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School of Rock will celebrate the grand opening of its newest location Saturday at 755 Reading Road, Mason. Photo provided

Mason’s newest business is ready to rock.

School of Rock, a performance-based music school for people of all ages, will celebrate the grand opening of its first Cincinnati area location Saturday at 755 Reading Road in Mason.

• Photos: Get a sneak peek at School of Rock in Mason

The bash kicks off at 12:15 p.m. in typical rocker style with a ritual guitar smashing.  Live entertainment from students and local bands will perform throughout the day, with live broadcasting by WEBN.

Guests can participate in jam sessions with indie band Majestic Man and enter to win prizes, including a free week of summer camp.

Bass Instructor Chris Barlow and student drummer Travis Hanna practice in a band rehearsal room at School of Rock. The Mason business celebrates its grand opening on April 14, 2012. Photo provided

The national music education company operates more than 80 schools in 26 states and Mexico.  The Mason opening marks the company’s third Ohio location — two other locations operate in the Cleveland area.

The youth-driven school inspired the 2003 movie, “School of Rock, about a wannabe rocker who poses as a substitute teacher and tries to turn his class into rock stars.

Franchise owner Tim Garry recently moved back to Cincinnati after a long career in New York as an investment manager.  He was sold on the School of Rock concept after his two sons, Jamie and Matthew, went through the program at a New Jersey school.

“It was great to see them having a blast, and gratifying to watch them develop as musicians,” said Garry, of Pleasant Ridge.  “In fact, my eldest moved on to the Berklee College of Music, which would have never happened without his School of Rock experience.”

School of Rock sets itself apart from more traditional music schools by giving students the chance to perform on stage in front of live audiences, says Garry.

“A lot of kids will not thrive in private lessons because they find it boring,” Garry explained.  ”Here, we believe the best way to learn music is to play music.  It becomes much more engaging for (students) and they’re more likely to stick with it.”

“It’s essentially team sports for the arts,” he added.

Beginning students start with Rock 101, which teaches students principal instruments, including guitar, drums, bass, keyboard and vocals.

Intermediate to advanced students move on to the Performance Program, where they learn harmonies and musicianship during weekly private lessons and group sessions in preparation for a live performance.

Monthly membership cost is $275 for both programs.  Adult programs are also offered.

The newly-renovated 5,000 square-foot facility boasts seven lesson rooms, two band rehearsal rooms, a recording studio and the Sonic Boom Room, a 1,600 square-foot performance space with professional stage, sound and lighting equipment.

Garry says he plans to open additional locations in Cincinnati in the next five years.

“Cincinnati has a tremendously strong music heritage, one that I think that’s underrated,” he said.  “I expect us to become a major cultural institution within Cincinnati.”

Details: Grand Opening Celebration, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, School of Rock Mason, 755 Reading Road, Suite 1, Mason. Free. 513-770-1257; http://mason.schoolofrock.com.

Posted in: Business, Community, Events, News |

Tags: Tags: business, cincinnati, education, grand opening, mason, music, rock, school of rock, tim garry

As tax season comes to an end, several local businesses are giving taxpayers something to look forward to.  Here’s a list of some deals and freebies being offered.

AMC Theatres: Enjoy a free small popcorn today through Sunday by downloading this coupon.  AMC has locations in Hamilton and Newport, Ky.  For more information, go to www.amctheatres.com.

Office Depot: Now through April 16, the office supply store is offering free copies of 2011 tax returns (25 black-and-white, single-side copies) and up to 5 pounds of shredding of confidential documents for free. There’s no coupon needed to take advantage of the deals.  But if you have more paperwork than most, you can download and print this coupon to get 25 black-and-white single-side copies for free.  The coupon also expires on Monday.  For locations, go to www.officedepot.com.

Auntie Anne’s: Like Auntie Anne’s on Facebook to download a coupon for a free signature pretzel with the purchase of a pretzel.  The coupon is valid through April 27.  For store locations, go to locator.auntieannes.com.

White Castle: Print this coupon to receive a free chicken breast sandwich when you buy another sandwich.  The coupon is valid through April 28.  For locations, go to www.whitecastle.com.

Offers valid on Tuesday, April 17

(Image credit: Arby's)

Arby’s: Free curly fries with a coupon available online to fans of the restaurant chain’s Facebook page (where you can also enter for a chance to win $5,000).  Arby’s has one location in Mason at 5561 S.R. 741.  For other locations, go to arbys.com.

Chili’s: Free appetizer or dessert with entree purchase.  Coupon available online at campaign.chilis.com/taxday2012.  Chili’s has one location in the Mason area at 11329 Montgomery Road in neighboring Symmes Township.  For other locations, go to chilis.com.

Bruegger’s Bagels: Get 13 bagels for just $10.40 (1040, get it?).  Coupon available to fans of Bruegger’s Facebook page.  Bruegger’s has one location in Mason at 8220 Arbor Square Drive.  For other locations, go to www.brueggers.com.

Boston Market: The restaurant’s tax relief plan offers guests a free individual meal with purchase of an individual meal and fountain drink.  Download the coupon here.  Boston Market has one location in the Mason area at 9430 Fields Ertel Road.  Find other locations at www.bostonmarket.com.

Cinnabon: Get two free “Bites” from 6-8 p.m. at participating Cinnabon locations.  For more information, visit Cinnabon’s Facebook page.  For locations, go to www.cinnabon.com.

P.F. Chang’s: Get a 15 percent discount when you order online Tuesday.  P.F. Chang’s has locations in West Chester and Norwood.  For more information, go to www.pfchangs.com.

Sonic Drive-ins: Sonic will extend its happy hour all day Tuesday with half-price fountain drinks and slushes.  For store locations, go to www.sonicdrivein.com.

Panda Express: The quick-serve Asian food chain will offer a free single serving of its newest entree, Shanghai Angus Steak, at all participating locations on Tuesday.  Coupon available to fans of the company’s Facebook page. Panda Express has one location in Mason at 6300 Kings Island Drive (located inside Kings Island, which is closed to the public that day).  For other locations, go to www.pandaexpress.com

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: arby's, boston market, bruegger's bagels, business, chili's, deals, discounts, free, freebies, income tax, mason, panda express, restaurant, tax day

The Mason Community Center is making it easier for residents to support Mason businesses.

The center will host a “Shop Local” event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 18.  Area merchants and homes sales representatives will feature their services and wares with some vendors taking orders to be delivered before Mother’s Day.

The free event is open to the community.  Tours of the community center will also be offered.

The Mason Community Center is at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road and can be reached at 513-229-8555.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: business, free, home sales representatives, mason community center, shop local, vendors

Deerfield Urgent Care recently celebrated its grand opening.

The new office at 9996 Escort Drive in Deerfield Township features four exam rooms and one treatment room.  Four physicians are on staff, along with multiple certified medical assistants.

Services include on-site X-rays and lab work, school physicals and vaccinations.  The office can treat a variety of medical conditions, from sprains and fractures to colds and infections.

No appointments are necessary; the office boasts minimal wait times.

“We are here for you when your doctor might not be,” said Dr. Husam Hamed, a staff physician.

For more information, call 513-923-2222 or go to www.deerfieldurgentcare.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, deerfield township, deerfield urgent care, fitness, grand opening, health, mason

Dr. Sunbal Javaid & Kim Howell, co-founders of mamadoc, show off some of their product line.

A Mason entrepreneur is among business owners of 10 promising start-ups to be named the latest Bad Girl Ventures finalists.

Kim Howell and business partner Dr. Sunbal Javaid will compete for a $25,000 low-cost loan, to be awarded after the completion of a nine-week crash course in business from the nonprofit micro-lending organization focused on women-owned businesses.

Kim Howell

More than 70 applications were submitted for the organization’s fifth class.

Howell and Javaid are the brainchild behind mamadoc, a line of pregnancy and baby items that are designed with the safety of mom, baby and the environment in mind.

The two friends met five years ago through their sons.  Javaid is an obstetrician while Howell spent more than a decade in pharmaceutical sales before leaving in 2010 to pursue mamadoc and yoga instruction full-time.

The pair runs the business out of Javaid’s Deerfield Township home.

“We are thrilled to present 10 bold businesses to Cincinnati and are excited to see what they will accomplish in the next nine weeks. You will want to keep your eye on this group of women as they invade Cincinnati,” says Corey Drushal, BGV’s operations director.

Since its founding in 2010, Bad Girl Ventures has educated 200 female entrepreneurs and helped to match 26 of their businesses with $1 million in funding. The nonprofit expanded to Cleveland in 2011 and will start programs in Columbus and at Miami University later this year.

First Financial Bank recently signed on as a Bad Girl Ventures sponsor and will award the $25,000 loan to the most promising of the 10 businesses. Classes on marketing, business planning, credit education, accounting, legal structuring and financing are open to the public and run through May 19.

For more information or to register, go to www.badgirlventures.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: baby, bad girl ventures, business, children, deerfield township, dr. sunbal javaid, eco-friendly, finalist, kim howell, mamadoc, mason, maternity, mother

Apex Supply Chain Technologies, a developer of inventory tracking and control software and point-of-use industrial vending systems, is offering six internship positions this summer at its Mason headquarters.

The unpaid positions, listed below, are open to undgraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates.

• Software Development Intern
• Java Application Developer/Tester Intern
• System Administration Assistant Intern
• Web Developer Intern
• Supply Chain Intern
• Business Research/Analyst Intern

This is the fourth consecutive year Apex has offered the internships.  To apply, email a resume and cover letter to internship@apexsupplychain.com with the subject line “Summer Intern.”  For more information, go to www.apexsupplychain.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: apex supply chain, business, college, internship, mason, student, tech, technology

Four local Target stores, including the Deerfield Twp. store, are expanding their food areas to include fresh groceries, as seen here. (Provided photo)

The Deerfield Township Target completed renovations Sunday to offer expanded grocery departments, including fresh produce, meats and baked goods.

The Target store at 9841 Waterstone Blvd. is among four local Target stores to undergo renovations.  The other remodeled stores are in Western Hills, Oakley and Florence.

At those stores, about 40 percent more food is offered, with about 10,000 square feet dedicated to it, reports Cincinnati New in Town’s Shauna Steigerwald.

“While they’re at Target shopping for other things, [customers] can knock off a lot of items on their grocery list, too,” said Erin Conroy, a company spokesperson. “The whole impetus for expanding groceries was guest feedback.”

In addition to the expanded grocery offerings, the stores also have remodeled beauty, home, shoe and baby departments, with better sight lines that make them easier to shop, Conroy said.

Information: www.target.com

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, deerfield township, deerfield twp, fresh groceries, remodel, renovations, target

Topping off a detergent dispenser, Cintas Service Sales Representative Mike Saupe attends to the needs of Northland Volkswagen service department in Norwood by delivering uniforms, towels and even detergents used to clean floors in their service area. / The Enquirer/Michael E. Keating

Mike Boyer reports:

Every work day, 5 million workers across the continent slip into uniforms supplied by Cintas Corp. in Mason.

And the company’s impact on the workplace doesn’t stop there.

Last year, Cintas employees:

• Replaced 100 million business floor mats, or about 2 million each week.
• Cleaned 1 million restrooms, restocking them with 11 million rolls of hand towels and 200 million ounces of soap.
• Stocked 250,000 first-aid cabinets with 300 million aspirin tablets and 100 million bandages.
• Shredded or stored 310,000 tons of paper from work places.
• Installed and inspected 3 million portable fire extinguishers and 40,000 automated external defibrillators credited with saving the lives of 200 people.

Trained 200,000 customers’ employees on emergency response techniques, representing 1 million hours of education.

The nation’s largest uniform supplier is no longer just about work apparel. Over the past decade, Cintas has quietly broadened and deepened the types of services it provides to businesses.

“Our B-HAG (big, hairy audacious goal) is to provide a product or service to every business in North America,” says Scott Farmer, CEO since 2003 and son of founder and chairman emeritus Richard T. Farmer.

Along the way, Cintas has been counting growing sales.

Company revenues have grown more than 80 percent over the decade to $3.8 billion last year. Uniform rentals are still the largest share of the business, accounting for 36 percent of all sales.

But sales of first aid and safety products, restroom and floor cleaning services and document management have grown from less than a third of the business in 2001 to more than half last year.

“We can reach 93 percent of the population of the United States and Canada with one of our trucks,” Farmer says, adding that Cintas always is looking for more ways to leverage its business.

“OK,” he says: “What else can we do for our customers that adds value?”

Cintas traces its roots to an industrial rag cleaning business started by Scott Farmer’s great-grandparents, Richard (Doc) and Amelia Farmer, during the Depression. They were former circus performers who started collecting greasy rags from area factories, cleaning them in the washing machine of their Norwood home and re-selling them to the factories.

(more…)

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bob kohlhepp, business, cintas, cintas corp., documents, mason, paper, richard t. farmer, scott farmer, shredding, uniforms

The remodeled Bob Evans stores will have designated carry-out areas and bakeries, as pictured here. (Provided photo)

The Deerfield Township Bob Evans is set to get a new look next month.

The restaurant chain is in the process of remodeling 27 area restaurants. Stores to remodel will close for about a week to complete the work.

The Deerfield Township store at 8100 Arbor Square Drive is set to close between April 15-22..

The renovated stores will include new “Taste of the Farm” bakeries; dedicated carry-out areas; redesigned retail areas; and decor changes, including murals in the entryways, more modern furnishings and light fixtures, and brighter color schemes in the fabric, carpet and walls.

Cincinnati New in Town has a list of other Bob Evans stores set to be remodeled and their expected closing dates for renovations.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bob evans, business, close, deerfield township, food, remodel, renovations, restaurant

Clothes Mentor this week announced plans to open four local outposts in the next two years, including a location in the Mason area.

Women's resale shop Clothes Mentor will stock women's and plus-size clothing and accessories. (Provided photo)

The women’s resale chain will start with a shop in Anderson Township, and then target stores in Fields Ertel/Mason, West Chester and Florence in the next two years.

Kate Paynter, general manager of R & R Resale, said the stores will hopefully be located near existing Plato’s Closet and Once Upon a Child stores.  The stores will be anywhere from 3,400 to 5,000 square feet.

R & R Resale owns 15 Cincinnati and Dayton area Once Upon a Child and Plato’s Closet resale stores.

“We’re hoping our existing customers will eventually become Clothes Mentor customers,” she said.

Cincinnati New in Town reporter Shauna Steigerwald has more information on the chain:

Clothes Mentor is for the next segment of the population, stocking women’s and plus-size resale clothing and accessories geared toward ages 25-55. Paynter said the stores will carry current, day-to-day styles from high-end brands such as Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana, along with more everyday brands like St. John’s Bay and Bisou Bisou. Prices will be about a third of original retail.

“It’s one-stop shopping; [you] can find all the brands [you] love under one roof,” Paynter said.

Like Once Upon a Child and Plato’s Closet, customers who bring in their items to sell get cash on the spot. There’s no fee to set up an account; items can be brought in to sell regardless of season, and they do not have to be ironed or hanging, only clean.

“We’re all about being convenient to the customer,” Paynter said.

Items that don’t sell will be donated to Matthew 25 Ministries.

Info: www.clothesmentor.com

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, clothes, clothes mentor, fields ertel, kate paynter, mason, once upon a child, openings, plato's closet, r & R resale, resale shop, store