Daily Business Report-April 11, 2014
The 106,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Miramar that will become Ballast Point’s new brewery.
San Diego Brewery Expansion Gets
Boost From City Council Committee
The City Council’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee tentatively approved tax reimbursements for San Diego craft brewers Ballast Point and AleSmith Wednesday that will encourage the companies to move into larger manufacturing plants in the city of San Diego. The plans now head to the full City Council for approval.
Under the agreements, the city will reimburse the breweries for the additional tax revenue the city would have received from each expansion project. Additionally, the city would give back 50 percent of future sales tax at the location, until they have paid back the breweries for the municipal fees they have to pay to move into their new facilities. This reimbursement for the Ballast Point brewery is worth about $156,000.
But City Councilman Mark Kersey stresses that this incentive package will not cost the city anything.
“All it’s doing is crediting money we would not have had but for the expansion project,” he said.
The city expects the Ballast Point reimbursement will be finished in three years. And then the city will collect about $50,000 a year in taxes, compared with the $15,000 a year it currently collects in taxes on the property.
Kersey said the city is still finalizing the details of the incentive package for AleSmith.
Ballast Point was looking to expand from its 23,000-square-foot plant in Scripps Ranch, and in mid-2013 began considering moving outside the city of San Diego to Poway, Kersey said. Then the city found out the Van Can Company was planning to close its 106,000-square-foot food can manufacturing plant on Carroll Way in Miramar.
“So we were able to work with Ballast Point and put together this package that included this economic development agreement, which is a very useful tool that frankly we just haven’t utilized in over a decade,” Kersey said. “So getting this as part of the package was definitely a key to them staying in the city of San Diego.”
After its expansion, which includes a restaurant, patio and gift shop, Ballast Point’s new facility will be 124,667 square feet, making it the largest brewery in San Diego County and sixth largest in the state, according to an Independent Budget Analyst report.
The expansion will allow the company to produce 350,000 barrels of beer a year, making it the fifth largest beer producer in California behind Anheuser-Busch, Miller Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Lagunitas Brewing Co., the report said.
— From KPBS and City News Service reports
Click here for chart on California’s largest breweries…
Southern Cookin’ Comes to Downtown
Restaurateur Terryl Gavre has opened another restaurant in San Diego — a country kitchen offering freshly baked biscuits, fried chicken and other Southern dishes. Acme Southern Kitchen opened in February at 901 E St. in Downtown’s East Village.
“I love to cook and bake; and when I do it at home it’s always non-fussy dishes,” said Gavre, who opened her first restaurant, Café 222, in 1992. “At Acme Southern Kitchen, I want guests to feel like they are sitting at their mother or grandmother’s kitchen table. I hope the flavors are something they can relate to and bring back memories. I think the South does it best when it comes to making the kitchen feel like a place of comfort. Southern cooking brings people together.”
The menu was inspired by Southern dishes from several states, and includes sandwich and pot pie selections, smokey-spicy shrimp and grits dish with tasso gravy, and the fried chicken and buttermilk waffle combination served with jalapeño honey.
House-baked extras include buttermilk biscuits, white rolls and jalapeño corn muffins. A dessert menu offers guests an array of $5 items, such as raisin cake with cream cheese frosting, bread pudding with hard sauce, lemon ice box pie and chocolate cake with shiny frosting.
Gavre also is working on the final stages of Bake Sale, a neighborhood bakery, at 815 F St. Downtown, slated to open in late May.
New Provost Named at San Diego State University
San Diego State University’s next provost — the senior academic administrator at the school — is a man who has authored more than 90 original research papers, monographs, and book chapters, and is one of the foremost authorities in the use of lasers and monochromatic light for therapeutic purposes.
Chukuka S. Enwemeka, currently the dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), will begin work on July 1, succeeding Nancy Marlin, who is stepping down from the role.
Enwemeka has more than 20 years of academic leadership experience, including 11 years as tenured professor and dean at UWM and New York Institute of Technology and 10 years as tenured professor and chairperson at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
As a researcher, Enwemeka was the first to show that red and near infrared light, emitted by lasers and monochromatic LEDs, promotes collagen polymerization and alignment. In pioneering studies, he and his team recently demonstrated — for the first time — that certain wavelengths of LED blue light kill the deadly Methycillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting that blue light is a viable alternative to antibiotics, to which some bacteria have become resistant.
Enwemeka earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and the University of Southern California, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. from New York University before undertaking post-doctoral research training at NYU’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Petco to Move HQ to Rancho Bernardo
Petco on Thursday announced it will be moving its corporate headquarters, and about 650 employees, to a 300,000-square-foot building in the Rancho Bernardo Business Park. The company has acquired property at 10850 Via Frontera to develop “a new state-of-the-art, people-and pet-friendly corporate support center,” said Jim Myers, chief executive officer at Petco.
Interior construction and extensive remodeling of the existing site are anticipated to begin in the fall and currently slated to be completed in the fall of 2015.
The new “San Diego Support Center” location would bring together hundreds of employees currently spread across a number of separate locations in San Diego, creating a central facility to help support Petco’s 1,300-plus stores. The company has a similar center in San Antonio, Texas.
Plans for the new site include:
• An open, inviting environment with very few closed-door offices to foster a collaborative work environment.
• Pet-friendly amenities, including pet play areas.
• Employee wellness facilities.
• Sustainable space highlighting progressive design features, including work spaces positioned to take advantage of natural light and locally-sourced, earth-friendly building materials where possible.
Richard Dreyfuss to Keynote Law Week Luncheon
The San Diego County Bar Association will welcome actor Richard Dreyfuss as the keynote speaker for its annual Law Week Luncheon & Celebration of Community Service on April 30. Dreyfuss, through his nonprofit entity, The Dreyfuss Initiative, seeks to “revive, elevate and enhance the teaching of civics in public schools.”
“We are honored to have Mr. Dreyfuss share his passion for civics education with our members, particularly as so many are involved in various programs that teach students about our justice system,” said Jon R. Williams, SDCBA president.
The SDCBA will celebrate Law Week between April 28 and May 2, and together with various legal community organizations will provide programs designed to assist and educate the community at large. For information on 2014 Law Week programs, visit: www.sdcba.org/lawweek.
How to Do Business With the City of San Diego
The city of San Diego will host a free workshop, “How to Do Business with the City of San Diego,” on Wednesday, April 16, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the downtown Central Library. There will be information for vendors and service providers about a number of subjects, including small business programs, procurement of goods and services, minor construction projects, consultant rotation list, and compliance with equal opportunity. The workshop will also repeat on Thursday, July 10, and again on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
San Diego Hires Park and Recreation Director
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Thursday the appointment of Herman Parker to the vacant position of Park & Recreation Department director. As the former director of community services for Santa Barbara County, Parker has 28 years of public sector experience in developing, managing, and implementing parks, recreation, community and cultural services, events and policies. Parker’s annual salary will be $160,000.
Prior to joining the county of Santa Barbara, Parker served in various capacities for Temecula for 20 years. He began his career in recreation as a supervisor for the county of Los Angeles serving the areas’s under-served youth.
The parks and recreation position has been vacant since November, when former director Stacey LoMedico was promoted to assistant chief operating officer for the city. — Times of San Diego
TAG Hires NetSuite Staffer
TAG, a software consultancy firm, has hired Adam Baruh for its NetSuite division. Baruh will specialize in NetSuite customizations, data migration, integration and technical support. He has more than six years of NetSuite experience. Prior to joining TAG, Baruh was a senior consultant at Explore Consulting, a NetSuite provider in Bellevue, Wash.
Cal State San Marcos Study
Gauges Surfing’s Exercise Value
On any given day along San Diego County’s 70 miles of coastline, thousands of surfers may be spotted in the ocean, riding waves or patiently waiting for the next one. A new study under way at California State University San Marcos seeks hard, scientific data on whether amateur surfing is more than just fun — whether it also provides a dynamic physical workout.
“Studies have been recently conducted with professional surfers in competition, but there is limited research on the average person who surfs recreationally,” said Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Sean Newcomer.
“This study gives us an opportunity to consider the physiological benefit of surfing for amateur surfers of all ages and fitness levels, including both men and women.”
The research project is part of Newcomer’s course, Introductory Exercise Physiology 326. Fifteen students who took the course during fall semester are now interns on the project, mentoring the 40 students who are currently in the class. The students are responsible for every aspect of the research protocol, which includes both laboratory and field work.
— Times of San Diego