It’s a date: Pei Wei, a fast-casual Asian diner concept that is part of the P.F. Chang’s family of restaurants, tells 225 it’s planning to open its first Baton Rouge location in the Acadian Village shopping center sometime in January. The location will feature Asian-inspired entrees not unlike P.F. Chang’s—pad thai, Mandarin kung pao chicken and honey-seared shrimp are all featured on the menu. Pei Wei will also offer a few gluten-free menu items and some dinner options. Anchor tenant Trader Joe’s opened on Oct. 31 in Acadian Village, which is anticipating several other retail and restaurant openings in the coming months.
Positions wanted: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Nov. 9 increased from the previous week’s total. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims increased to 2,707 from the previous week’s total of 2,309. Initial claims were below the comparable week a year earlier at 3,089. The four-week moving average—a less volatile measure of claims—increased to 2,425 from the previous week’s total of 2,377. Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending Nov. 9 increased to 22,486, compared to the previous week’s total of 22,416. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 22,639 from the previous week’s average of 22,708.
Drilling into the numbers: Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by eight this week to 1,762. The Houston-based company says in its weekly report today that 1,385 rigs were exploring for oil and 370 for gas. Seven were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,809 rigs. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma gained four rigs, Louisiana increased by three, Kansas and North Dakota by two, and New Mexico, Pennsylvania and West Virginia by one apiece. Texas was down by nine and Colorado by one. Alaska, Arkansas, California, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming remained unchanged.
