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THE STATE BUDGET: HEALTH CARE ANALYSIS
Expansion of Medicaid could help employers Businesses might INSIDE Utica is where it’s at not have to pick Companies as up tab for workers such Momentum, led by presiwith low incomes dent and CEO By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com MARC GOLUB PHOTOS
Matt Cole’s Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon has expanded four times since opening in North Olmsted in 2009.
THEY’RE BREWING SOMETHING SPECIAL Craft beer is a rapidly growing market; Ohio could be home to 100 specialty pubs by the end of 2013 By KATHY AMES CARR clbfreelancer@crain.com
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att Cole sees the glasses halfempty as a positive. It means customers are sating their thirst with one of his artisan beers. Not that Mr. Cole hasn’t faced a challenge or two meeting consumer demand since his Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon opened in North Olmsted in 2009. The business has undergone four expansions, including the addition last April of a $2 million, 22,000-square-foot production operation in Middleburg Heights. Mr. Cole is working with the building’s landlord to keep vacant an adjoining 22,000 square feet, which he expects to use in the next two to three years. “It’s insane, actually,” Mr. Cole said of the company’s growth. Mr. Cole’s situation is a refrain echoed by craft brewers throughout Northeast Ohio, who have been experiencing doubledigit and even triple-digit percentage
The brewing area at Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon in Middleburg Heights. increases in craft beer output over the last couple years.The momentum aligns with national trends, which reflect craft brewers’ market share gains as more consumers eschew the predictable Millers and Budweisers for more complex, flavorful beer. “I don’t see the growth of craft beer slowing down anytime soon,” Mr. Cole said. “People are trading up because craft beer is an affordable luxury.” See BREWING Page 19
Republican Gov. John Kasich’s decision to back the controversial expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul could prove beneficial to some employers, though the entirety of the health care reform law still might be a tough swallow for many in the business community. Gov. Kasich last week urged state lawmakers to move forward with an
Frank Tsuru, right, are focusing their shale drilling efforts on eastern Ohio, where the profits tend to be much higher. Plus, a recap of the sold-out Shale Summit. PAGES 3, 18 expansion of the government-run health care program, which would extend coverage to 366,000 uninsured Ohioans. See MEDICAID Page 8
THE STATE BUDGET: SALES TAX ANALYSIS
Negatives could arise from wider tax base Providers of services wary of dampening effects on business By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
While the cuts in state income tax rates that Gov. John Kasich proposed last week as part of his 20142015 budget have met with strong support in the business community, the other part of his tax reform plan — to extend the sales tax to almost all business and professional services — is drawing considerable
skepticism. It’s too early for lobbyists to descend on the Statehouse, because few groups have had a chance to digest the entire tax package, unveiled last Monday, Feb. 4. But some business executives are voicing concern about the plan, while several of the state’s key business associations have issued “wait-and-see” statements, signaling they need time to evaluate the net impact of the tax actions on their members. It is likely that state legislators will face some of the most intense lobbying they have ever seen — after all, one of the new business services that will be taxed is lobbying. See REFORM Page 6
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SMALL BUSINESS Many companies are hiring etiquette pros to help their employees mind their manners ■ Pages 13-17 PLUS: THE RISE OF ARBORWEAR ■ TAX TIPS ■ ADVISER ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2013 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 34, No. 6