Springfield News-Sun from Springfield, Ohio • 9

WWW.SPRINGFIELDNEWSSUN.COM Wednesday, January 2, 2008 Page A9 Sonic addition drives in to local restaurant mix in several locations By Tim Tresslar Staff Writer A franchisee of Sonic Inc. drive- in restaurants plans to open stores in Kettering, Huber Heights, Beavercreek and Celina in 2008 as its regional expansion continues. The franchisee, Houchens Industries already has selected sites in these cities and has received zoning approvals, said Rick Fee, the director of operations. In addition, Houchens will open Sonic stores in Urbana in January and in February, Fee said. The company, which entered the market last year, opened stores in Troy in August and Englewood in December, he said.

Ultimately, Bowling Green, based Houchens plans to open 30 stores over years in Dayton, adding a new restaurant chain to the local mix of eateries. Houchens in December approached the city of West Carrollton about opening a restaurant at 881 E. Dixie Drive, part of the redevelopment of the former Market site in that city. Fee said his company will submit plans to West Carrollton during the quarter, but city signed off on a restaurant there. The restaurant concept includes carhops on roller skates, sandwiches made with thick Texas toast, tater tots and milk shakes.

have a distinct Fee said. Fast-food and other styles of eateries prefer to cluster together, creating a magnet for hungry conusmers, said Lisa Grigsby, the Miami Valley Restaurant marketing director. But, while restaurants ben by being close together, a new arrival also adds some competitive pressure, she said. feel some impact, but it will be so Grigsby said. think one of the things Sonic will do is re-introduce a style of dining that been around forever, which is that family dining where you sit in the car and have them bring it out to you.

more of an Houchens owns the right to develop 11 counties in Ohio and one in Indiana. Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7317 or The new Sonic drive-in restaurant on 7711 Hoke Road in Englewood near the Wal-Mart Supercenter Store. The Englewood Sonic store opened in December and a Troy location opened in August. The concept includes carhops on roller skates who bring food out to patrons. Staff photo by Teesha McClam Kentucky-based franchisee plans to open 30 stores around Dayton over years.

DINING OUT WILMINGTON ABX deal completed Associated Press WILMINGTON Air cargo company ABX Air Inc. said Monday it completed its acquisition of privately held Cargo Holdings International Inc. for about $332 million in cash and common shares of a newly formed parent company. ABX said the new company will be called ABX Holdings with ABX Air and Cargo Holdings as subsidiaries. The deal was announced Nov.

2. Orlando, Cargo Holdings provides outsourced air cargo and brokerage services. The equity purchase price of Cargo Holdings was $259 million, consisting of $233 million in cash and four million shares of ABX Holdings common stock. ABX Air also assumed or repaid $73 million of Cargo outstanding net debt. The transaction was funded primarily with cash obtained through a new $345 million senior secured credit facility, led by SunTrust Bank and Regions Bank, ABX Air said.

Combined, ABX Air and Cargo Holdings have a of more than 135 aircraft. ABX operates out of this southwest Ohio city and 15 hubs nationwide. It provides airlift capacity and sorting services to express shipper DHL, along with cargo services to a diverse group of other customers. ABX employs 7,500 to 8,000 at its Wilmington site. New company will be called ABX Holdings Inc.

and have a of more than 135 aircraft. Business Filthy pets? Dog washes are growing trend By David Sharp Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine Maureen Lafferty is anti-fur. Anti-fur in her tub. Anti-fur on her towels. And anti-fur in the drain.

why she and the one big ball of fur she does love, Jackson, a yellow Labrador retriever, are patrons of the Portland Dog Wash. is why I do this at Lafferty said, pointing to big clumps of fur at the bottom of the stainless steel basin. In a country whose residents spare no expense on their pets, self-service dog washes represent another splurge, allowing dog owners to forgo the indignity of chasing a wet and soapy dog around the house, or across the lawn, along with the messy cleanup. The trend kicked off more than a decade ago. Now it seems that just about every sizable city has at least one.

There are more than 70 million dogs in the United States, and they account for a good chunk of the nearly $3 billion pet owners spend each year on grooming and boarding, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Dog washes are a natural as dogs increasingly become part of the family, living inside homes instead of dog houses, eating hoity-toity designer pet food, going to doggie day care and traveling with families on vacations. think a trend going to go said Blair Smith, who has helped to open three Dirty Dog locations in four years in Austin, Texas. are not going to stop spending money on their 937Pets.com Share photos of Fido on our local Web site devoted to family pets! Fine-tune your future with JobsTV Switch on Jobs TV at on Time Warner Cable Channel 3 or 11 to see dozens of area companies looking for help. 10036053R When Opportunity Call Linda or Mike Knox Linda 605-8333 Mike 605-8332 www.knoxsite.com 322-0352 9711282R WOOD STOVE PELLETS Competitive Prices On Stove Pellets 821 N.

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