South Florida shoppers are probably used to heading out to the suburbs when they need to go to a big-box chain store like Best Buy, Target, Home Depot or Walmart. Big-box retailers are more prominent in the suburbs because commercial real estate there is cheap and available, at least when such areas are compared to urban cores.
Fans go gaga for Orlando's first Wawa
Have you ever heard of Wawa? Maybe not, but the Pennsylvania-based convenience store is being greeted by a groundswell of people who have as it opens its first store in Orlando. This bodes well for the next phase of its business plan -- an expansion into south and central Florida.
Disney: Fantasyland expansion will add 800 jobs to Orlando area
The House of Mouse continues to be a major economic engine for the Orlando region. That fact has been underscored by Disney's recent announcement that its Fantasyland expansion will create an estimated 800 full-time, permanent jobs once it is all finished as of 2014. The $425 million expansion is the largest in the 40-year history of the Magic Kingdom and has also resulted in 700 or so temporary construction jobs as it is being built.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts and possible franchisor-franchisee tensions
Could you ever be against free doughnuts? Maybe, if you're the owner of a Krispy Kreme franchise.
