New companies locating in Dayton

The new giant warehouses built at the Dayton International Airport continue to fill up with new companies to the Dayton area.

Reporter Thomas Gnau broke the news last week that Purina Feed will anchor one of the distribution centers on Concord Drive. A company official told Gnau that 28 employees have started working in the more than 400,000-squarefoot warehouse.

The proximity to Interstate 70 and Interstate 75 is helping attract the new companies to the three new warehouses at the airport.

Sources have told us two other pet-related companies will join Purina at the warehouse, but nothing officially has been announced.

No time for lunch

We’re spending less time on lunch breaks and more time at work, according to a new survey release.

The survey shows workers are spending less time at lunch now compared to four years ago. According to the survey by OfficeTeam, the average lunch break lasts 39 minutes, down from 43 minutes in 2014.

The popularity of screen time has grown in the past four years, as well: Aside from eating, 52 percent of employees surf the web or social media during lunch, and 51 percent catch up on personal calls or emails. Those stats have nearly doubled from the 2014 survey (27 percent and 25 percent), where socializing with colleagues was the top response.

How long do you spend at lunch?

Home sales remain hot

Dayton-area home sales this year are on track to beat previous records and a good sign this will continue was the inventory of homes increased in August for the second month in a row.

Home sales last month increased 2.5 percent over August 2017. The 1,647 homes sold at a median price of $150,000, were up 7.7 percent from last August, according to Dayton Realtors.

Tight inventory continues to hamper real estate agents, but the number of homes listed in August increased three percent compared July. There were 4,436 active listings at the end of August, about two and a half months worth of supply.

Lock your doors

Pick-up trucks and Honda-manufactured vehicles remain the top stolen vehicles among thieves. The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its annual “Hot Wheels” report last week, identifying the 10 most stolen vehicles in Ohio.

The top stolen vehicle was the 2002 Chevy pickup, followed by the 2004 Ford pickup. The 2006 Honda Accord and 2015 Honda Civic were also tops on the list.

No more Sears

Reporter Holly Shively reported last week that the last

large Sears store in the Dayton area will close in December at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.

It’s sad news for the retailer where my mother used to buy my Toughskins jeans, but the good news is the giant retail location will not sit empty for long.

The Sears location is owned by Washington Prime, the owner of the Beavercreek mall and the Dayton Mall. Because it’s owned by the private company, the mall moved quickly in announced replacements for the Sears. The Dayton Mall location is owned by the Sears Company.

Mall officials told us that the furniture store, The Room Place, and an amusement company, Round1 Entertainment, will replace the Sears in late 2019. Round1 is similar to a Dave and Buster’s. It will offer dining and entertainment games like bowling.

The Sears location started liquidation sales last week following the announcement.