Sunday January 16, 2011
Business 2011 Section
G
Pizza man
Progress
Produced by the Grand Forks Herald Features team
Todd Halverson, Happy Joe’s franchise owner in Grand Forks, knows every phase of his pizza business ■
G
By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
ood, solid coaching has produced consecutive winning seasons for Todd Halverson.
The owner of the Happy Joe’s franchise in Grand Forks runs his business like the coach he was, using terms such as teams and plays when he talks about the keys to success. Halverson, wasn’t too sure about a career in the pizza business when a friend who owned a Happy Joe’s franchise in Fargo told him about the opportunity in Grand Forks. A football and hockey coach at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, Halverson didn’t have much pizza experience except for occasionally helping out at the Fargo franchise. “I said, ‘I don’t know how to make a Tombstone Pizza. How can I be a pizza man?” Halverson recalled. “I never had any intentions of being a pizza manager. I just wanted to coach and teach,” he said. But his friend told him that Joe Whitty and his son Larry, who own the Happy Joe’s franchise, had been impressed when they had seen him working at the Fargo franchise.
From the ground up
After Halverson decided to
buy the franchise, he immersed himself in the business so he could figure out how to make it profitable. “I worked every phase of the business. I was delivery driver, cook, every phase of the business because we were losing money,” Halverson said. Working various jobs also earned him the respect of his employees and helped him to understand their daily challenges. “I don’t think I’m better than any of the players. We’re a team here,” Halverson said. His team strives to give customers the best possible customer service and highest-quality food it can, he said.
Quality
“I have always gone for the high-end quality and high-end toppings.” He strives to instill in his employees the importance of making each pizza the best it can be. He tells them: “Think of that as your pizza. You paid a lot of money (for it.) Does it look that way?” This winter, Happy Joe’s also will give its customers an updated place to eat. Happy Joe’s will be gutted inside and out and remodeled. Halverson hopes to have the work completed by this spring. “I’m changing it to the new style. I’m excited about that,” he said.
Todd Halverson is owner of Happy Joe’s in Grand Forks.
Kevin Ritterman’s newest development is on the site of the former Grand Forks Civic Auditorium in downtown Grand Forks.
Developer extraordinaire Photo by Cam Bachmeier
■
Kevin Ritterman started working in realty after he graduated from UND in 1992
By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
Building relationships has helped Dakota Commercial to grow its business. “Obviously, you can’t do it yourself,” said Kevin Ritterman, Dakota Commercial president. “Investment partners, lenders, contractors, architects, engineers, they’re all key to the overall growth.” Ritterman started working in realty after he graduated from UND in 1992. He began working for the business, then called Dakota Financial with Don Langerud, the previous owner. In 1997, after Langerud’s death, Ritterman bought Dakota Financial. A few years later Ritterman changed the name to Dakota Commercial. One of Dakota Commercial’s biggest projects is the development around the
Ralph Engelstad Arena, including retail outlets, a gas station and townhomes. “Multi-family (dwellings) has really grown,” Ritterman said. Dakota Commercial has 650 apartment units. Besides the residential projects in Grand Forks, Dakota Commercial also has in Grand Forks, Minot, Fargo, Mandan, N.D., and on Cass Lake in Minnesota.
Growth
During the last few years development of multi-family units has grown more than commercial development, Ritterman said. Sometimes the reverse is true. “Overall Grand Forks has been good. We’ve seen good growth in the last few years … North Dakota, in general, has been great.” Ritterman’s newest development is on the site of the former Grand Forks Civic
Auditorium in downtown Grand Forks. The project, which includes 7,500 feet of commercial space and 53 apartment buildings, is expected to be completed by Aug. 1.
John Stennes, staff photographer
Famous skid-steer loaders remain top seller for Bobcat of Grand Forks By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
Bobcat of Grand Forks caters to its customers. And the key to providing good service is to hire first-rate employees, said Jason Vasichek, Bobcat of Grand Forks president. “I like to hire the best people available,” Vasichek said. Bobcat’s location on Highway 2 West also has helped the business grow, he said. Vasichek bought the Bobcat franchise from the former Grand Forks Equipment in 2000 and relocated it to north Grand Forks. In 2003, Bobcat moved to its present location on Gateway Drive. Equipment sales make up the biggest part of the business of Bobcat of Grand Forks. Skid steer loaders, track loaders and excavators make up the bulk of sales, Vasichek said. The dealership also rents and fixes equipment.
Other equipment
Bobcat also sells utility vehicles, lawnmowers and walk-behind snow blowers. Core customers of Bobcat of
Grand Forks are contractors, agricultural companies and farmers. Farmers use the skid-steer loaders to move chemical fertilizer totes and remove snow. “That’s been our biggest growth in the last few years,” Vasichek said. “Once we get to them, they’ll never be without one. We hear that all of the time.” Most of the skid steer loaders now not only have heated cabs, but also air conditioning, he said.
Customers service
Service to customers does not stop with the sale. “They count on our technicians and service people to get them moving. We have a shop here and we also do service calls and go no-site and fix what we can.” In 2008, Vasichek started a Bobcat dealership in Devils Lake. “I was doing some business there, but everything was 90 miles away from Devils Lake and their guys needed someone there.” Vasichek would like to expand his business in the future and is considering adding other lines of equipment, he said.
Success
One of the keys to Dakota Commercial’s success is to constantly be on the look out for potential new projects, kind of adapt to what’s going on in North Dakota. “We don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. We go out and make them happen.” Work is under way on several potential projects, which will be under construction this year. Besides Grand Forks, Dakota Commercial also is working on projects in Bismarck and Minot “They’re great areas, especially with the oil development out west.”
Photo by Ann Bailey
Jason Vasichek is president of Bobcat of Grand Forks.
Serving you through the years 18
2011 1879
1872
1889
1893 93
Serving Great Grand Forks and surrounding area.
1894
1903
LYONS AUTO SUPPLY
Grand Forks: 2551 So. Columbia Rd.
East Grand Forks
The American Legion
R001542053
R001541695
773-2445 227 10th St. NW • East Grand Forks
1935
1933
MOVING & STORAGE GRAND FORKS R001541256
Open 7 days a week Daily Drink Specials Bingo every Sunday at 7:00 pm Kitchen open Wed., Thurs., Fri. & Sun.
1-800-570-5571 “You Wouldn’t Believe What We’ve Got!”
900 1ST AVE., N., GRAND FORKS, ND PHONE (701) 775-5557
1939
BOB’S OIL CO.
Simonson STATION STORES & CAR WASHES SINCE 1933
1944
FARM, AUTO, FLEET AND INDUSTRIAL LUBRICANTS GASOLINE & DIESEL FUELS CALL 701-772-1212
R001541763
2506 Hwy 2 East, East Grand Forks, MN 218-773-1194 or 1-800-325-2412
1949 SERVICE CENTER
R001541257
General Repair Shop Fuel Injection Diagnosis & Repair
524 Gateway Drive, Grand Forks, ND
1948
1946 OLSON AUTO REPAIR
R001542038
1322 1/2 Dyke Ave., Grand Forks, N.D. 58203
746-9353
1300 S. Washington St., Grand Forks, ND
1-772-2631 ND13th 58203 Ave. N.,
1955
1952
“Serving the region since 1955”
R001542067
www.McFarlane-E3.com
R001541269
1966
SMITTY’S
R001542061
FARMERS
1972
4300 Gateway Dr. at I-29
772-5020
R001542766
PARTS • MACHINE WORK • ENGINE BALANCING
1100 N. 5th. St., GF • 772-2630
D&M Auto Body 773-7797
REPAIR SPECIALISTS
REPAIR SPECIALISTS
Since 1973
1123 15th Ave., NE (behind Drummers Diesel)
• Complete Body Work • All Makes & Models • Repairing • Painting • Glass Installation
2118 Columbia Road 772-6644
R001541806
R001541792
R001542702
Racing & Custom Engine Building
1975
1973
Ralph F. Carter • Alan M. McDonagh Ted Sandberg • Kari Winning • Sam H. Schmitz
775-8146
2612 Gateway Drive Grand Forks, ND 58203 Business (701)772-7108 www.farmersagent.com/gwogaman
Anderson Bros Body Shop
PLLP Attorneys at Law
Fax: 701-780-9081 2810 17th Ave. S, Grand Forks, ND 58201-4782
Hi Performance Specialists
Auto - Home - Life - Business
1972
Carter, McDonagh, & Sandberg
®
2010 N Washington, Grand Forks, ND Fax # 772-9514
(701) 772-1122
East Grand Forks, MN R001541995
Greg Owen, R.Ph. Candy Aamold, CPhT Chad Hartje, CPhT
1972 Adams Automotive and Machine
Member of Farmers Advice Network
SERVICE, INC. SALES • SERVICE • PARTS
(701) 772-4805 • 1-800-937-1566
R001541777
1969 George Wogaman, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
TRANSMISSION
2015 Library Circle #102 Grand Forks, ND 58201
& Auto Repair
2115 DeMers Avenue, Grand Forks 701-772-5700
701-746-6758 701-780-9712
R001541780
R001541779
1319 9th Ave. S. Grand Forks, ND 58201
1964
1964
Kevin Folk - Owner
PO Box 12095 Grand Forks, ND 58208
HOURS: MON-SAT 9-6 • SUN 12-6
R001542068
Your Complete Car Care Center
2801 S. WASHINGTON • 775-2009
R001541786
R001541261
dmcfarlane@mcfarlane-e3.com
1966
604 SO. WASHINGTON 772-5565
R001541263
Dave McFarlane
L & M MEATS AND SEAFOODS
••• Complete Car Care Service •••
R001541895
1963 Beckstead’s Auto Repair
Excellent Selection of Choice Meats and Seafood.
B&N Auto Plaza
2800 S. WASHINGTON ST - GRAND FORKS, ND 58201 PHONE: 772-2690 • FAX: 775-4253 e-mail: rpalm@gfaccu.com • www.gfaccu.com
1959
1959
1959
AREA COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION
P: 701-772-9511 F: 701-772-7528
R001542234
775-5336 “Never Far From a C&R”
1958
Thrifty White Drug Stores R001541322
• 2317 S. Washington St. • 402 N. Main Crookston
R001542006
1957
2475 32nd Ave S • Grand Forks, ND 58201 thriftywhite.com (701) 775-4209
1956
1955
• 1010 N. 5th St. • 2100 S. Columbia Road
R001541774
R001541355
1730 17 30 13th Ave. N., GF ND 58203 701-772-2631 70
Widman’s Candy was founded in the 1800’s in St. Paul by George Widman’s grandfather. His father opened a shop in 1911 at Crookston. In 1949 George & Betty Widman started making candy in Grand Forks. Daughter Carol operates a Widman’s in Fargo.
Every 7th Oil Change FREE
Phone 772-0201 “65 Years of Experience”
“Keeping the valley plowed with Boss”
R001541254
701 N. 7TH STREET • GRAND FORKS (701) 775-4675 OR 1-888-784-4675
(Formerly Torreson Oil) R001541762
With 16 convenient locations
R001541758
R001541731
HEATING / AIR CONDITIONING / PLUMBING / SEAMLESS GUTTERS
George (Skip) Birkmaier, R.PH. Owner
Treumann-Webb-Phelps Post #6GF Contact Person - Sue Kime Grand Forks, N.D. - USA Military Veteran Service Organization Founded July 04, 1919 Many assistant programs for Veterans, their families and the youth of the community on a local, state and national level. Call: 746-4723 Write: The American Legion, 3415-20th Ave. S. #104, Grand Forks, N.D. 58201
1938
ND #0020 • MN #065520
4805 DEMERS AVE., GRAND FORKS Visit www.cllinfootco.com
1919
1917
EAGLES CLUB AERIES #350
210 NO. 4TH ST., GRAND FORKS 775-5571
R001541767
In Minnesota: Ada, Crookston, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Fosston, Hallock, Moorhead, Warren
HEATING ~ AIR CONDITIONING ROOFING ~ SHEET METAL
R001541674
375 2nd Ave N. • 780-1150
In North Dakota: South Fargo, Downtown Fargo, Grand Forks, Northwood, Wahpeton
(701) 775-3961 24 hour emergency service
R001541709
ASK FOR A FREE TRIAL!
701-792-3444 • www.premiumwaters.com
East Grand Forks: 140 Gateway Dr., NE
R001542028
R001542713
R001541660
SINCE 1893
“Complete auto body repair, refinishing & glass installation.” FREE ESTIMATES
Serving you through the years 19
2011 1975 Dietrich Bus Service
1977
1978
1978 78
www.leisureland-rv.com 1819 Central Avenue NW, EGF
PAVING STONE AND CONCRETE CONTRACTORS
Serving the community since 1975
1700 S. Washington • 772-1214
1979
R001542127
R001542123
Mike Korman
1980
Highway 81 No., Grand Forks 701-775-3322
1979 Mon.-We d. Taco Bar 4-6 p.m. Thur.-Fri. Free Wing bar 4-6 p.m.
e Tuesday 4-clos y da l al y da & Sun rs ge ur B 9 $4.9
www.cpsnd.com
773-7464
R001542069
2800 32nd Avenue South 775-4646
1980
1979 • Residential • Commercial • Industrial • New Construction • Remodeling • Electrical Heating • Trenching
1305 So. Columbia Rd.
R001541871
1979
R001541824
“Since 1977” 1905 Gateway Drive • 746-4421
R001542000
Available for wedding parties, party buses & private rentals. (701)772-0601 • 1115 N. 55th St., GF
INC
R001541266
R001541987
TIRE SERVICE,
Locally owned and operated
Box Bo x 52 5243 5243, 43,, Grand 43 Gran Gr and an d Fo Fork Forks, rks, rk s, ND ND
701-772-5948 7 01-772-5948
“Breakfast, dinner and everything in between.”
1981
1981
The Caring Jeweler
1 981 1981
“FOR ALL YOUR CAMPING NEEDS”
R001542014
109 E. Flecher Ave., Warren, MN Phone 218-745-4298 or TOLL FREE 800-889-5967
5200 Gateway Drive • 772-7233
TIG Plaza, 1521 24th Ave. S. Grand Forks, ND 58201 Home of the NEW LASER-WELDER Hilary & Mary Klinicke, Owners 775-0748
R001542033
Warren, MN
R001541231
R001541315
Diamonds, K&J Remounting, Design, Gold, Platinum Jewelry Repair and Silver
Sales • Service • Accessories
1984
1982
1983
“Where People Who Care Make The Difference”
ASTER AUTO CLINIC
TOM HANSON,
775-9858
R001541998
1984
1983
1300 S. 14th St., Grand Forks
(701) 772-8118
TAX SERVICES FINANCIAL PLANNING 1515 S. Washington • 772-4819 • Grand Forks
Open 7:30 am-5:30 pm; Mon.-Fri.
1984
1986
ROTO-ROOTER Sewer & Drain
www.masterautoclinic.com
R001541986
1314 University Ave.
R001541297
2606 Gateway Drive Grand Forks, North Dakota 58201
R001541989
Owner
We make House Calls On All Brands Of Major Appliances
BUD & RALPH’S APPLIANCE SERVICE INC.
R001542158
(701) 746-8947
Celebrating 25 years
dial 772-7106
R001541250
R001541319
1984
TRANSPORT and LEASING, INC.
1555 42nd Street North • Grand Forks Large selection of repair parts on hand.
800-750-7106
1985
1991
MARKETS • NEWS • POLICY • PROGRAMS
ed Public Accountant $ $ Certifi $$ TAX PREPARATION FOR:
5520 32nd Ave., S., Grand Forks, ND 58201 Ph. 701-775-5346 • Ph. 800-437-0017
R001542008
Phone (701) 772-2669
COMPLETE AUTO SERVICE
1986
SPECIALS Monday
1990
1988
In-Prints Screen Printing, Inc. 216 17th St. NW, East Grand Forks
R001542772
(218) 773-6449
2205 Demers Ave.
(701) 746-1361
2000
701-772-DEEK (3335) Great Pizza That Won’t Empty Your Pockets
Craig Amiot,Owner 30 Years Experience in Auto Body Repair
1239 Dyke Ave • 775-3454
2001
R001541306
R001541330
R001542189
512 N. Washington, Grand Forks, ND Hrs: Mon-Fri 4PM-3AM Sat & Sun 11AM-3AM
2004
We are your complete source for John Deere & Frontier Agricultural, Commercial and Residential Turf Equipment. Forks Equipment is your STIHL “Elite” full line dealer in the Grand Forks region. See us for all your STIHL products, parts and service needs.
Your resource for everything John Deere. 5101 Gateway Drive - Grand Forks, ND - (701) 746-4436
Clear - Span Trusses to 80’ • Delivery to Your Site P.O. Box 5514, Grand Forks, ND 58206-5514 Ph. (701) 775-3173
1995
A Division of Motion Industries
SEE US FOR ALL YOU POWER TRANSMISSION NEEDS!
SELLIN G RETA TO LUMB IL YARD ER YOUR S IN AREA
THE AREA’S ONLY INDEPENDENT MANUFACTURER OF ENGINEERED ROOF & FLOOR TRUSS SYSTEMS
2003
1324 7th Ave. So. Grand Forks
R001541223
1991
R001542017
R001542004
746-9500
1992
1992
1995
AUTO BODY & SALES
R001541283
R001542045
746-4252 danradiinc@integra.net • brianradiinc@integra.net
R001541226
UniQue
4366 24th Ave. No.
“We thank you for your patronage.”
701-772-3342 • 1-800-772-3342 • Fax: 701-738-0735 3111 So. Washington, Grand Forks, ND
375 2nd Ave N. • 780-1150
R001541983
2 for 1 Tacos
~ Personalized Business to Business Service ~
R001541327
(218)773-6344
Farmers, Corporations, Partnerships & Payroll
R001542428
Tuesday
R001541278
1504 Central Ave. NE East Grand Forks, MN
R001542722
R001541300
Zep Grinder, $6.50 whole
3451 32nd Ave. So., Grand Forks, ND 772-9199
G4
PROGRESS: BUSINESS
Looking for an edge, older job-seekers update their looks www.GrandForksHerald.com
“I need to do everything I can to be competitive. I desperately want to work.”
By Bonnie Miller Rubin Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO – Charlotte Doyle hit the gym two hours a day, embraced the latest fashions and made sure that not a strand of gray peeked through her thick blond hair. But at age 61, she got pink-slipped from her job in pharmaceutical sales. So, in 2009, shortly after she was laid off after 29 years, Doyle decided to take an unorthodox step in a cutthroat job climate and get her teeth straightened. “I need to do everything I can to be competitive,” said the Homewood, Ill., resident, flashing a gleaming mouth of metal. “I desperately want to work.” While most older jobseekers know the importance of keeping their skills current, some are applying that same advice to their faces. From orthodontics to eyelifts – and everything in between – they are turning to such enhancements to gain an edge in the workplace. Looks matter. In a quarter-century of research, Nancy Etcoff, a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School, has found that attractive people are more likely to be hired and promoted, earn higher salaries and be perceived as more intelligent and creative than their less fetching peers. Not that plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry or other elective treatments have escaped the recession. In 2009, doctors performed 12.5 million cosmetic procedures, a figure that has steadily decreased during the previous two years, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The only gains were in the minimally invasive categories – such as injectables like Botox and dermal fillers – that are less expensive and have scant recovery time. It’s another tool, though perhaps an extreme one, for aging baby boomers, many of whom are counting on working past conventional retirement age as a hedge against longer life spans and shrinking nest eggs.
Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 16, 2011
Charlotte Doyle laid off pharmaceutical sales rep
McClatchy Tribune
Michael Krause, 65, picks up his son Henry, blue jacket, and friend Mack Hildebrand at the Latin School in Chicago. Karause had an eyelift to be a more viable job candidate.
Employment is the goal
Teeth whitening? Laser peels? Even “hair systems”? Check, check and check. No group keeps data on why people take such steps to improve their appearance, but anecdotally, employment is often cited as the primary motivation – a change from earlier decades, when social status and romantic viability topped the list, experts say. “Patients are saying it’s a matter of staying competitive,” said Dr. Loren Schechter, a Morton Grove, Ill., plastic surgeon. “Even surgery – facelifts, eyelifts – is coming back to pre2008 levels. That wasn’t there a year ago.” Those older than 55 are among the hardest-hit by unemployment, with nearly 30 percent out of work for a year or longer, said a July poll by Pew Research Center. Companies sometimes insist that appearance is key to conveying a certain image – whether a TV anchor or a hostess at a hot new club. In almost three decades on the job, Doyle never heard anyone say anything about her looks or her job performance at a pharmaceutical powerhouse. The sales rep said she hit her
quotas and nurtured close ties with her customers, many of whom sent cards after the ax fell. She suspects her layoff had less to do with aesthetics than her six-figure salary. Still, Doyle, now 63, became more acutely aware of age when recruiters told her to omit or finesse key dates on applications. “That didn’t seem like a good way to start a relationship,” she said. While she couldn’t lie, she could opt for orthodontia. After almost two years on the sidelines, she hopes a new, dazzling smile – to be unveiled in February – along with a willingness to accept a smaller paycheck will change her luck in 2011. “I would do it all – Botox, lasers, everything – if I could afford it,” said Doyle, whose husband retired just a few months before she was laid off. “If it meant getting hired, I would do whatever I could to stop time.”
sume gets shoved aside for younger applicants. “The minute they see my experience, it’s over,” said Krause, who lives on Chicago’s North Side. “I never get a callback. ... You feel powerless.” So, he switched strategies – specifically, tackling his droopy eyes, which he said made him look old and tired. Not only did the drowsy appearance detract professionally, but it also was out of sync with his personal life, which includes a wife 12 years his junior and two children, 12 and 14. Krause scheduled a blepharoplasty to remove excess skin from all four eyelids with Dr. Allen Putterman, an oculofacial plastic surgeon in Chicago. It’s patients such as Krause – not the ultrawealthy or those in the public arena – who are going under the scalpel today, said Putterman, who
has been in practice for 35 years: “I’m seeing lawyers, accountants, people in real estate and finance ... and that’s new.” Krause has yet to land a job, but he thinks his more refreshed image has provided a boost. “I’m glad I did it because it has given me more confidence,” he said, “and, considering all the rejection, that’s something you really need.” Kathy Kacen, 59, understands the desire to shore up self-esteem. She has been unemployed or underemployed since 2005, when she returned to Chicago from a Peace Corps stint in Armenia, but she would never get “work” done. “It’s just not me,” she said. “If I had that kind of disposable income, I’d invest in education.”
Can’t hurt
Better packaging won’t necessarily get you the nod as much as the ability to adapt to a constantly changing workplace and networking, said Jacquelyn James, of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. “Of course, you want to do everything possible to look appealing, but you don’t have to restructure your face,” said the 63year-old research director. It’s more important to be social and “get in front of people and show them the positive energy and the light in your eyes.” Still, Linda Stanojevic, 53, is hedging her bets. As owner of Shears to You in
Oak Lawn, Ill., she worried how she could be credible selling beauty when her skin showed the tug of gravity: “How am I going to make someone else look attractive if it seems that I don’t care about my looks?” In November, she zapped her problem areas, including undergoing a mid-facelift and a chemical peel, to improve tone and texture. Cost: $10,000, none of it covered by insurance, but financing available. “I consider this an investment in my business,” she said. The newly retouched Stanojevic spoke as she coiffed a 64-year-old client – a receptionist in a doctor’s office – who still works but knows the sting of age bias. Her thinning tresses had become so obvious that she was given an ultimatum: Do something about your hair or be transferred to a job with less patient contact. “I was absolutely devastated,” confided the employee, who requested anonymity. Eventually, the Evergreen Park resident found her way to Stanojevic, who artfully blended an addition with the woman’s hair to instantly create a voluminous effect. “Hair is the first thing that people see,” said the receptionist, shaking out a full head of auburn curls. “But no matter the problem, no matter where you work, do something before everyone starts noticing.”
New strategies
Michael Krause, 65, who logged almost 30 years in the hospitality and publishing industries, still feels like he has a lot more to contribute, but he hasn’t had a nibble in a long time. In a labor pool overflowing with qualified candidates, he suspects that his re-
FOR LEASE Med Park Mall
Serving more than 133,000 everyday. Just as milk builds healthy bones, reading builds healthy minds.
But... you already know that.
1375 S. Columbia Road 1850 sq. ft. to 2400 sq. ft. of retail space available immediately. Excellent location!
University Village 2855 10th Avenue North Commercial/retail strip near the Ralph Engelstad arena. 1600 sq. ft. to 2350 sq.ft. Call for a showing today!
For more information or to set up a showing, please call Kevin or Terry at
701-772-3101 Check out our website at www.dakotacommercial.com
Serving Our Community for the past
76 years! ND #0020 MN #065520PM
REAL PEOPLE. REAL PROGRESS. We’re real people – unique, cutting-edge, and innovative, all 350 of us. And the best part? So is our expertise. We’re making significant progress regionally and globally to enhance the world we live in.
MLESS GUTTER A SE / G IN B M LU P / G IONIN HEATING / AIR CONDIT
We’re hiring highly talented people, we’re commercializing new technology that improves the environment, and we’re developing true partnerships with companies as far away as Israel, China, and India. All of which contributes to a $131 million economic impact on our region. That’s progress.
2011 1935
R001543002
24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE 701 N. 7TH STREET • GRAND FORKS (701) 775-4675 OR 1-888-784-4675
For more information, visit www.undeerc.org.
EERC
Energy & Environmental Research Center ®
Putting Research into Practice
University of North Dakota Grand Forks
EERC . . . The International Center for Applied Energy Technology®
PROGRESS: BUSINESS
Pizza chains’ promotions compete
Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 16, 2011
By Zlati Meyer
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT – To some, it may have been a cheesy ad. The underlying theme of Domino’s recent national marketing campaign was that people disliked the company’s old pizza recipe. The advertisements announcing an improved pizza taste worked – and were the first volley in the latest round of pizza marketing battles. In what some might view as a response – though they themselves do not – Little Caesars brought its Pizza! Pizza! campaign back. Other major pizza players also unveiled new products and approaches this past year. “This will remain a competitive category,” said Janney Capital Markets research analyst Mark Kalinowski. “Pizza’s probably held its own in terms of total market share as compared to the rest of the restaurant industry. ... All in all, pizza’s not in a bad place at all.” A tastier sauce, a better cheese combination, flavored crust, olive oil, a new crust thickness. Those are some of the ingredients needed for an improved pizza recipe – and for an epic pizza battle. America’s largest pizzeria chains are duking it out across counters and doorsteps, as ever-budgetconscious people, still recovering from the recession, continue to look for cheap fast food.
Cross-town rivalry
But most notably, in this pizza war, the doughboys are fighting not only across the country, but across town, as two of the country’s biggest chains – Domino’s at No. 2 and Little Caesars at No. 4 – are Detroit-area companies. Their weapons? Domino’s has a revamped pizza recipe, introduced last December in a muchdiscussed ad campaign, that has translated into higher sales; for example, its 2010 third-quarter same-store sales were up 11.7 percent over the comparable period in 2009. Little Caesar’s spear is the Nov. 1 introduction of Pizza! Pizza! Pantastic: Two Hot-n-Ready pizzas, one supreme and one pepperoni, for $9.99. The company is privately held and declined to share sales information but said it was reaching its goals. “It’s going to remain a very competitive sector, in part, because you have multiple national players and you have a lot of strong regional players and on top of that, a lot of very good mom-and-pop operators,” said Kalinowski. “In the aggregate, we have multiple industry sources saying smaller players are losing a lot of market share this year. That suggests their sales trends have not been nearly as good as Pizza Hut or Domino’s. It’s doing a lit bit better than the average restaurant sector, but again that’s through the strength of Pizza Hut, of Domino’s. This is not a case of a rising tide lifting all boats.” Last year, Americans spent close to $36.3 billion on pizza, according to PMQ Pizza Magazine, an industry trade magazine. More than 8 percent of that went to Domino’s coffers and 3.11 percent to Little Caesars. Of the 64,951 pizzerias open in this country as of March 2010, 42 percent are owned by the top 50 chains and control 48 percent of the sales. Pizza Hut, based in Dallas and a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, ranks highest, but three other Michigan pizzeria chains are in the top 50, Hungry Howie’s, Jet’s and Bellacino’s. “It’s definitely the latest installment; they were already warring with one another over price,” said Jeremy White, editor of
www.GrandForksHerald.com
Consumer advocates sound alarm on branded prepaid cards By Claudia Buck
McClatchy Newspapers
McClatchy Tribune
West Lopez, 40, of Farmington Hills, takes a chicken pineapple pizza from the oven at Domino’s Pizza in Farmington Hills, Mich. The underlying theme of Domino’s recent national marketing campaign was that people disliked the company’s old pizza recipe.
“Pizza’s probably held its own in terms of total market share as compared to the rest of the restaurant industry. ... All in all, pizza’s not in a bad place at all.”
Mark Kalinowski Janney Capital Markets research analyst
Pizza Today, another trade publication. “Domino’s obviously changed the game. They came out and said, ‘We’re making a massive overhaul to our core product. We don’t think it’s as good as it could be or should be, and the public doesn’t think so either.’ It earned them so much goodwill and credibility that’s now paying off. That was a risk and it’s paying off. You haven’t seen other companies doing as much.”
Big picture
Nancy Childs, a professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, sees the fight as part of a larger trend. “They are intensive competitive marketers; they’re going to try to mimic each other and one up each other’s offerings, whether they’re competing on quality of ingredients and formulation and the latest deals,” she said. “To the degree they’re going to go national, they’re going to be competitive. You see that with Pepsi and Coke. You see that with the car manufacturers.” Both Little Caesars and Domino’s declined to say how much they spent on advertising. Kantar Media, a marketing and analysis firm, calculated that Little Caesars spent close to $11.9 million on advertising in 2009 and an estimated $12 million between January and September of this year, while Domino’s spent more than $171 million last year and approximately $121.1 million during the first nine months of 2010. The U.S. pizza restaurants and delivery services industry, as a whole, spent more than $545 million on advertising last year, according to the same report. Brandon Solano, Domino’s vice president of innovation, called the bad economy a headwind in Domino’s gains, but also stressed that his company’s marketing campaign about its updated flavor profile impressed customers with its honesty. After all, thousands of products are improved every year, but without fanfare. “The pizza industry has seen a lot of competitors following one another. If they’re successful, you see them follow one another,” he said. “Coming out with a new recipe speaks to leadership not followship. ... There were a lot of people who were looking for something better, and we gave it to them.”
According to Solano, Domino’s menus have changed 80 percent in the last year and half, thanks to new products and tweaks, though the new recipe – the result of 45 different trials – marks the first major overhaul since the company launched 50 years ago. The business was once pizza and a Coke and he said company legend includes a story about Domino’s reluctance to even introduce Diet Coke to the menu, afraid it would complicate operations. “Consumers’ tastes have changed,” he said. “There’s more diversification of food. You’re seeing thirdgraders bringing sushi to school. They’re more demanding.”
Positive results
But Little Caesars sees it as they’re getting it right the first time. “We like to think our product is perfect the way it is,” said Brian Pattison, Little Caesars’ vice president of the Midwest zone
company operations. “We’ve held fast to what our product is. Our customers seem to be telling us (they like it) just the way it is.” The company’s seeing the positive response to its new deal, which offers pizza said to be 46 percent larger than competitors’. “We’ve been looking at a way to provide more variety for our customers for a while,” Pattison explained. “Hot-n-Ready is doing well, but customers were kind of telling us they need more variety, and we thought this was the perfect time to bring back Pizza! Pizza! and offer it Hot-n-Ready. ... Our coping mechanism is always to focus on what our customers want and focus on value. From the very beginning, Mr. Ilitch has always spoken about value and making sure families can buy a quality product.” The sluggish economy also means the pizza is appealing to a wider variety of potential consumers, not just the traditional three C’s – college students, cheapskates and Cub Scouts. “This is a good value meal, and people are looking for that,” Childs explained. “If people can’t afford a restaurant out, they can still afford the pizza to take them out of the kitchen. This is the time when you’re looking to expand your market share to get more customers, so it makes it even more intense.”
G5
When it debuted in time for the holidays, the Kardashian Kard was touted as the ultimate glitz-and-glam stocking stuffer. But don’t try finding one. The prepaid payment card, emblazoned with a sultry image of the Hollywood celebrity-sister trio, was almost immediately yanked off the market, amid widespread criticism that it was overloaded with costly, hidden fees. Short-lived as it was, the Kardashian Kard is just one of many celebrity, sports and cartoon-branded plastic payment cards, primarily aimed at teens/young adults or those with poor credit. “Prepaid cards may walk and talk like regular credit or debit cards, but they’re not the same thing,” said Suzanne Martindale, associate policy analyst with Consumers Union in San Francisco. A recent report by the nonprofit warned consumers about the prepaid cards’ often-hefty fees and weak financial protections. (For the full report, go to www.consumersunion.o rg.) “The fees can be high, multiple and confusing. ... And you’re at the mercy of the prepaid card company if your card is lost or stolen. There’s no guarantee you’ll get your money back,” said Martindale. But that hasn’t slowed the “explosion” of prepaid card offers. And during the economic slowdown, when many people are consciously trying to cut credit card debt – or can’t obtain a traditional card due to financial troubles – a prepaid card is often seen as a viable solution. “With so many people still out of work or (dealing) with damaged credit scores, it leaves many consumers feeling no choice but to turn to these ‘fringe’ banking
products,” said Martindale.
Less protection
Prepaid payment cards aren’t covered by the same mandatory federal protections that limit consumer losses on bank-linked credit cards to $50, for example. With prepaid cards, any consumer protection is strictly voluntary. In its September report, Consumers Union compared the fees charged by 19 prepaid cards and found they vary tremendously by type and amount. For instance, the survey found that one-time activation fees ranged from zero to $39.95; monthly fees were up to $10; typical charges for ATM withdrawals were $2. (The ill-fated Kardashian Kard, by comparison, charged $99.95 for 12 months, which included a $7.95 monthly fee, as well as a long list of extra charges.) Prepaid cards in general carry many miscellaneous fees, for items such as calling customer service to getting a paper statement listing monthly purchases. Among the cards with the lowest fees in Consumer Union’s survey were the Wal-Mart Money and nFinanSe cards, which charged $3 for activation, $3 monthly service and ATM fees of $2 (WalMart) and 99 cents (nFinanSe). “It’s buyer beware,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, a credit card comparison site that also rates prepaid cards. Hardekopf is especially bothered by prepaid cards catering to teens. “Cartoon characters, athletes and celebrities who may not know anything about financial management can influence teens and young adults,” he said. “They’re wanting these cards, but not for the right reasons.”
Ask Amy Every day in the classifieds To subscribe 780-1215 or 1-800-811-2580
Keep the cash flowing and your business growing. Bremer Bank gives you powerful tools to keep your business healthy and strong. We help you streamline your cash, control expenses and convert sales to cash faster. Money management has never been easier. Talk business with a banker today.
Grand Forks 795-4500 • Grand Forks North 795-4570 1-800-908-BANK (2265) • Bremer.com Member FDIC. ©2010 Bremer Financial Corporation. All rights reserved.
!"#$%""&'()'%""*+%,#-./#$001112
23432211122567189
G6
PROGRESS: BUSINESS
Offices a shadow of former selves as companies focus on efficiency www.GrandForksHerald.com
“A lot of people want to get away from the cubicle.”
By Roger Vincent Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES – The walls are closing in on white-collar workers – their office environments are shrinking, propelled by new technology, a changing corporate culture and the age-old imperative to save a buck. Although personal workstations won’t disappear, the sprawling warrens of cubicles and private offices that have defined the workplace for the last few decades are heading the way of Rolodexes and typewriters. The shift is of tectonic proportions, experts on the workplace say. In the 1970s, American corporations typically thought they needed 500 to 700 square feet per employee to build an effective office. Today’s average is a little more than 200 square feet per person, and the space allocation could hit a mere 50 square feet by 2015, said Peter Miscovich, who studies workplace trends as a managing director at brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. “We’re at a very interesting inflection point in real estate history,” Miscovich said. “The next 10 years will be very different than the last 30.” Companies have been gradually dialing back on office size and grandness for years, but the recession accelerated the trend as sobered owners let go of their old floor plans and tried new ways to speed productivity, attract talent and cut costs. There are other factors at play in the push to make work spaces smaller and more communal. Many companies are emphasizing teamwork, and younger employees accustomed to working anywhere but at a desk are turning up their noses at the hierarchical formality of traditional offices. In addition, familiar technologies such as lap-
Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 16, 2011
Larry Rivard sales director for office furniture manufactuerer Steelcase Inc
McClatchy Tribune
Pam Fair, vice president of the Gas Co., is framed between smoked glass panels next to brand new open work spaces for employees at the Gas Co. Tower in downtown Los Angeles. The new workstations are open with much natural light promoting a collaborative work environment. top computers, cell phones and videoconferencing are finally beginning to affect the way offices are laid out. “These tech advances and different ways of working are occurring in parallel with the recession – and then there is the generational shift,” Miscovich said. “It’s all sort of happening at once.”
Less is more
Office tenants who renew their leases these days often cut their space by 10 percent to 30 percent, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. The term “restacking” has emerged to describe the common process of making offices more efficient by changing the floor layout, reducing paper file storage space and introducing smaller, uniform workstations. A case in point is Southern California Gas Co., which is remaking its headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. The utility arrived in 1991 as the presti-
gious anchor tenant of the new 50-story Gas Co. Tower, setting up offices that were among the best corporate America had to offer. “When we moved in almost 20 years ago, the office was really on the cutting edge of space design,” said Pamela Fair, the utility’s vice president in charge of support services. That old space plan put most workers in threesided cubicles with walls too high to see over. Each is like a mini office with room for a personal computer and large monitor. There are ample file drawers and additional storage cabinets nearby. Managers’ offices with spectacular views line the outer walls. Now, having renewed its lease in its namesake tower, the Gas Co. is cutting its space from 15 floors down to 12 in what may be the largest office makeover underway in Southern California. (The office also has about 12
percent fewer employees than in 1991.) Among the changes will be fewer private offices and more compact standardized workstations for those who spend their days in the office. Workers such as account executives who spend the bulk of their time in the field will use small “touch down stations” placed invitingly in front of big windows when they do visit the office. Cubicles will be laid out in a manner meant to encourage collaboration, and there will be more “teaming” rooms, like small conference rooms, where small groups can work together.
Change
Informal meeting spaces and comfortable common areas where workers can plug in laptops are becoming standard fixtures for many businesses, said Larry Rivard, area sales director for office furniture manufacturer Steelcase Inc.
“A lot of people want to get away from the cubicle,” he said. Part of the reason is economics. Although cubicles have shrunk from an average of 64 feet to 49 feet in recent years, Rivard said, companies are looking for more ways to compress their real estate footprint. They also want to encourage worker collaboration and present themselves as forward-thinking businesses capable of attracting the best young talent. Age makes a difference, workplace experts say. Baby boomers longed for a corner office and expected to separate their work lives from their home lives. “Younger workers’ lives are all integrated, not segregated,” Rivard said. “They have learned to work anywhere – at a kitchen table or wherever.” Many don’t feel a need to spend time in company quarters. Rob Jernigan, an architect and baby boomer, calls them “the backpack kids” because they grew up in an age when they could carry everything they needed at school or elsewhere in their backpacks. “Laptops can do what a computer the size of a house used to do,” he said. Jernigan’s firm, Gensler, is designing offices that squeeze together workstations while setting aside a few rooms where employees can conduct meetings or have private phone conversations. Ideally, such designs create workplaces that are more efficient and pleasant while utilizing fewer square feet per employee.
Not that increased togetherness is always welcome, of course. People who talk too loud on the telephone can disrupt dozens of co-workers, some of whom might long for more personal space and privacy. “We have a lot of people who spend full time here, and many of them like to have a place go to,” the Gas Co.’s Fair said. “We need to recognize that.”
Space status
The company gave employees an opportunity to comment on which type of new workstations they like best. Their feedback is still being analyzed. “If there are major red flags, we’ll see what we can do,” Fair said. Nevertheless, the more compact, collaborative workplace is here to say, industry observers said. Space is becoming less of a status symbol. “A lot of people who grew up in workstations find it effective to manage out on the floor and have less need to be isolated in an office in order to show power and control,” said Judy Caruthers of Jones Lang LaSalle, who helps companies plan their space needs. More dramatic change is on the way, her colleague Miscovich said. “We are just now becoming accustomed to the PC,” he said. “It may take us another 30 years to fully engage and adapt with mobility, (but) the mobile Internet may be bigger than electricity as a technological advancement.”