Open for business: The new 2,300-square-foot freestanding Serop Express on Jefferson Highway at Capital Heights has reopened for business. The eatery, in the 700 block of Jefferson Highway, was closed for several months so its original building could be demolished and rebuilt. Property owner Vasken Kaltakdjian previously told Daily Report he planned to spend around $700,000 to construct the new building. The restaurant is the seventh Serop’s in the local market and one of two with a drive-thru.
Back pay: A Denham Springs subcontractor erroneously paying laborer’s wages to three skilled workers on a federally funded housing project in Baton Rouge has agreed to pay more than $33,000 in back wages. The Associated Press reports the U.S. Department of Labor investigators found Pete’s Plumbing of Livingston Parish in violation of laws requiring employers to pay prevailing wages on federally funded projects. The investigators say the subcontractor misclassified the three plumbers as “laborers,” cheating them of nearly $11 per hour. As laborers, they earned between $18 and $25.54 per hour, well below the prevailing wage rate of $36.27 per hour owed to plumbers.
Facelift: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is investing $11 million to renovate its Monroe facility. The News Star reports the total facelift will provide more modern upgrades and efficient additions to the company’s building. A state-of-the-art print shop is also on tap for the plant, which will replace services currently provided by Shreveport and Alexandria. Republican Congressman Ralph Abraham visited the facility Wednesday just weeks ahead of the start of the planned renovation. The company hopes to finish the first two phases within a year, with a third and final phase to follow. Coca-Cola Enterprises bought the company in 1996. Last October, Birmingham-based Coca-Cola Bottling Company United purchased the distribution center from CCE. Since the acquisition by Coca-Cola United, about 30 jobs have been added to the Monroe center. Read the full story.
