Another Broken Egg closes O'Neal Lane location
The Another Broken Egg Café on O'Neal Lane has closed. Ron Green, founder and president of the Destin, Fla.-based breakfast and brunch chain, says the restaurant closed because of slow weekday sales. "They were getting a thousand people in there on Saturday and Sundays, but it just dropped off during the week," says Green, who blames the small weekday crowds on the lack of nearby businesses. This is the first time Another Broken Egg has closed a location. The Another Broken Egg location at Old Hammond and Jefferson highways remains open; Green says it's doing "great numbers" because of its proximity to commercial businesses and residential areas.—Timothy Boone
Amedisys raises profit, revenue outlook
Amedisys says it expects to bring in more profit and revenue this year than originally thought. The Baton Rouge-based home health agency now anticipates per share profit between $3 and $3.10, up from a range of $2.70 to $2.80. A series of recent acquisitions, including the company's purchase of TLC Health Care Services Inc., the nation's largest private home health care provider, caused Amedisys to increase its earnings expectations. The company now expects 2008 net service revenue to be in a range of $1.1 billion to $1.15 billion, up from an estimate between $1.05 billion and $1.1 billion issued April 30.
Publisher: New faces on ethics board might be a good thing
While the media has made a big deal over the recent departure of 10 of the 11 members on the Board of Ethics, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says it might be welcome news. "With the new laws and procedures, it seems appropriate to have a new crop of commissioners who have a new perspective and aren’t wedded to the way things were done in the past," McCollister says. Plus: PAR fails to notice education reform, Paramount makes a comeback, United Way kicks off its annual campaign and congratulations to the Business Report team. Read his column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.
OLOL moves forward on Walker project
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center will seek approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this fall to develop 235 acres at Interstate 12 and La. Highway 447 in Walker. OLOL bought 191 acres last year and recently acquired 44 more to provide better access to the land and serve as a buffer. The project has to meet Corps rules for wetlands development. Once approval is secured, finalization of initial plans will follow. Scott Wester, OLOL's chief executive officer, says the initial facility will include a combination of outpatient services, physicians offices and probably more. Groundbreaking is tentatively for summer 2009, with construction expected to be completed by spring 2011.
LSU Health Care Services head up for Atlanta job
Dr. Michael Butler, interim CEO of Louisiana State University Health Care Services Division, is one of four finalists to become CEO of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, reports Atlanta Business Chronicle. Butler oversees seven public hospitals as part of his current job and was recently named as one of the top 25 minority executives in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine. Grady Memorial's board is expected to select a CEO on Monday, the magazine reports. Grady Memorial is a 953-bed hospital that was recently privatized.
Louisiana auto insurance rates drop, but still nation's highest
Auto insurance premiums dropped by 3.6% in Louisiana from the first to second quarter, but drivers still pay more for coverage than in any other state. According to Insurance.com, the average auto insurance premium in Louisiana was $2,577 in the second quarter, compared with $2,674 in the first quarter. New Jersey was second with auto insurance rates of $2,544. Nationally, auto insurance was up by 3.4% over the first quarter, the second consecutive period of rate increases. For a look at auto insurance rates across the U.S., click here.
Shaw awarded contract for work at Garyville refinery
The Shaw Group's Energy and Chemicals division has been awarded a contract from Marathon Oil to handle benzene reduction projects at three refineries, including one in Garyville. The value of the contract was not disclosed. Shaw is also set to work at Marathon refineries in Robinson, Ill., and Catlettsburg, Ky. The work will be completed before Jan. 1, 2011, when new federal standards for benzene content in gas take effect.
News roundup: Holden to speak to Forum 35; 'The Dark Knight' poised to set box office records; will takeover lead to less Bud advertising?
Meet the mayor: Mayor Kip Holden will be the guest speaker at Forum 35's monthly lunch, which is scheduled for noon Friday at Juban's. Holden is scheduled to discuss how young leaders can make a change in Baton Rouge. Admission is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Registration is required, click here to sign up. Holy blockbuster business, Batman: Overwhelmingly positive early reviews and buzz on Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker are producing some potentially batty forecasts for the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which opens tonight with midnight showings—including Rave Motion Pictures’ Baton Rouge 16 at Interstate 12 and O’Neal Lane and Mall of Louisiana 15, Cinemark Perkins Rowe, United Artists CitiPlace 11 and Grand Cinema at George O’Neal and Jones Creek roads. The film's more than 4,366 domestic playmates is a record, surpassing the 4,362 theaters for May 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale reunite for the follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins, which grossed $205.3 million. Tear in their beer? In the wake of Anheuser-Busch's $52 billion deal with InBev SA, there’s some speculation the thrifty Belgium-based company could slash some of the sports sponsorship and advertising deals that have made Budweiser, Bud Light and other brands a fixture in stadiums, living rooms and refrigerators across the country. "There's nervousness out there, and it's palpable," says Eric Shepard, executive editor for Beer Marketer’s Insights, a trade magazine. Anheuser-Busch spent more than $300 million marketing itself on TV last year, part of a $1.35 billion national advertising budget according to AdAge.com.
