Sample the Area’s Businesses – From Wine to Water
Published Feb 29, 2008
Planet of the Grapes is an upscale wine bar and shop in historic downtown Dalton, Ga. Besides a vast selection of wines, the business offers tastings and classes.
Fine Wine Will Meet Fine Food in Dalton
Gourmet Restaurant to Open Downtown
At Planet of the Grapes, Thomas Friedheim and his wife, Gwynne Shippy, share their passion for and knowledge of wines from around the world.
In November 2004, the couple opened their upscale wine bar and shop in historic downtown Dalton, Ga., where they offer tastings and classes. Friedheim, an architect, and Shippy, an accountant, are putting the finishing touches on plans for a gourmet restaurant across the courtyard from Planet of the Grapes. The restaurant, scheduled to open in summer 2008, will feature eclectic international cuisine, he says.
“The idea is to educate people not just on wine, which we’ve been doing for three years, but also open up the whole world of cuisine and how wines complement foods of that region,” Friedheim says.
An executive chef and his wife, a pastry chef, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, have been hired for the new venture.
A Real Stretch
Employees of La-Z-Boy Inc. in Dayton, Tenn., make chairs, couches and ottomans that provide a comfortable means of watching television at home.
“We’re a manufacturing facility; we manufacture upholstered furniture,” says Janet Earnhardt, human resources director at the Dayton facility.
The plant has expanded numerous times since 1972 and now has 1.2 million square feet of space. “We’re on one campus in two separate buildings,” Earnhardt says.
With nearly 2,100 workers, the plant – one of six La-Z-Boy manufacturing facilities in the United States – is the largest employer in Rhea County.
“It’s a good place to work,” she says.
Follow the Bouncing Ball
March Madness, when the NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments are played, could well be John Prater’s favorite time of year.
Praters Inc., which Prater founded in 1990, provides hardwood flooring for homes, schools and businesses, and it specializes in making, installing and refurbishing portable wood floors for basketball and other sports.
In mid-2007, the Chattanooga company moved its portable floor division to 65,000 square feet of the former Peerless Woolen Mills in Rossville, Ga., Prater’s home town.
The move greatly expanded the firm’s production capability, Prater says.
“Since moving into the Peerless building in July, we’ve been able to produce 12 basketball floors. By the end of 2007, we had done 18,” he says. “We’re going to do six (2008) NCAA tournament floors, mainly in the east and south. … The nice thing about the NCAA tournament floors is it gives us a consistent flow of business in the wintertime.”
Water, Water Everywhere
Spring-fed waters bottled by companies in the tri-state area provide pure drinking water for thirsty customers.
Indian Hills Spring Water LLC outside Murphy, N.C., has been in business for nine years. It distributes its product to retail establishments, food-service customers and schools within a 150-to 200-mile radius, says Christy Ringenberg, office manager. The spring and the Indian Hills Spring Water facility are on a 23-acre site.
Other spring-water businesses in the region include Cott Beverage, which opened in Union County, Ga., in 2005 and bottles water under the Sam’s Choice label; Melwood Springs water in Fannin County, Ga.; Abundant Life water in Hamilton County, Tenn.; and Crystal Geyser water in Polk County, Tenn.
Painting the Town
Everything from a zipper and a plate holder to a hot rod and a tanning bed is a candidate for a paint job at D&B Custom Powder Coating LLC.
At the Trenton, Ga., company, started by Dewayne and Brenda Gass in 2006, the couple and one other employee stay busy powder coating anything made of metal or aluminum.
“My husband powder coated for a company in Chattanooga,” Brenda Gass says. “Some of the hot-rod customers said we needed to get into the business. We decided that’s what we wanted to do and took the plunge.”
There are 400 to 450 paint colors that can be ordered for a paint job, Gass says. (Matte and gloss black paint and white are in stock.) Powdered paint goes a lot further than liquid paint, she adds.
“Once the powder is baked onto a surface, it’s like a rock,” she says. “It’s really, really durable.”
D&B does jobs for individuals and companies.
Story by Anne Gillem
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