Hardin Local E45: Wawa Opens Nov 19, Veterans Week

What We Covered This Week

"It's no longer a rumor. It's no longer a joke. Wawa on Ring Road does have an opening date." That is how this week's show opened, and the date is Thursday, November 19, at 8 a.m. It is also Veterans Week in Hardin County, and the week ahead runs from Farm-City Day to the Veterans Expo to a veterans-themed 5K and 10K on Saturday.

Rachel Brantingham hosted with Phil Taul riding along. Nate Bryan brought the business news, including a somber start: the passing of Priddy Jewelers owner Wes Priddy. Jon O'Brien and Rachel tag-teamed the week ahead, Rachel had the housing numbers, and The Experienced Eater is back, with Britten McDowell at StrEAT Kitchen in the Social Food Hall.

In This Episode

Priddy Jewelers, the Residence Inn, Wawa and a Glendale Development

Nate's Business Buzz

Nate began with the passing of Wes Priddy, who served Elizabethtown for 48 years as a watchmaker, bench jeweler and owner of Priddy Jewelers, and whose family will continue to own and operate the store. Then came the good news: the Residence Inn is open on Ring Road, Wawa opens November 19, and a Glendale development is planned with a Shell, a Subway and a coffee place.

Hardin County Events, November 9 to 15

Hardin County This Week, with Jon O'Brien and Rachel Brantingham

Veterans Week leads the way: the 60th Annual Farm-City Day on Tuesday, the Veterans Expo and Chamber Luncheon on Thursday, and Strides for Service on Saturday, along with The Supertramp Tribute at the Historic State Theater and two holiday shopping events.

Hardin County Housing: 431 Active Homes and About 4.4 Months of Inventory

Hardin County Housing Market, with Rachel Brantingham

Rachel's numbers for October 29 to November 4: contracts rebounded from 14 to 17, closings jumped from 20 to 28, and the median sold price was $275,495. Her take: the market is solid, and there is still time to get home for the holidays.

StrEAT Kitchen at the Social Food Hall

The Experienced Eater, Britten & Michele McDowell

Britten is back from a couple of weeks away with burgers, beef tallow fried tots and house-made sauces, and the table adds its own favorites.

The Icebreaker

Four hosts, four would-you-rathers, all with a local twist. Wawa finally has a date, so Nate got asked whether he would rather have a Wawa at the end of his street or a Chick-fil-A that is open on Sundays. He took Chick-fil-A: "you want what you can't have," and it would end the embarrassment of showing up on a Sunday to find it closed. Jon had to choose between sitting through Ring Road at Dixie at 5 o'clock every day or parallel parking downtown, and he picked parallel parking, citing a 1984 Caprice Classic and a driver's test in 1996. Britten, "the burger guy," was asked whether he would eat only at Hardin County food trucks for a year or never eat a burger again. He took the food trucks: "you can get hibachi, you can get steak." And Rachel was asked whether she would sell a perfect house next to a neighbor who mows at 6 a.m. every Saturday or a house that needs work with perfect neighbors. She took the nice neighbors, because she comes from a construction family and can do the repairs.

Episode Highlights

"Thursday, November 19th, 8 a.m. Wawa on Ring Road, out near Cool Springs, is opening. Mark it down." - Nate Bryan, Nate's Business Buzz

"We are seeing a slight rebound in buyer activity, with contracts increasing from 14 to 17 and closings jumping from 20 to 28." - Rachel Brantingham, Hardin County Housing Market

"The robots don't get the car keys." - Phil Taul, on keeping people in charge of AI

"Meat and cheese and bread's hard to beat." - Britten McDowell, The Experienced Eater

Question of the Week

What is your go-to local lunch spot, and why? Drop it in the comments and tell us the reason. We want to hear everyone's lunch spots.

Tell Us What You Want

If you have a high school athlete, check out the sports portal on the Hardin Local website and tell us what you think. What is missing? What is wrong? What would make you use it every week? Basketball season is coming up, and the hosts said basketball schedules are on the way.

Keep Hardin Local Going

This Week's Sponsor: philtaul.com

Phil Taul builds AI automation for businesses: not chatbots, not robots taking over the world, but the boring stuff that eats your week. His example, kept anonymous: an auto group went from 20 to 30 hours a week of title data entry to two to three hours a week, and the system has caught errors their manual process missed. A person still reviews everything. "The robots don't get the car keys," Phil said.

The way in is a Workflow Roadmap Session: a look at how you actually work, then a written roadmap of what is worth automating, in what order, and what to leave alone. It is $450, and if you have Phil build something within 30 days, the whole $450 comes off the project. There is no form to fill out. Just get in touch at philtaul.com/consulting and tell him what your business is and what is eating your time.

One More Show

Bourbon Local, Hardin Local's sister show about bourbon and the people who make it, airs Sundays at 9 PM ET, right after Hardin Local.

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