Chicken Salad Chick sold to California firm
Los Angeles-based private equity firm Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority interest in the rapidly expanding Chicken Salad Chick franchise from Atlanta’s Eagle Merchant Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2008 in Auburn, Chicken Salad Chick has 137 locations in 16 states, most of them in the Southeast. Chicken Salad Chick CEO Scott Deviney will continue to lead the business. – AL.com
President Trump may be here Saturday for Bama-LSU contest
After mixed public reaction at recent sporting events, President Trump is making his way to Alabama this weekend, according to reports. So not only are the top two teams facing each other in Tuscaloosa. But ESPN GameDay, SEC Nation, and now the president could be here Saturday. – ABC3340
Farmer pleased with first year of commercial hemp growing
After farming soybeans, corn and wheat at his Town Creek farm, Steve Posey wanted to do something different, so this year, he started growing hemp. “I don’t have a big investment in it, so if it brings my money back in the first year, then I will be all right with it,” Posey said. “I’m hoping it will do better, but if I can get my money back out of it the first year, I will be all right, then we can do a little more next year.” This first year in Alabama, 150 growers sign up to take part. – ABC3340
West Coast backlash to latest abortion ban falls off radar
When the Alabama Legislature voted to ban nearly all abortions earlier this year, some California jurisdictions aimed to hit the Heart of Dixie in the pocketbook. The state hardly noticed. “There hasn’t been any falling off that I’ve seen in tourism dollars or anything else from their moratorium at all,” said State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), who sponsored the law. Higher courts are questioning the law’s constitutionality. – AL Political Reporter
First Horizon and IberiaBank merging
First Horizon National Corp. and IberiaBank Corp. announced Monday they plan to combine in an all-stock merger of equals, creating one of the largest financial services companies headquartered in the South and one of the top 25 banks in the U.S. in deposits. The agreement has been approved by the boards of both companies. The combined holding company and bank will operate under the First Horizon name and will be headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. – AL.com
Alabama School Board Commissioner Ella Bell dies
Ella Bell, a longtime member of the Alabama School Board, has died, the Alabama State Department of Education announced Sunday. She was 71. State Superintendent Eric Mackey in a statement called Bell an education icon who “dedicated her life to the betterment of the students of Alabama.” – AP
Officials: Rural Alabama important to state’s economic growth
Alabama’s ability to grow its economy depends in large part on the ability of rural Alabama to give new businesses what they want and need to succeed. The state’s growing efforts to drive growth and opportunity in Alabama’s rural communities was the focus of a panel discussion Oct. 25 during the Alabama Economic Growth Summit in Hoover. Mary Johnson, director of news services at Alabama Farmers Federation, moderated the discussion. – AlabamaNewscenter
GM says 40-day UAW strike will cost it about $4 billion
The United Auto Workers’ 40-day strike against General Motors will cost the company about $3.8 billion to $4 billion for the year and $1 billion for the third quarter, the automaker said last week, much higher than some Wall Street analysts had estimated. The strike lasted from Sept. 16 until Friday, when a majority of the union’s 48,000 members approved the four-year deal. It was the longest national walkout against the automaker since a 67-day strike in 1970. – CNBC
