Highway 95 Cafe partners ready to open new restaurant
Alex Aw is hopeful he and partner Kenny Chuah will be ready to open their new restaurant by next weekend - if not New Year's Day. Give them a call at 782-2607 or 782-2608 for more information.
Their new establishment, Palagor Asian Fusion Cuisine at 771 S. 4th Ave. (where Gene's Restaurant was located for years), will feature recipe items brought back from Asia and New York City. The new restaurant, according to Aw, will include Thai, Malaysian and Indian tastes "with a touch of Chinese." But it will be a healthier version with less sodium and oil.
This will be a third restaurant for the partners. They plan to continue to operate the popular Highway 95 Cafe at 2585 E. 16th St., and early this month they opened Asian Bowl 945 Cafe in Wellton at 28541 Los Angeles Ave. The phone number for that new restaurant is 785-4669.
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As for another Oriental restaurant ...
In case you missed the news story, the new Asian Star Oriental restaurant at 276 W. 32nd St. in the Big Curve Shopping Center was destroyed by a fire Dec. 19. The restaurant had opened its doors just two weeks before the fire after completing extensive renovations and remodeling.
Property manager Irene Crites said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. She intends to rebuild.
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As of the first of the year, the YMCA in the Foothills will be the Schechert Family Aquatic and Fitness Center, said Paula Capestro, president of H&S Developers, whose family owns the property.
Previously, the fitness facility owned by the company at 11737 S. Foothills Blvd. had been operated by the YMCA to serve the Foothills area. YMCA continues to operate its Yuma facility at 2550 S. 4th Ave.
Capestro said her family has taken over the Foothills facility and will reopen it Friday under the new name and management. Plans are to expand swimming hours and offer more classes at good rates. The center will continue to offer the popular "Silver Sneakers" membership plan. The phone number will be 317-0522.
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Just a little longer, said Michael Swederski of the ZPS Miniature Golf he's opening at 1335 S. Pacific Ave. in the Pacific Plaza. He said with setbacks because of the holidays, he likely won't be open by the first of the year as he had hoped. But it's now looking like the new fun center will be ready for miniature golfers of all sizes by mid-January at the latest.
Meanwhile, his wife, Sue, is putting the finishing touches on her companion business, Sassy Sue's Boutique and Dress Up Parties. To book a party, call 1-800-513-7314.
The couple are opening the family fun center to provide "a clean, fun, safe" place for kids to have a good time - and adults, too.
For more information the projects, check out ZPSminiaturegolf.com or sassysueparties.com.
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In spite of the down real estate market, Yuma Foothills Realty is doing well and even has expanded into a larger space. It's all thanks to a loyal client base, for which she's grateful, said broker Leslie Moore.
She recently moved her agency to the space formerly occupied by Mr. B's at Foothills Village, 11242 S. Foothills Blvd., Space 5. It was a real step up from her original space in the same complex, Moore said of the agency she started in 2001.
Moore has been a real estate agent since 1992, when Foothills founder Hank Schechert recruited her from the now defunct radio station KYXI when she tried to sell him advertising.
Yuma Foothills Realty has a number of listings for homes and land stretching from Avenue 9E to Dateland, Moore said. Also in her office are Susan Pacicca and Donna White. They can be reached at 342-0499 or visit www.yumafoothills realty.net
Moore is planning a grand opening for her new location on Jan. 28.
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Steve Kotsis, owner of Mi Fajita, said he's still planning to build a second restaurant along 32nd Street east of Araby Road.
He explained that it's the lot next to his that is for sale - and leading to inquiries he had changed his plans. Those plans haven't changed, he said. He's just focusing on his Foothills-area restaurant for now, waiting for the economy to improve before taking on the new project.
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Nature's Express, Yuma's own healthier fast food restaurant, is expanding. The restaurant has signed an agreement to partner with Clark's, a nutrition and health oriented grocery chain, to run its in-store cafe in Rancho Mirage.
Nature's Express also will be preparing a healthier line of fresh grab-and-go items for all three of Clark's Los Angeles-area stores. In addition, Nature's Express has an option to expand operations to the Clark's stores in Loma Linda and Riverside.
The original Nature's Express opened in early January at 2905 S. 4th Ave. It has since opened a second restaurant in San Diego and also wholesales healthier grab-and-go sandwiches throughout Southern California.
Yuma oncologist Dr. Carl Myers founded Nature's Express with his wife, Jean, and partner Mitch Wallis of San Diego to provide Yumans with an alternative for better health.
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Shilo Inns, privately owned and operated hotel chain in the Western United States, will be helping to set a national trend. Shilo Inns’ owner Mark Hemstreet announced that Shilo Inns would usher in the New Year by making all Shilo Inn hotels and restaurants 100 percent smoke free, effective Thursday.
That will include the newly opened Native New Yorker, except for the outdoor patio, said a Shilo representative.
"We consistently get more and more requests from our guests for smoke-free rooms and since we have already had 95 percent of our rooms and suites nonsmoking for many years, we felt it was the best decision to finally turn the entire hotel and restaurant environment to smoke free," Hemstreet said in a news release.
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Marriott International has opened the 80-suite TownePlace Suites by Marriott in El Centro at 3003 S. Dogwood Ave.
The hotel will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by InterMountain Management, LLC of Monroe, La. This is the second Marriott property in El Centro for Intermountain Management.
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Report Comings and Goings to jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.
