Muscle Shoals businessman has to say:
I'm a long time business owner in the city of Muscle Shoals and like many other local business owners, have struggled to stay open through a very difficult time for small business in a down economy. We have paid our electric, sewage, water bills to the city of Muscle shoals, Kept our license fees and taxes paid etc. So where do all us business owners who have helped foot the bills for many years for the city of M.S., go for a ZAXBY deal or any kind of assistance from the city government? Any fool (even a politican) can see the numbers on the ZAXBY deal don't work. So these people are either stupid or crooks, either way they have no business representing the people of Muscle Shoals.- "Don Matthews"
Q. Just what businesses is Marcel Black involved in with the City of Muscle Shoals?
A. If Mr. Black is not connected to Zaxby's this question would seem irrelevant to the issue, but a quick check shows that Mr. Black is listed with the State of Alabama as an agent with only two functioning entities, his law practice in partnership with Jimmy Hughston and North Alabama Abstract and Guaranty in which he is again partnered with Mr. Hughston.
The latter could conceivably be a broach of ethics since Mr. Black's law firm deals extensively in real estate transactions. We'll check with our legal eagle friends and get back with you on this.
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The Connection should be up sometime this afternoon. The URL is:
http://theconnectionna.com/
Trader and Nan have asked us to remind readers this is a work in progress for the first few weeks. Be sure to send in your feedback and ideas for articles and regular features.
What's up with this: We questioned the finances at Sweetwater and were banned from their Facebook page; Larry Fisher questioned the finances at Sweetwater and was banned from their page; now Sheila Hill Colston has questioned Sweetwater's finances and has been banned. Anyone see a pattern here?
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Let's see...asking price $1,150,000.00...final sale price $550,000.00. Is there a real estate appraiser in the house?
