McAlister’s Deli will open a restaurant in the former Krispy Kreme location at Jefferson Pointe, mall spokesman Chris Ford said Friday.
The building is owned by Krispy Kreme, which made the leasing arrangement. Ford didn’t have details about the opening date or what construction might be needed to prepare the building.
McAlister’s first location opened in 1989 in Oxford, Miss. The fast-casual chain has expanded to 22 states, including Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. The menu includes sandwiches, soups, salads and stuffed baked potatoes.
Krispy Kreme, which sells doughnuts, expanded rapidly then struggled during the low-carb craze. The Jefferson Pointe location, which opened in 2003, closed 11 months ago.
Stanley Works gets OK on Black & Decker deal
Shareholders approved a nearly $3.5 billion stock buyout Friday, clearing the final hurdle for Stanley Works to acquire Black & Decker.
The two formed a new company called Stanley Black & Decker, and became the nation’s largest toolmaker, at the end of business Friday.
The new Stanley Black & Decker will retain headquarters in New Britain, Conn., where Stanley Works is headquartered. Meanwhile, the company’s power tool division will remain headquartered in Towson, Md., where Black & Decker operates.
GE partners with Haier to sell appliances
Chinese appliance maker Haier says it has joined with General Electric in selling GE appliances to rural areas, the focus of subsidies intended to boost spending by hundreds of millions of farmers.
Haier, headquartered in the eastern city of Qingdao, is the world’s fourth-largest white goods manufacturer, employing more than 60,000 people.
The company’s news office confirmed reports Friday citing its president, Yang Mianmian, as telling reporters the company began jointly selling GE appliances in the countryside last year.
Business inventories flat despite sales jump
Business inventories were basically flat in January even though sales rose for an eighth consecutive month.
The Commerce Department said that inventories were unchanged, a weaker reading than the 0.2 percent gain that analysts had expected. Total business sales rose by 0.6 percent, a solid performance that followed an even stronger 1 percent gain in December.
Economists are hoping businesses will soon start restocking depleted store shelves on a sustained basis, which would boost the recovery.
Geithner sees recovery for U.S. accelerating
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, offering his most optimistic outlook on the economic recovery to date, predicted Friday that the United States will rebound from the recession faster and more vigorously than other advanced economies.
“We’re going to come out of this stronger than the other major economies and we’re going to come out more quickly,” Geithner said in remarks at the Export-Import Bank in Washington. Global growth is expected to be 4 percent this year and next, and “those forecasts seem to be going up,” he said.
Geithner said the economy is healing gradually.
