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Waffle House in Oak Ridge not among those closing

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The Waffle House restaurant on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Waffle House in Oak Ridge is not among the chain’s restaurants that are closing, but the Oak Ridge location is open for take-out orders only.

Some locations are closing as sales plummet as COVID-19 spreads and government officials sometimes prohibit certain activities such as dining in restaurants. Most of Waffle House’s closures are in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, CNN reported Wednesday.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Waffle House said that 365 restaurants would close and 1,627 would remain open.

But by Thursday, the number of closures had been revised up to 429, with 1,563 restaurants remaining open. About 22 percent of the chain’s restaurants are closing.

[Read more…]

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Belk, JCPenney, theater closed

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Three of the four stores pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge were closed as of Friday evening, March 20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic: maurices, Rack Room Shoes, and Ulta Beauty. Rue21 was open but had announced temporary store hours. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Belk, JCPenney, and several new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge are closed. So is Cinemark Tinseltown Theater. Dick’s Sporting Goods is open for curbside pickup only.

The new stores that are closed include Burkes Outlet, maurices, Rack Room Shoes, T.J.Maxx, and Ulta Beauty.

Electronic Express, PetSmart, and Rue21 were open at last check this weekend, but they have modified hours. (Note: The response to COVID-19 changes rapidly, meaning store operations could change quickly.)

JCPenney said it plans to reopen on April 2. JCPenney said it temporarily closed for the health and safety of customers and employees. The store said it continues to offer service online at jcp.com and through its mobile application.

Cinemark Tinseltown said it is closed until further notice to comply with a local government ordinance. It’s not clear what ordinance that is. You can reach Cinemark by calling (800) 246-3627.

[Read more…]
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Restaurants changing hours, types of service

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The parking lot at Panera Bread and Aubrey’s late in the lunch hour Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. March 20.

Many restaurants in Oak Ridge are changing hours or the types of services they offer to help try to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Explore Oak Ridge, which helps promote tourism, is tracking some of the changes at restaurants and businesses.

Many restaurants are offering carry-out or curbside service or delivery service. Some are still offering dine-in service. Some are closing earlier than normal.

[Read more…]
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Big Ed’s Pizza temporarily closing to evaluate curbside, carryout orders

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Big Ed’s Pizza is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Big Ed’s Pizza, Oak Ridge’s most well-known restaurant, announced Tuesday that it is temporarily closing.

The temporary closure will allow managers to time they need to evaluate how to safely and effectively fulfill curbside/to-go/carryout orders, said the restaurant, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“Once we feel we have the best protocols in place and feel that we can safely operate, we will do so,” Big Ed’s said in a social media post.

[Read more…]

Updated: Kroger, Walmart limit hours

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Some beef products were sold out at the Kroger store in Oak Ridge after midnight early Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Note: This story was last updated at 7:30 a.m. March 16.

The Kroger and Walmart stores in Oak Ridge are limiting their hours. It’s part of a trend of stores changing their hours across the country as people concerned about COVID-19 flock to stock up on supplies.

The stores said the limited hours will help them clean and stock shelves.

Normally open 24 hours, the Kroger store in Oak Ridge will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. “until further notice.”

The Walmart store, which is also normally open 24 hours, said it will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day starting Sunday, March 15.

As concerns about COVID-19 spread across the country, people have been flocking to grocery stores, loading grocery carts with supplies. Among the items that appear to be in high demand include beef and bread, flour and pasta, rice and beans, sauces and ramen, canned fruits and frozen vegetables, sodas and water, cleaning supplies and wipes, and toilet paper and paper towels.

That’s sometimes left empty shelves for other shoppers. Sometimes those items are restocked, but sometimes the shelves quickly empty again.

[Read more…]

For members: Chinns part of apartment project on former AMSE site

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The former American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and his brother Ryan are minority partners in the project to build apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site.

Rick Chinn, a developer, said this month that the project will bring much-needed apartments to the city, allowing more people who work in Oak Ridge to live here. The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina developer, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to a developer. It will include the demolition of the former AMSE building. It is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Rick Chinn and his father, Richard Chinn, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, have been abstaining from votes related to the apartment project for at least a year.

They have not been required to explain their abstentions, but Oak Ridge Today has asked Rick and Richard Chinn why they have been abstaining.

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Motorsports park proposed at Horizon Center

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The Horizon Center off Highway 58 in west Oak Ridge is pictured above in this image published by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

A motorsports park that could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres has been proposed at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to consider a resolution expressing support for and interest in the project on Monday evening. The development of the test track and research facility could be on three lots at Horizon Center: parcels 5, 6, and 7. The project could include about 327 acres total.

If the resolution is approved Monday, it would be sent to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. The project could then be reviewed by the IDB, which could consider whether to sell the property. The IDB has contacted Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson’s office to determine City Council’s interest in the project, according to the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

H.E. Bittle III of Hardin Valley Land Partners told Oak Ridge officials in a February 2 letter that the planned motorsports park would have a road course “suitable for FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) sanctioned events, such as Formula E, Indy Car, IMSA, NASA, and other sanctioning bodies.”

Besides the race course, the motorsports park would have an amphitheater with a mix of permanent and lawn seating for more than 7,000 people, similar to the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Bittle said.

[Read more…]

DQ Grill & Chill has grand opening Tuesday

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DQ Grill and Chill has opened a restaurant in Oak Ridge. The restaurant opened Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. It is at the intersection of South Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new DQ Grill & Chill in Oak Ridge will have a grand opening on Tuesday, and the celebration will include promotions, raffle prizes, and family fun, a press release said.

Here is the grand opening celebration schedule:

[Read more…]

United Grocery Outlet closing Jan. 18

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United Grocery Outlet on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge is closing Jan. 18, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

United Grocery Outlet in west Oak Ridge is closing January 18.

“We are unable to provide our customers with the options we have at our other locations, and we are unable to sustain in our current environment,” the store said in a sign posted on its front door.

New hours went into effect today (Monday, January 6): Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

[Read more…]

DQ Grill & Chill opens in Oak Ridge

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DQ Grill and Chill has opened a restaurant in Oak Ridge. The restaurant opened Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, at the intersection of South Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

DQ Grill and Chill has opened a restaurant in Oak Ridge.

The restaurant opened Tuesday, December 3. It is at the intersection of South Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, where a Taco Bell restaurant used to be. The opening of the DQ Grill and Chill last week was announced by American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), franchisor of the DQ brand.

A grand opening celebration for the new restaurant is expected in late January 2020.

The new DQ Grill and Chill includes about 75 staff members, ranging from crew members to managers, a press release said. The restaurant and the drive-through will be open daily. 

[Read more…]

Winter Farmers’ Market opens Saturday

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The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, and it will be open through March 28, 2020, in St. Mary’s School gym in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy Grow Oak Ridge)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, and it will be open through March.

With more than 30 vendors each week, the Winter Farmers’ Market is the largest one in Anderson County, a press release said.

This weekend’s opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in the gym at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge.

This year, the Winter Farmers’ Market will extend an extra four weeks, through March 28, 2020. It is closed only on the Saturday after Christmas, December 28, the press release said.

“Our farmers grow a wide array of crops all winter long,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces the market.

[Read more…]

For members: Companies have agreement to make nuclear fuel

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The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy)

 

A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.

The company, X-energy of Rockville, Maryland, announced the collaboration with Global Nuclear Fuel on November 6.

The two companies have an agreement to develop high-assay, low-enriched uranium TRISO fuel. The fuel could be used in defense micro-reactors and by NASA for nuclear thermal propulsion, a press release said.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: an advertiser, sponsor, or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today

P.O. Box 6064

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Learn about our advanced subscription options here.

Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories. These stories generally take more than four hours to report, write, and publish.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today!

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