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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Cirrus Aircraft and Coquí Radio Pharmaceuticals could both use the proposed Oak Ridge Airport, a project consultant said Tuesday.
Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that Coquí Radio Pharmaceuticals Corporation could use the airport, which would have a 5,000-foot runway and be located at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. Coquí has announced plans to build a $500 million medical isotope production facility at Heritage Center.
The company makes medical isotopes with a half-life of 62 hours, airport project consultant Billy Stair said at an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Tuesday. Using the Oak Ridge Airport, rather than spending 42 minutes driving to McGhee Tyson Airport in Blount County, would save Coquí about $2.3 million per year, Stair said. It would also avoid the loss of about 1,000 doses per day of isotopes used for medical treatments, Stair said.
The Federal Aviation Administration conditionally approved the Oak Ridge Airport in March. That was a very significant step after four years of work, Stair said. The master plan has been approved; the precise location of the runway has been set; and a model of likely traffic has been developed.
As part of the conditional approval, the FAA wants an environmental assessment and a benefit-cost analysis.
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The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.
Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.
LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.
The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.
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Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 20.
Dairy Queen is coming to Oak Ridge.
The Dairy Queen will be located at the corner of Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, where a Taco Bell restaurant used to be. A new Taco Bell has been built east on the Turnpike, at the intersection with Bus Terminal Road.
Workers were at the Dairy Queen restaurant site on Monday, putting up a “DQ Coming Soon!” sign and unloading construction equipment.
[Read more…]The Federal Aviation Administration provided a conditional approval for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport in a February letter, a consultant said Thursday.
The conditions included in the February 22 letter included the completion of a benefit cost analysis and an environmental assessment for the airport property, project consultant Billy Stair said.
In response to the conditional approval, the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority’s board of directors approved a work authorization for CHA Consulting Inc. during a June 19 meeting. CHA Consulting, which has an office in Louisville, will provide professional services for “qualifications development and agency scoping” for the design, environmental assessment, and benefit cost analysis for the proposed airport.
“This puts in motion the process for undertaking the BCA (benefit cost analysis) and EA (environmental assessment),” Stair said.
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The Planet Fitness gym in Oak Ridge is tentatively scheduled to open July 30, the company said Wednesday.
“The 27,000-square-foot Oak Ridge club will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, 30-Minute Express Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms with day lockers and showers, and numerous flat screen televisions,” according to a response to questions provided by Josh Gerber, vice president of marketing for PF Growth Partners LLC in Timonium, Maryland. “The club will also have a signature Black Card Spa area that will feature HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning beds, a Total Body Enhancement booth and more.”
The club will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the company said. People can begin signing up online starting June 10, Planet Fitness said.
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DosBros Fresh Mexican Grill is opening a restaurant in Oak Ridge.
The restaurant could open in August, the company said in a response to a customer question on its Facebook page.
It appears that the restaurant will be located where the former Chipotle Mexican Grill was on South Illinois Avenue, according to a photo posted by DosBros Fresh Mexican Grill. That is in a shopping center next to Great Clips, Fast Pace Urgent Medical Care, Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, and Aspen Dental.
[Read more…]Note: We have posted a second story here with more information about the new gym, which is tentatively scheduled to open July 30.
Planet Fitness is building a gym in Oak Ridge.
The new gym will be in part of the former Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue.
The new gym has been announced on the company’s website, which says the Oak Ridge fitness club is coming soon.
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The four new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could create 150 jobs and generate more than $600,000 in sales and property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to calculations by the city’s economic development consultant.
The estimated new revenues could include $572,096 in sales tax revenues and $116,965 in property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to the calculations. The portion of new sales tax revenues for just Oak Ridge could total $385,158, according to the calculations.
The four new stores are part of a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.
A new version of that plan is scheduled to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The economic benefit calculations for the new stores are included in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.
Here is the specific breakdown of the economic benefits of the four new stores, which could total 75,000 square feet, according to the calculations:
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