Page 7 - Sentinel April 2017

WALT’S WORDS “tight tank tops or orange shorts.”
Walt Korinke...
On the grocery store side of
It’s all right if you don’t agree with things, WHOLE FOODS, is
me....I can’t force you to be right... slowing down last year’s large
multi-year plan for 1,200 new
It’s time stores while it tests the perfor-
for my mance of its first 100 new open-
annual reminder – if you have ings and culls older under per-
resided in your Douglas County formers. Nine planned closing
home for 10 years, and are 65 include two in Colorado. The Boulder store on Baseline and
years of age or older, you will the Colorado Store at First and Main will close on April 9th.
want to file for your SENIOR
PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION. The exemption reduces PALMER LAKE – The TOWN has passed its first new or-
the actual taxable value of your home by 50 percentof the 1st dinance of the year that provides
$200,00 of taxable value. You earned it; file for it. More infor- for a 5 percent Municipal Excise
mation can be found at http://www.douglas.co.us/assessor/ Tax on the sale of Marijuana that
will be phased in over 5 years, i.e.
The casual dining industry continues its 10-year struggle to one percent year one, two percent
operate profitably as highlighted by the 1,500 store holding year two, etc. This is geared to-
company, Bloomin Brands which closed 43 underperforming wards raising much needed capi-
restaurants last month. Sales were down at their OUTBACK tal for the general use of the town
STEAKHOUSE by 4.8 percent, CARRABBA’S ITALIAN and with its one source being the new marijuana cultivation
GRILL -2.3 percent, and BONEFISH GRILL -1.9 percent. facility located in the former bowling alley.
Their overall results were a net loss of $4.3 million vs. a prof-
it of $17.7 million the previous year. Twenty eight-year old LARKSPUR – “The Town of Larkspur has entered the final
LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE has been quietly shuttering its stage of the Well Project.
stores over the last few weeks in Colorado as well as several Since 2014, the Town has
other states. Other problem performers include APPLEBEE’S drilled a new well in the
-5 percent resulting with the retirement of their CEO. Their Arapahoe aquifer, installed
efforts to turnaround sales with a “wood-fired grill” rebanding new transmission pipeline
was both expensive($75 million) and a failure. The pasta chain from the new well to the
NOODLES plans to close 55 underperforming stores (1 in 10) new 451,000-gallon water storage tank. To date CDPHE has
at a cost of $29 million to terminate leases. They also suffered approved the plans for the Water Treatment Plant and provid-
an $11 million charge caused by a data breach affecting cus- ed that funding is achieved, the construction of the new Water
tomer credit/debit charges. Treatment Plant should begin this spring.
In Colorado Springs, the
one lone Colorado location The final phase of the well project will begin within the next
of the Texas based ZIO’s few months. The final phase will include the water treatment
ITALIAN KITCHEN qui- plant, the well pump and the southern distribution loop/...”
etly closed their doors as the
Company attempts to reorga- My compliments to the Town on the update to their web site
nize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On the positive side, DEN- from which the above quote was taken. The site which is still
NY’S sales were up 3.9 percent in 2015 and another 1 percent a work in progress, is easy to navigate and informative, though
last year driven by a big change in their pancake recipe which the minutes and agenda are currently a little more difficult to
is very popular with its customers. Another winner is PANERA find (Common – Municipal Code and Charter) – townoflark-
BREAD whose big change was to drop artificial ingredients spur.org.
from its entire menu resulting in their best sales in 4 years, an
increase of 4.7 percent and an increase in their stock of 36 per- There is a possible buyer
cent over the last two years. in the small white 720 sq.
On the expansion side, ft. building at 8783 Spruce
Hooters has quietly opened Mountain Road (adjacent
the first store of its new spin- to the Larkspur Pizzeria) to
off chain, HOOTS, which be operated as a coffee shop.
serves fewer items than the Works for me as long as they
original chain, but still cen- also offer donuts. Current
ters on their familiar breaded chicken wings, fries and crab asking price is $264,900 and
legs served in a fast and casual atmosphere without the familiar includes .47 acres of land. Continued on page 8

Perry Park Sentinel April 2017 - Page 7