This is a fast and nimble SUV. With a 0 to 60 in only 4 seconds, the Bentley Bentayga is meant to truly impress. If you can have it all, this is a must-have with its 6.0-liter engine that accelerates to a top speed of 187 mph — making it the world’s fastest SUV. The advanced 12-cylinder engine also is so technologically advanced that it claims a 21.6-mpg fuel consumption and … [More]
The Crêpe Club: Fare with Flair
If a visit to Paris seems out of reach for a weekday lunch, it’s time to expand lunch options to a small salon at Biltmore Fashion Park. Open there a little more than a year after expanding from its origins as a popular food cart on the ASU Tempe campus, the crêperie keeps that casual vibe with its walk-up-to-order counter. Crêpes are the family pride for the restaurant’s … [More]
Music Platform Innovates on Innovation
Streaming music lies at the basis of Arena Music’s business operations, but its success comes from taking that technology and giving it an innovative twist in the business plan. In fact, “It’s more about doing everything opposite,” says founder Damon Evans, referring to the major subscription-based music streaming platforms. “Arena is an on-demand merchandise storefront that … [More]
Monsoon Season Digital Safety
Monsoon season, officially recognized as extending beyond traditional summer months to the end of September, may not threaten the physical devastation of such natural disasters as an earthquake or hurricane, but a monsoon does have the potential to cause a power outage. Today’s businesses, which rely heavily on their computers and electronic devices to remain operational, can … [More]
2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD Coupe
Finally, a coupe that performs, impresses and is priced to make sense for the connoisseur and for the novice. The Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD Coupe is fast and ready to perform with its 400 horsepower, 24-valve, 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine, generating 350 pound-feet of torque. This specialized machine is equipped to handle multiple driving modes with the switch of a … [More]
Dust Cutter: Cutting-Edge ‘Not Just Bar’ Food
Breaking the ice over a few shared dishes makes a great start to a productive power lunch. Dust Cutter offers an array of interesting palate pleasers from the creative mind of Executive Chef Joshua Murray, a Phoenix transplant whose immersion in the Valley of the Sun’s edible bounty and culinary influences yields Avocado Fries, firm wedges coated with Sonoran spices and served … [More]
Challenges in Repurposing Commercial Projects
With the desire by many Arizona residents to experience a more urban lifestyle, the repurposing of commercial buildings and areas has become very popular over the last seven years. As evidenced in Phoenix by the Seventh Street Corridor, Roosevelt Row and ASU’s downtown campus, these projects can thrive, but it is important to note that real estate development involving … [More]
Credit Card: Use Business or Personal?
When a small business needs fast money, it’s easy to whip out a credit card to make the purchase. Every entrepreneur relies on them. Why not, when they’re convenient and easy to manage? But the line between personal and business credit can be blurry. When is it appropriate to open a business credit card, versus continuing to use personal cards? These milestones signify it’s … [More]
2017 Jaguar F-Pace Prestige
The best thing about the 2017 SUV from Jaguar is, it combines the SUV experience with a luxury sports car experience. The famously exclusive brand created a new and very useful vehicle that has gotten rave reviews in both performance and style. While one may expect luxury and style to be atop the carmaker’s agenda in creating an SUV, this mid-size SUV is all about getting … [More]
Kona Grill – Island Delectables
Kona Grill has added a new Valley location, opening in the urban streetscape of Scottsdale Quarter. The vibe inside is perfectly suited to its environment: It’s very much a lounge feel throughout under the high ceiling with its contemporary design of exposed duct work. The restaurant concept’s signature water feature in this case is a floor-to-ceiling “aquarium” of bubbles that … [More]
2017 Lincoln Navigator
One of the first luxury SUVs to ever hit the market, the Lincoln Navigator has come a long way. With fuel efficiencies that are leading the market, a mild redesign to speak to today’s tech and design trends, and overall performance that is all about quality and toughness that is inherent with parent company, Ford, the new Nav is hitting the market to great acclaim. The … [More]
Doughbird Takes Flight
Fast, simple and comfortable. In a nutshell, Doughbird — the newest concept in our midst from restaurateur Sam Fox — delivers a quality option for businesspeople fitting lunch into a busy day. The large dining room welcomes with an atmosphere that is an unusual amalgam of the contemporary warehouse vogue with cafeteria-style tables and chairs below exposed ceiling beams and … [More]
Outside Auditors and the Inside Truth
Companies and shareholders depend on auditors to provide unbiased, independent analyses of financial statements, but new research from the University of Missouri shows auditors can be influenced and misled by information provided by the organization’s management. The study, “The Effect of Partition Dependence on Assessing Accounting Estimates,” is presented by Nate Newton, … [More]
Camelback Corridor Resurgence
Since the grand opening of the Arizona Biltmore Resort in February 1929, the area known as the “Camelback Corridor” hasn’t missed a development beat. Stretching along Camelback Road between 7th and 64th streets, the submarket long ago reached the “built out” stage, with virtually every infill site along the route developed into premier residential or commercial space. That … [More]
Even Successful CEOs Need Peer-to-Peer Feedback
Patrick Stafford’s Phoenix-based business has a front-row seat to the global economy. His tower cranes are shipped all over the world — anywhere there’s a building boom and a need for a 300-foot crane to help change the skyline. His equipment has been on construction sites in Dubai, Ireland, Guam, Brazil, Uganda and Peru —to name just a few countries. Locally, Stafford … [More]
Zoning – Consequences of Code Violations
Zoning is the manner in which cities and counties regulate land use. Typically, land is divided into residential, commercial and industrial districts, or it can also be designated as mixed-use, each with its own parking, setback, height and other design requirements. In addition, the city, in the course of approving a zoning application, may require variances, special use … [More]
Smile
While oral health is increasingly understood to impact overall health, evidence is mounting that smiling, alone, has health benefits. A Smile for Health Smiling may impact a person’s longevity. A 2010 study by Wayne State University measured the span of smiles on Major League Baseball players from their 1952 trading cards, and found those who didn’t smile in their pictures … [More]
Business Fronts for 2017
It’s been a unique start to 2017. The first quarter brought us an interesting mix of uncertainty coupled with overall steady conditions and solid job growth. As we move into the second quarter, the opportunity for meaningful, dynamic gains is very real, and I advise business leaders to think boldly about growth. In fact, it’s time that they step on the gas as they examine their … [More]
