Walkabout: Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar is planning to open a new location in the Mobile, Alabama, area later this year, NOLA.com reports. The Baton Rouge-based restaurant chain has several locations planned along the Interstate 10 corridor and in parts of Tennessee, says Jami Zimmerman, vice president of public relations for Champion Management. Other new locations will be in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi this year. The chain opened its 19th restaurant this week in San Antonio. Read more.
Spilled: The Coast Guard says a leak in a storage tank led to 4,200 gallons of crude oil spilling into a southeastern Louisiana bay. The spill in Bay Jacques, according to a Coast Guard release, was reported just before noon Wednesday. Though the cause of the leak, reported by Summit Oil and Gas, LLC, was not immediately known, the release says the company has contracted with OMI Environmental Solutions to respond to the spill. The company deployed boom and absorbent material to contain and collect the oil. Read more.
New high: The U.S. trade deficit rose for the sixth straight month in February, reaching the highest level since October 2008 and defying President Donald Trump’s efforts to rebalance America’s lopsided trade with the rest of the world. The trade gap—the difference between what America sells and what it buys in foreign markets—widened to $57.6 billion in February from $56.7 billion in January, the Commerce Department says. Exports of goods and services hit a record $204.4 billion; imports set a record $262 billion. Read more.
