Q: What’s your experience (and preference) regarding brick-and-mortar and virtual banking? Peggy Fiandaca Owner & General Manager LDV Winery Sector: Wineries We prefer virtual banking for all our business and personal needs. This includes payroll, deposits, managing multiple business and personal accounts, ordering checks, vendor payments, etc. We run a retail … [More]
Why SMBs Should Invest in Hiring Recent Graduates
As the job market becomes increasingly competitive and uncertain, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are uniquely positioned to make strategic hiring decisions by recognizing the often-underestimated value of recent graduates. This strategy can benefit their organization and the next generation of talent. The Rise of the Next-Gen Workforce Recent graduates bring more … [More]
Acacia Health Center Awarded for High Quality Healthcare
Acacia Health Center, the onsite short- and long-term rehabilitation center at Sagewood Senior Living in North Phoenix, was recently ranked first out of 141 long-term care communities in Arizona based on the Arizona Department of Health Annual Survey outcomes. It also earned the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living Bronze Award. … [More]
Arizona Party Bike Ranked Among World’s Best
Local Arizona company Arizona Party Bike, which offers private parties and group pub crawls around Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, was recently recognized by Tripadvisor as a 2025 Travelers’ Choice award winner for ranking among the best 10% of all attractions in the world. The awards are given to businesses who consistently received positive reviews on Tripadvisor … [More]
Arizona Autism United Recognized with Multiple Awards
Arizona Autism United, a leader in autism services across Arizona, has been named a 2025 Top Workplace in Arizona, Top Workplaces USA, and Top Workplaces Non-Profit Industry Award recipient. This is the third consecutive year AZA United has earned this honor in Arizona and the first time it has been nationally recognized on the USA Today Top Workplaces list. Additionally, AZA … [More]
Buck & Rider Named Among Top 20 Oyster Houses
Buck & Rider, Phoenix's premier seafood and steak restaurant, has been named to Yelp's prestigious list of the Top 20 Oyster Houses in the United States and Canada. The original Phoenix location earned the No. 16 spot, a remarkable achievement for a restaurant not situated in a coastal area. … [More]
Arizona Builders Alliance Empowers Students
The Arizona Builders Alliance, a leading trade association for contractors in Arizona, successfully hosted its annual Backpack Drive distributions, delivering $34,990 in essential school supplies to 800 students across Arizona. The distributions followed ABA’s 2025 Backpack Drive, during which the ABA's Community Service Board, construction industry professionals, volunteers … [More]
Phoenix Nonprofit Receives Donation from JE Dunn
Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, whose mission is to break the cycle of homelessness for families through innovative solutions, recently received a $150,000 grant from JE Dunn Construction to support its Emergency Shelter Program. Charities across the United States are selected by employees and vetted by JE Dunn’s Community Impact team and national Cornerstone … [More]
Looking Good 2025 – November Standouts
ACHIEVEMENTS Acacia Health Center Awarded for High Quality Healthcare Arizona Party Bike Ranked Among World’s Best Arizona Autism United Recognized with Multiple Awards Buck & Rider Named Among Top 20 Oyster Houses PHILANTHROPY Arizona Builders Alliance Empowers Students Phoenix Nonprofit Receives Donation from JE Dunn … [More]
Franchise Growth Hinges on Closing the Consumer Expectation Gap
Franchises remain a powerful economic driver in the United States, contributing more than $936 billion in output in 2025. Among the top states for franchise growth? Arizona. Yet new research from LT (formerly LaneTerralever) reveals that growth may be at risk due to a widening disconnect between what consumers expect and where franchisors are investing. Today’s consumers … [More]
Cannabis Dispensary Tours for Seniors
Mint Cannabis, operator of multiple Valley dispensaries and cultivation facilities in Arizona, is hosting ongoing VIP dispensary tours for locals who live in senior living facilities. Seniors are bused to the Mint’s flagship dispensary in Tempe, where they enjoy a free lunch. The tour follows, when they can ask questions about the cannabis industry in a comfortable setting, and … [More]
William Johnston: From Farm Rows to Vertical Mixed-Use
Epicenter visionary anchors decisions in first principles
When supply chains seized, inspections shifted without warning, and a few would-be tenants walked away during the pandemic, William Johnston didn’t flinch. He recalibrated. The CEO of Johnston & Co. tightened communication with equity partners and retailers, reworked timelines, and kept the bar high on design and fit. That resolve had already been tested in late 2017, when … [More]
Transforming the Desert Edge: Projected Residential and Commercial Growth around TSMC’s Phoenix Campus
The region surrounding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s fabrication complex in north Phoenix has emerged as one of Arizona’s most significant zones for planned development. Anchored by the ongoing expansion of TSMC’s chip production capacity, the area is slated to evolve into a fully integrated live-work region, featuring large-scale residential districts, … [More]
Spark Pro Global Elevates Delegating with Virtual Assistant
“Spark Pro Global is an innovative virtual assistant service designed to help entrepreneurs, business owners and creative professionals streamline their operations and reclaim their time,” says owner Heather Harris. “We specialize in handling time-consuming administrative tasks, allowing our clients to focus on their core strengths.” Harris describes the current Spark Pro … [More]
EleeHub Amplifies Ad Opps for Smaller Nonprofits
EleeHub Founder & CEO Todd Vigil at the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting, an early client of EleeHub EleeHub is a niche marketing agency dedicated to helping small and mid-sized nonprofits maximize the benefits of Google’s Ad Grant program, which provides up to $10,000 per month in free advertising to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations. “Many nonprofits aren’t aware of … [More]
Differentiated Class A Spec Industrial in Chandler
Construction has begun on Envision 56, a new two-building Class A speculative industrial project being developed near the intersection of North 56th Street and West Chandler Boulevard in Chandler, Ariz. An eight-acre infill project within a heavy industrial section on Chandler’s west side, the 125,000-square-foot development offers smaller tenants the rare opportunity to move … [More]
New in Scottsdale’s Booming Industrial Market
Rising on a prime 16.45-acre site at Loop 101 and East Princess Drive within the Perimeter Center, The Loop Business Park will transform an undeveloped parcel into four modern industrial buildings ranging from 54,000 to 101,000 square feet. Creation, PGIM Real Estate and LGE Design Build have officially broken ground on the 267,000-square-foot Class-A industrial campus designed … [More]
Applied Materials and ASU Open $270M Materials-to-Fab Center in Tempe
Strengthening the bridge between academic research and real-world manufacturing
Inside the MacroTechnology Works facility at ASU’s Research Park in Tempe, a new kind of research center has opened: the Materials-to-Fab Center. This $270-million, world-class facility is designed to accelerate the transfer of innovations from lab ideation to fab-ready prototype, strengthening the bridge between academic research and real-world manufacturing. A ribbon-cutting … [More]
