South Florida Business Journal articles from January 1994

South Florida Business Journal archives from January 1994

Fee scam tied to Miami firm. (Myco Investments Group Inc.)
January 28, 1994... Three Miami residents were arraigned this week in Tennessee on charges of running an international advance fee swindle that allegedly included tombstone ads in The Wall Street Journal announcing deals that never happened. All told, seven...

Build it and they will buy? Spec house carries $6 million price tag.
January 28, 1994... DELRAY BEACH -- Meet the newest entry to the luxury home market in South Palm Beach County: Chateau D'Amoureux, a 12,000-square-foot French chateau on the ocean in Delray Beach. For $5.95 million, you get such special features as a copper...

Downtown Miami losing Omni hotel name. (Omni International Hotel)
January 28, 1994... MIAMI -- The Omni International Hotel, one of downtown Miami's flagship properties, will not be an Omni much longer. Although Omni Hotels denies it, owner Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc. has confirmed it is shopping around...

Fed. Mogul sets $10M warehouse. (Federal-Mogul Corp.)
January 28, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE -- The pieces are falling into place in the race for large industrial projects in western Broward County. First, the largest: Federal-Mogul Corp., a Southfield, Mich.-based auto parts company, expects to move into a...

Dental seminar cruise deal runs aground. (Florida Dental Institute for Continuing Education)
January 28, 1994... MIAMI BEACH -- A Miami Beach company touting a package of dental continuing education courses on cruise ships has run aground. The Florida Dental Institute for Continuing Education has filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court...

Vintage DC-3s bring '40s back. (service offered by Vintage Air Tours)
January 28, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE -- Cruising at an altitude of 4,500 feet, and at speeds approaching 150 mph, passengers aboard the red and white DC-3 hear about Bette Davis' latest movie as they browse through a 1944 issue of LIFE magazine. Only the year is...

Cargo competition splits carriers. (International Weekly)
January 28, 1994... MIAMI -- Competition in the field of international air cargo transportation is heating up, with much of the activity centered at Miami International Airport. The competition is growing between airlines that carry nothing but cargo and those...

Shareholder hopes rest on 1st United. (Surburban Bankshares Inc.; 1st United Bancorp of Boca Raton) (Financial Matters)
January 28, 1994... LAKE WORTH-- After huge losses, one failed merger attempt and two years of operating on the brink of a federal takeover, investors in Suburban Bankshares Inc. may yet see some return. That could happen if their bank concludes a successful...

Upheaval in W. Palm banking. (West Palm Beach)
January 28, 1994... WEST PALM BEACH-- You can tell that the community banking scene in Palm Beach County has seen better days. The Bankers Club of Palm Beach has gone out of business. Humor aside, the bank that claims to be the biggest in town wasn't in...

Rudy's Restaurant Group Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 28, 1994... (NASDAQ: RUDY) 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Miami 33181 (305) 895-7200 Rudy's Restaurant Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, The Samurai Inc., owns and operates six Japanese-style steak and seafood restaurants, operated under the name...

Technological advances alter office space. (Real Estate Monthly)
January 28, 1994... They're just not making offices like they used to any more. Gone are the large expanses and private glass enclosures with large secretary bays and ample space for administrative staff. In their place are now movable partitions with padding in...

MICC deal expected to close by early February. (Miami International Commerce Center) (Real Estate Monthly)
January 28, 1994... MIAMI -- A deal that calls for JMB Institutional Realty Corp. to buy much of the 340-acre Miami International Commerce Center is expected to close early next month. Although none of those involved with the deal were at liberty to discuss...

Florida appeals court assures mobile home park rent parity. (Real Estate Monthly)
January 28, 1994... South Florida's population of mobile home dwellers has been granted protection from capricious rent increases by a recent ruling in a Florida appeals court case, according to lawyers involved. Peter Dunbar, former legal counsel to Gov. Bob...

Construction activity up in South Florida. (Real Estate Monthly)
January 28, 1994... The waiting is over. That's from Michael B. Smith, senior vice president of Turner Construction Co., a national concern that's emerged as the largest construction company in South Florida. "It's been a couple of years of waiting, a long...

Residential brokers looking for listings as home sales boom. (South Florida Homefront) (Directory)
January 28, 1994... Jan Herard sold a home in the Fountain Springs area and it never hit the Multiple Listing Service. "I was sitting in an open house and the people from across the street said 'come into our house,'" said the 20-year real estate veteran, who...

Talking house concept lures homebuyers all day long. (South Florida Homefront) (Directory)
January 28, 1994... PLANTATION -- Addy Adler's listings are talking to potential homebuyers, morning, noon and night. Adler, a residential real estate broker with RE/MAX-About Town Properties Inc. in Plantation, started using a novel idea in the real estate...

Lone wolf agenda pays off for Merv Weinstein. (architect) (South Florida Homefront) (Directory)
January 28, 1994... HOLLYWOOD -- Architect Merv Weinstein is an old-fashioned guy. His simple Hollywood office has drafting tables, facsimile and copy machines, and a typewriter. Glaringly absent in the de rigueur tool of the trade, CADD, or Computer Aided...

Drama off stage for theater groups; money, space problems may dim 'Broadway' lights for Dade acting troupes. (Dade County, Florida)
January 21, 1994... Dramatic tension is building for several Dade theater companies as financial and housing woes put their futures in jeopardy. The companies' problems vary from lack of money to lack of an audience to lack of a permanent home. But Acme...

Health plan unites former competitors. (competing interests of physicians, hospitals, patients and insurance companies)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI -- Five South Florida hospitals, hundreds of local physicians and the John Alden Life Insurance Co. are creating a new health care delivery system that might be the first of its kind in the nation. The goal is to create a system in...

Investors out $3 million in Ostrich play. (Hallandale, Florida ostrich farms)
January 21, 1994... HALLANDALE -- Two Hallan-dale ostrich farms promoted as an opportunity of a lifetime have gone bankrupt, leaving investors out about $3 million. The farms' owners, Junction Financial Corp. and U.S. Ostrich Corp., filed Chapter 11 protection...

Injuries spur gripes against Sun-Sentinel. (Florida newspaper)
January 21, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE - The Sun-Sentinel company and two former Sentinel employees are locked in bureaucratic and legal battles over their departures from the newsroom. Marisa Porto, formerly a police beat reporter for the Delray Beach office,...

Council taps new leader; Palm Beach lawyer in charge. (Monroe A. Coogler, Jr. )
January 21, 1994... PALM BEACH -- It's a select group of high-powered business men and women whose voices can be heard all over Palm Beach County. The Economic Council of Palm Beach County Inc. is a driving force in the community, and Monroe A. Coogler Jr. has...

Italian firm beginning luxury condos. (Grandi Lavori Fincosit Construction Corp.)
January 21, 1994... SOUTH PALM BEACH -- The Italian firm that helped move an Egyptian temple when the Aswan Dam was built is putting up an $11.5 million luxury condominium in South Palm Beach. Grandi Lavori Fincosit Construction Corp., or GLF, is working with...

Rocky's new gig: diet pills. (restaurant chain owner Rocky Aoki)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI -- Rocky Aoki, whose Benihana restaurant chain cooked Japanese food before your eyes, has turned his attention to the diet industry. Aoki, who remains chairman of Miami-based Benihana National Corp., has launched Dyna-Tech Nutritionals...

BBB exec dodges barbs, bullets. (Better Business Bureau's Rosemarie Bonta)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI - During her 14-year tenure at the Better Business Bureau, Rosemarie Bonta has heard some wild complaints. There was the finicky guy who ran the personal ad and was dissatisfied with his results. The elderly woman who didn't know what...

Better Business Bureau sets consumer charges.
January 21, 1994... For the first time since its inception in 1912, the Better Business Bureau will charge consumers for information. "We feel those people who need our help or services should help share the costs of those services," says Rosemarie Bonta. "We...

South Florida banks report strong profits.
January 21, 1994... Many South Florida independent banks reported strong earnings for 1993. And some experts say 1994 will be another banner year. Miami-based Intercontinental Bank said 1993 earnings hit a record $10.3 million, or $1.65 per share, 49 percent...

Keyes brokerage packs up for SunBank Center office. (Keyes Company Realtors; SunBank International Center)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI -- After 27 years at Miami Center, Keyes Co. is packing up and moving down the street. Keyes Co., the second-largest residential brokerage in South Florida, has leased 15,738 square feet -- the entire 11th floor at the SunBank...

Condo owner buying Beach hotel. (Crescent Heights X Inc.; Miami Beach's Ocean Pavilion)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI BEACH -- South Florida's largest condominium developer is at it again. This time, Crescent Heights is buying Miami Beach's Ocean Pavilion, a 334-unit project at 5601 Collins Ave. The reported purchase price is in the $24-million...

Central American carriers join forces. (integration of sales forces to promote Central and South American destinations)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI -- Five Central American air carriers have joined forced to use a Miami company to market passenger and cargo service in the United States and Canada. Private investors formed America Central Corp. to coordinate sales and marketing...

Time to assess impact of international trading.
January 21, 1994... It is conventional wisdom that the international sector is the strongest element of South Florida's economy and is providing the major fuel for growth. Try to quantify its economic impact, though, and you run into trouble. There is no shortage...

Going wholesale allows firm to grow. (Apricot Office Supplies and Stationery)
January 21, 1994... MIAMI -- If the past eight years have brought more ups than downs for Apricot Office Supplies and Stationery, it hasn't been strictly due to karma. Fate may have had something to do with bringing together Jamaican-born Basil and Marlene...

Unipower's improving both dollars and self esteem. (Unipower Corp.)
January 21, 1994... CORAL SPRINGS -- Walking into the new manufacturing factory of Unipower Corp., the teamwork and inspirational posters that line the hallways and just about every piece of wall space are unavoidable. Dotted amongst them are posters with the...

Pinnacle takes ordering to the next level. (Pinnacle Hospitality Systems; restaurant ordering)
January 21, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE -- The Roadhouse Grill's homey, peanut husk-riddled floor belies its technological advances. A waiter has approached a group of patrons, and takes their order on a piece of scratch paper. Instead of walking the order to the...

Gametek ready to play on Wall Street. (Gametek Inc.)
January 21, 1994... NORTH MIAMI BEACH - Gametek Inc., a local developer and publisher of interactive video games and software, plans to raise about $15 million through an initial public offering of common stock. The 2.1 million shares, about 28 percent of the...

Wayne's world topsy-turvy; merger begins new chapter for South Florida conglomerate. (H. Wayne Huizenga, Chairman of Blockbuster Entertainment Corp.)
January 14, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE -- For Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., its employees and the community that once believed Blockbuster would remain a South Florida institution, the frantic events of the past week are expected to be a mere prelude to months of...

To die for Thai. (Thai cuisine)
January 14, 1994... HOLLYWOOD -- When a die-hard Indian opens a Thai restaurant instead of an Indian eatery, it says something about the growing popularity of Thai cuisine in South Florida. Prasad Vaz, who now calls himself Andrew, says he started Try My Thai...

We now pay bills just as slowly as rest of nation.
January 14, 1994... South Florida business owners have a nasty reputation for not paying their bills on time, right? Maybe. But a recent study by Dun & Bradstreet suggests that we're getting better. Or, at least, that we're not as bad as we used to be....

Bowl congestion restricted Carquest. (1994 New Year's Day Carquest Bowl, Joe Robbie Stadium)(Carquest)
January 14, 1994... MIAMI - South Florida's "other" bowl, the 1994 New Year's Day Carquest Bowl at Joe Robbie Stadium, drew fewer than 40,000 fans and got little local attention. But it plans a reprise Jan. 1, 1995. "We didn't get much local attention this year...

Media group reorganizes; Jewish publications plan overhaul to restore profitability. (Jewish Media Group Inc.)
January 14, 1994... MIAMI -- After incurring more than $7 million of debt in seven years, Miami-based Jewish Media Group Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, J.W. Publications Inc. and CJL Publications Inc., have filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. The...

New airport in PB county opens in April. (West Palm Beach)
January 14, 1994... WEST PALM BEACH -- This spring, general aviation pilots can skip the hassle of landing between Delta Airlines flights at the busy Palm Beach International Airport. Instead, they can head slightly northwest to land at the only new airport to...

Boca airport relieving congestion. (Boca Raton)
January 14, 1994... BOCA RATON -- Boca Raton's aviation authority is spending more than $1 million with local contractors to relieve congestion. That from an entity that boasts an economic impact of more than $20 million, according to a recent study. According...

Tel Aviv seeking Art Deco tips, money.
January 14, 1994... MIAMI BEACH -- A group of Israeli officials is visiting Miami Beach this week to find out how the Art Deco District became such a hit -- and to learn how to duplicate its success in Tel Aviv. The officials, who timed their visit to coincide...

Perfumania/Revlon merger off; settlement with Cosmair reached. (Perfumania Inc.; Revlon Consumer Products Corp.; Cosmair Inc.)
January 14, 1994... MIAMI - Just hours after Perfumania Inc. announced that a possible merger with Revlon's Prestige Fragrances and Cosmetics division was off, it disclosed that it had settled a lingering lawsuit. The specialty retailer and wholesaler said it...

Mutual back scratching; West Dade OAS office opens to solicit friends and money. (Organization of American States) (International Weekly; The Tri-Country's Global Connection)
January 14, 1994... The Organization of American States has opened an office in West Dade to help corporations doing business in this hemisphere with friends and influence people. According to Alexander Saldarriaga, the executive hired from Florida...

'Philadelphia' hits home in South Florida. (Health Care Monthly; South Florida's Guide to the Medical Industry)
January 14, 1994... Andrew Beckett is a fictional attorney with a fictional law firm who is fired from his prestigious job because he has acquired immune deficiency syndrome -- AIDS. As played by actor Tom Hanks, Beckett's fight for justice is detailed in the...

Health care 'myths' slammed in new magazine. (MediaCritic) (Health Care Monthly; South Florida's Guide to the Medical Industry)
January 14, 1994... Like injections, the following hurts, but it's probably good for you. Especially if you're a journalist. In the newly published first issue of MediaCritic, a media watchdog publication, Fred Barnes, longtime editor of The New Republic...

Everybody's a trader in the latest effort to beat Wall Street.
January 14, 1994... HOLLYWOOD -- A discount brokerage firm that says it gives individual investors critical information they need to trade over-the-counter stocks has opened an office in Hollywood. But All-Tech Investment Group has angered market regulators who...

Todhunter International Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 14, 1994... (NASDAQ: NMS) 222 Lakeview Ave., West Palm Beach 33401 (407) 655-8977 Todhunter International produces citrus-based brandy, distilled spirits and fortified wine using ingredients in a variety of alcoholic beverages. The company also produces...

Where can I obtain financing for my business?
January 14, 1994... There are several potential primary sources of business financing. Generally, the most popular choices among businesses seeking financial aid are Banks, Venture Capital Firms and Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC's). * Are banks...

Tips on writing a successful proposal. (business proposal)
January 14, 1994... Today, more than ever before, individuals and businesses of all types are seeking financial assistance. Most people are unaware that they are eligible for at least some type of financing. And when they do apply, many applicants are turned down...

Alternative financing with a foreign flavor.
January 14, 1994... The ways in which foreigners are bringing investment dollars to South Florida has undergone substantial changes in the past few years. While foreign investors who acquire hotels on South Beach, office buildings on Brickell or strip centers in...

Factoring ... a financing alternative for the growing business.
January 14, 1994... Success often brings with it a new set of problems for growing companies. Established with a modest capital base, a business that develops a winning formula for growth and profits may suddenly find itself tight for cash. The investment in...

Government & the SBA, are they for you? (Small Business Association)
January 14, 1994... Many of the programs listed in this directory, especially the ones providing loans and loan-guarantees, are funded by a department of the Federal Government called the Small Business Association (SBA). Various state agencies administer these...

Resources to ease the financing search.
January 14, 1994... Resourcefulness remains the most essential quality for potential borrowers in today's market. Seeking the right financing vehicle takes work. South Florida Money was designed as a guide to lending options in the local market, but is by no means...

Do's & dont's of receiving financial assistance.
January 14, 1994... The following points should be followed carefully in order to greatly improve your chances of receiving financial assistance (remember that these are general rules and do not always apply to all listed firms). DO... 1) Contact the firm in...

State bureaucrats slow 12% cost cut. (new rules on cuts in workers' compensation)
January 7, 1994... New rules establishing cuts in workers' comp won't be ready for months Florida businesses are now entitled to workers' compensation rate cuts of as much as 12 percent. But they can't collect because state agencies have yet to develop...

Med/Waste warrants interest. (Med/Waste Inc.)
January 7, 1994... OPA LOCKA - Less than one month after going public, shares in Med/Waste Inc. aredown but warrants to purchase the stock are sharply up. Company officers say this means investors are confident that the stock price will rise, but concede that...

Carnival Air: up and away. (Carnival Airlines Inc.)
January 7, 1994... FORT LAUDERDALE -- Reuven Wertheim has aggressive plans for his five-year-old carrier, Carnival Air Lines. He's adding an Airbus as the 18th plane on Carnival's flightline; he's putting wide-body aircraft on the Los Angeles-Miami route, a...

Ready to serve? maybe not. (service industries disappoint Florida business owners)
January 7, 1994... They say they want your business, these venders. And you've got no reason to disbelieve. After all, many -- not all -- have been advertising, publicizing, practically groveling, for the chance to work for you. Naturally, you the business...

Omni to run Colonnade. (Omni Hotels to manage Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida)
January 7, 1994... CORAL GABLES -- Omni Hotels is taking over the upscale Colonnade Hotel and will renovate it in an effort to boost occupancy. Ibex Capital Group of Coral Gables, which bought the Colonnade for $33 million in 1992, ended its affiliation with...

Lincoln starts industrial office. (Lincoln Property Co.)
January 7, 1994... MIAMI -- Lincoln Property Co., the real estate management firm that leases MiamiCenter, is expanding into the industrial arena with the addition of a three-somefrom First Commercial Realty. Harry Wardell, Steve Medwin and Mike Cohen resigned...

Dallas investor buys Boca center. (Woodfield Regency Inc. buys shopping center in Boca Raton, Florida)
January 7, 1994... BOCA RATON -- A Dallas corporation has paid $20 million for a trophy shopping center in the affluent Boca Raton neighborhood around Yamato and Jog roads. Woodfield Regency Inc., an institutional investment concern, paid $20,606,316, or...

Printers merge in $10M deal. (National Lithographers and Publishers Inc.; Tri-Tec Inc.)
January 7, 1994... MIAMI -- Japan meets Germany in the latest merger between two South Florida printing companies. National Lithographics & Publishers Inc., which was the largest printer in SouthFlorida in the early 1960s and 1970s, is merging with Tri-Tec...

California cuisine targets South Florida market. (three California-based restaurant chains open branches in Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
January 7, 1994... California cuisine is making its way to South Florida with the arrival of three West Coast restaurant chains. California Cafe Bar & Grill and California Pizza Kitchen both opened here last month, while Los Angeles-based Cheesecake Factory...

Premium Sales trustees reel in assets. (Premium Sales Inc.)
January 7, 1994... NORTH MIAMI- A plan devised by a federal trustee would require many of the 1,500investors in Premium Sales Inc. to return millions of dollars in profits they received from the bankrupt grocery diverting scheme. Only a few investors have...

Planner's marketing target: women. (financial planner Irene Barouh)
January 7, 1994... NORTH MIAMI BEACH -- When she got divorced 12 years ago, Irene Barouh didn't know much about handling money. "My ex-husband believed women could not understand anything about money," Barouhsaid. "I decided to prove him wrong." She also...

CV Reit Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 7, 1994... (NYSE: CVI) 100 Century Blvd., West Palm Beach 33417 (407) 640-3155 CV Reit Inc. has operated as a real estate investment trust since Jan. 1, 1982. The company has invested in a portfolio of real estate interests consisting primarily...