Southern Lanes changes venue; JASCO named a Supplier of Year

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Fun and games at Southern Lanes off Campbell Lane will soon move to a new location. The bowling alley will close its doors June 1 and reopen in the old Kroger building on Scottsville Road the first or second week of July, according to Don Litten, owner of Southern Lanes. The new facility will include indoor mini-golf, indoor batting cages, a billiards room, birthday party rooms, a video arcade, a lounge, a nursery and an ice cream shop. Its going to be different, Litten said. Weve been here for 20 years, and its time to make a change. He added that traffic flow will be much improved over its present location. Bowling Green is ready for something like this, he said. I feel real confident about it. The new facility will be open 24 hours and Litten anticipates employing 15 to 20 additional full-time employees. Southern Lanes and Cardwell Drywall have received a building permit to alter the commercial building at 2710 Scottsville Road for $275,000.In 2003, Litten was sued by his landlord, Greenwood Plaza LLC, about the use of half the parking places in front of Southern Lanes for a new shopping center. At the time, Litten was considering moving because he said Greenwood Plaza has been wanting him to move out of the current location off and on since it bought the property in 1999.JASCO makes GM2003 Supplier of the Year listJASCO International, which manufactures automobile fuse boxes in Edmonson County, was honored by General Motors as the 2003 Supplier of the Year, according to a GM press release. JASCO International is representative of the type of company we want to grow with as we drive to be the best worldwide, said Bo Andersson, vice president, GM Worldwide Purchasing Production Control & Logistics, in the press release. John Eaton, plant manager at JASCO International in Park City, is thrilled with the honor. Its fantastic, there were 77 suppliers worldwide that receive this reward, Eaton said. About 35,000 manufacturers supply GM, according to Michelle Bunker, spokeswoman for the General Motors Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant. Eaton explained that a JASCO International corporate executive said a lot of 20- to 30-year-old suppliers havent won this award yet, and JASCO received it in its second year. That makes it quite an accomplishment, Eaton said. About 12 people work at the plant in the Edmonson County Industrial Park. Last week, JASCO International announced that General Motors would award additional business to the company, so JASCO will soon fully utilize its 32,000-square-foot building and expand employment to 20 people. So far, JASCO has only used half the building, Eaton said. JASCO supplies one GM customer in Wentzville, Mo. Upon expansion, it will supply GM in Doraville, Ga. and Shreveport, La. JASCO International a joint venture between James Group International, Sumitomo Corp. and Sumitrans is based in Japan and has offices across Europe and in the United States. Were very appreciative, Eaton said. Our next goal is to be 2004 Supplier of the Year for GM. Were dedicated to hiring local, and I feel weve been successful in doing that. Im proud of the local work force weve assembled here. Bowling Green Vacuum goes TandemLast week Bowling Green Vacuum Co. brought in the new Tandem Air vacuum. Its the first vacuum to ever be invented that has two air suction motors, said Eddy Meherg, owner of the store. The machine called Radiance is made by Riccar. The fourth-generation business has been in the same location for 36 years and part of the family-owned business for 50 years. Weve seen them all, and this is by far the most powerful cleaning machine weve ever seen, Meherg said. The made-in-America product has a suggested retail price of $899, and will be sold at Bowling Green Vacuum for about $599.Graeters Ice Creamon Fountain SquareRoger Ryan said its not just any ice cream, but Graeters ice cream out of Louisville. Its now available in Spencers Coffee House on Fountain Square. Part of the reason I wanted to bring it here is it really is an outrageously good ice cream, Ryan said. I stumbled upon it in Louisville and thought, Now thats an ice cream Bowling Green needs. Ryan is the proprietor of the ice cream freezer sitting inside Spencers Coffee House, a freezer that should be there not only during the hot summer, but the entire year. The freezer contains 12 flavors: raspberry chip, chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, strawberry chip, cookies and cream, peanut butter chip, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookie dough, butter pecan, chocolate vanilla and strawberry. He also anticipates soon having a push cart for farmers markets and special events, as well as a program called Sundays on Wheels, where coordinators of events have ice cream and condiments delivered all together so they can serve it up to attendees. Big Lots renovationBig Lots, the closeout retailer at 2700 Nashville Road, announced last week the completion of remodeling efforts. The new and improved store is easier to navigate, brighter and features the companys new branding efforts, according to a company press release. Big Lots is in the process of modernizing its stores across the county, replacing lighting, updating store signage, improving product displays and store organization, widening aisles and replacing flooring. Corvette Salesdown this monthSales of the Bowling Green-made Corvette fell in April to 3,169 units, down from 6,249 units last April, a drop of 49.3 percent, according to a GM press release. Year-to-date sales of Corvettes slid 5.4 percent from last year, with 11,570 units sold this January through April, compared to 12,233 units sold the same time period last year. GM sold 401,451 new cars and trucks in April, up 0.2 percent from last April. Contact Christopher Miller with business news and tips at 783-3246 or e-mail him at cmiller@bgdailynews.com. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700