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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-09 Euless Articles After nearly 190 years, department store chain Belk will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Associated Press Published 6:08 p.m. ET January 26, 2021 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Belk, the North Carolina-based department store chain which has catered to generations of shoppers for nearly 190 years, announced Tuesday it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain's owner, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, said in a news release that Belk will continue with "normal operations" as it goes through bankruptcy, The Charlotte Observer reported. Sycamore Partners said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of February. It will retain majority control of Belk, according to an agreement it reached with some of Belk's creditors. A group of the department store's creditors, led by the private equity firms KKR and Blackstone, will get a minority stake. The bankruptcy plan will help Belk shed about $450 million of debt. "We're confident that this agreement puts us on the right long-term path toward significantly reducing our debt and providing us with greater financial flexibility to meet our obligations and to continue investing in our business," Belk CEO Lisa Harper said in a statement. The 133-year-old chain grew from the opening of a store in Monroe, North Carolina, by William Henry Belk in 1888. Three generations of the Belk family led the company to become the biggest family-owned department store chain in the country by 2015, when the family sold it for $3 billion. The sale to Sycamore loaded the chain with over $2 billion in debt at a time when department stores were losing popularity. The department store has struggled during the coronavirus pandemic as customers flocked to online shopping and avoided in-person shopping. Belk furloughed workers in March as the pandemic hit and cut senior staff pay up to 50% as stores temporarily closed. In July, Belk cut an undisclosed number of jobs, mostly at its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. This followed the elimination of 80 corporate jobs in February. Belk has more than 20,000 employees at its nearly 300 stores in 16 Southeastern states. Its corporate offices opened in 1988 in Charlotte, and now have about 1,300 workers. COVID -19 almost stopped medical project, but a doctor was determined to move forward BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELL FEBRUARY 01, 2021 05:30 AM A state-of-the-art Medical Center in Euless will consist of a three-story, 62,400-square-foot facility. COURTESY EULESS The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping Dr. Jeff Livingston from moving ahead with his long-time dream of building a state-of-the-art medical facility in Euless, focusing on health care for women and children. Livingston, an obstetrician/gynecologist and CEO of MacArthur Medical Center, said construction will likely start this month on a three-story, 62,400-square-foot building that will have the feel of a neighborhood and provide a calming atmosphere for patients. The MacArthur Medical building site is at 2101 Westpark Ct., which is next to the current facility in Euless. Livingston said the medical group purchased land next to their current location to someday build a new building. Dominus Commercial is developing the project, and Hoefer Wysocki is the architecture firm. Livingston said his practice is all about bringing medical care to everyone, including patients on Medicare. “There is no differentiation,” he said. “We don’t care who you are, or where you came from. Our clientele is amazingly diverse. We wanted a space that anybody would feel comfortable coming to,” Livingston said. The facility is about 10 minutes from DFW Airport and close to three major highways: Texas 121, Texas 183 and Texas 360. Patients will come from many communities including Southlake, Dallas, Arlington, Saginaw and the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area. “Euless has been an amazing partner to work with. They (officials) view this as a transformative project,” Livingston said. Mike Collins, director of economic and planning for the city, said “We are genuinely excited about this new medical office building. The project is important on different levels. Dr. Livingston has been practicing medicine in the Mid-Cities area for years. His philosophy in delivering quality care to his patients is mission driven, with a desire to service all segments of the community.” Collins added that the quality of the architecture is “quite impressive” and makes a statement about the quality of care that Livingston will deliver. Along with OB/GYN services, the MacArthur Medical Center will have offices for pediatricians, a medical spa, a lab and other out-patient services. A pharmacy will likely be in the building as well, he said. Livingston said he wants to create a calming atmosphere for people coming to the facility, beginning with driving into the parking lot with trees and greenery. The lobby will have art and furnishings much like a hotel, he said. Livingston said COVID-19 almost brought the project to a halt, but he was determined to move forward. The building was scaled back to three stories instead of four which reduced the size of the project. Livingston said he considered life after COVID as people begin to return to their normal routines. “COVID could have ended the project, but it ended up unifying everybody,” he said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines.” People tend to retreat into a safe space when there is a change, but as an entrepreneur, Livingston said he welcomes the opportunity to build the medical facility. “I see a lot of people who are reluctant to make changes in their medical practice … People are still going to get sick and need to go to the doctor. It’s a really exciting opportunity to open an office,” he said. Tarrant County adds 37 COVID-19 deaths, including 13 with no underlying health issues Stefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram February 3, 2021 Feb. 2—Tarrant County reported 37 coronavirus deaths and 1,426 new cases on Tuesday. It's the second most daily pandemic-related deaths reported in the county. Forty deaths were reported Jan. 18. The latest deaths include two Fort Worth women in their 40s, two Fort Worth men and a woman in their 50s, two Arlington men in their 50s, a Crowley man in his 60s, an Arlington man in his 60s, a Forest Hill woman in her 60s, a Fort Worth woman in her 60s, an Arlington woman in her 70s, a Bedford man in his 70s, five Fort Worth men in their 70s, a Benbrook man in his 70s, a Euless man in his 70s, an Arlington man and woman in their 80s, a Hurst man in his 80s, a North Richland Hills woman in her 80s, a Southlake woman in her 80s, a Mansfield woman in her 80s, a Keller man in his 80s, three Fort Worth women and a man in their 80s, a Bedford woman older than 90, a Hurst man older than 90, a Westworth Village woman older than 90, a Fort Worth man and woman older than 90, and a Benbrook woman older than 90. Of the 37 deaths, 13 did not have underlying health conditions, according to officials. Tarrant County has reported a total of 222,111 COVID-19 cases, including 2,277 deaths and an estimated 173,826 recoveries. Hospitalized COVID patients increased by 15 to 1,063. The pandemic high was 1,528 on Jan. 6. COVID-19 hospitalizations account for 21% of the total number of beds in Tarrant County — the lowest since Dec. 18 — and make up 26% of the 4,064 occupied beds. That's a increase of 256 occupied beds. The rate was at a pandemic-high 38% on Jan. 10. Confirmed COVID patients increased slightly to 18.82% of all available beds in the North Central Texas Trauma Region. This is the rate Gov. Greg Abbott is using to determine whether Texas regions can allow businesses to open to larger capacities or permit bars to reopen. The rate would have to drop below 15% for seven consecutive days for business capacity to be increased. About 80% of Tarrant County's hospital beds were occupied, according to county data. There are currently 1,036 available hospital beds, an increase of 23. The pandemic low of 661 was reported Jan. 4. Adult ICU bed occupancy dropped to 92% from 94% as of Monday. The pandemic high was 99% on Dec. 28. Ventilator use increased by 1 to 320. Patients are using 40% of the 796 ventilators in the county. The COVID-19 testing positivity rate for Tarrant County dropped to 17% as of Saturday in the latest available seven-day average data. It's the lowest rate since Dec. 19. The rate was last at a pandemic-high 30% on Jan. 7. Here are the total pandemic-related deaths in Tarrant County by city through Feb. 2: — Fort Worth, 958 — Arlington, 438 — Mansfield, 92 — North Richland Hills, 84 — Bedford, 73 — Hurst, 55 — Keller, 52 — White Settlement, 51 — Grapevine, 47 —Euless, 45 — Benbrook, 41 — Azle, 36 — Rural Tarrant County, 34 — Haltom City, 33 —Watauga, 25 —Grand Prairie, 24 —Richland Hills, 22 —Sansom Park, 22 —Crowley, 21 —Forest Hill, 21 —Saginaw, 20 —Southlake, 18 —Lake Worth, 13 —Colleyville, 7 —Kennedale, 6 —Unknown, 6 —Westworth Village, 6 —Blue Mound, 5 —Pantego, 5 —River Oaks, 5 —Edgecliff Village, 3 —Lakeside, 3 —Burleson, 2 —Everman, 2 —Flower Mound, 1 —Pelican Bay, 1 Chef opens second restaurant across the street from his popular Euless sushi bar Steve Frechette, chef and owner of Chihiro Sushi & Bar, opened Bear Creek Bistro last month, and his mom tends bar at both. Aleppo pepper-marinated shrimp is pictured in the fettuccine at Bear Creek Bistro.(Courtesy Bear Creek Bistro) By Anna Caplan 1:09 PM on Feb 5, 2021 It’s not too often that a restaurant owner operates two separate establishments that are across the street from one another. But that’s what chef and owner Steve Frechette is doing. Frechette opened Bear Creek Bistro last month in Euless, which he views as a complementary business to his popular Chihiro Sushi & Bar. “People will order an appetizer at Chihiro, and then go across the street where there’s more space and order more food,” he said. Non-culinary school trained, the Massachusetts native says he learned to cook through a variety of jobs. At his former restaurant Swish Shabu, across the street from Fenway Park in Boston, he was the executive sushi chef. It was a natural transition that when he moved to Texas in 2018, he opened Chihiro. Bear Creek Bistro is a bit of a departure, however, harkening back to another restaurant he worked at in Massachusetts that featured French and Italian food with a steakhouse twist. In his newest dining room, you’ll find a little bit of all of the above. Poutine and pot stickers are standout starters, while entrees span a boursin chicken breast to Aleppo pepper-marinated shrimp fettuccine. Frechette says business has been solid since opening, possibly because of his following from Chihiro, or maybe because his of his mom; she happens to be the bartender at both restaurants. “She has a huge following, she’s been a bartender for 15 years,” he said. Arlington, Euless police investigating after missing man found dead from gunshot wound Younis Alhassinyani, 22, was reported missing from his home Tuesday; TxDOT workers found his body 15 miles away Thursday. By Tom Steele 8:04 PM on Feb 5, 2021 Police in Arlington and Euless are investigating the slaying of a man who was found dead two days after he was reported missing. Arlington police said Friday that a relative of 22-year-old Younis Alhassinyani reported him missing from his Arlington home Tuesday after he didn’t respond to phone calls or text messages. On Thursday, Texas Department of Transportation employees found Alhassinyani’s body in a culvert near the 900 block of the southbound State Highway 360 service road in Euless, near East Harwood Road and about 15 miles from his home. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office determined that he died from a gunshot wound to his neck. Police said that they are investigating Alhassinyani’s death as a homicide and that it’s possible his body was moved to the culvert after he was killed. Anyone with information about the case may contact Arlington police Detective Grant Gildon at 817-459-5691 or make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.