Studio Movie Grill creating more than 200 jobs in Pearland
Studio Movie Grill is set to open its 24th location in Pearland May 5.
Located at 8440 S. Sam Houston East Parkway, the 44,499-square-foot theater anchors a mixed-use development at Boulder Creek. The theater’s 12 screening rooms offer moviegoers an in-theater dining experience. The Pearland location provides more than 1,320 seats and is the Dallas-based company’s 12th theater in Texas.
“It’s exciting to be expanding our brand into the Houston area,” said Brian Schultz, Studio Movie Grill founder/CEO, in a news release. “We look forward to continuing to offer not only the best in full-service, intheater dining for local residents but also furthering our commitment as a true partner in the community by providing our new neighbors in Pearland numerous economic opportunities.”
According to the company, dozens of local construction workers were hired to complete the new theater. The company is now recruiting team members, looking to fill hourly positions. Once hiring is complete, the theater will employ more than 225 local residents, according to a news release.
Prospective employees may apply in person to general manager Charles Hudgins, or his team at the theater’s employment office, located at 8440 South Sam Houston East Parkway, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday or through the company’s website at www.studiomoviegrill.com
Established in 2000, Studio Movie Grill operates in 10 states. With the recent addition of more than 50 new screens, the company now ranks as the 20th largest exhibitor in the United States. Biotech industry supplier builds facility
Lonza Houston Inc. is building a new biotech facility for viral immunotherapy development and manufacturing in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District.
Representatives of the company, city and Pearland Economic Development Corp. attended a March 29 groundbreaking.
In a news release, Pearland Mayor Tom Reid said the city is excited to welcome Lonza as the latest medical and life science employer to open in Pearland.
“It has been a longstanding goal of the city to cultivate a broad spectrum of medical and life sciencerelated organizations in our community,” he said.
Lonza provides viral and cell therapy manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical, biotech and special ingredient markets. Lonza’s products and services range from active pharmaceutical ingredients and stem cell therapies to drinking water sanitizers.
The company’s facility will house office space, process development, and quality control laboratories and a fully segregated fill/finish suite, allowing Lonza to more than double its current capacity for the production of viral gene and virally modified therapeutics.
According to the Pearland EDC, the planned facility will also contain independent modular cleanrooms designed to meet the requirements for the manufacture of cell therapy products for use in the United States and European markets.
The facility, which is being designed and constructed in collaboration with Pinchal and Co., Creed Commercial Development, ARCO Construction and CRB, is being built on an 11-acre site on Kirby Drive.
More than 80 employees will initially work at the facility. Job growth beyond that is expected to include administrative, manufacturing, process development and quality assurance personnel, according to the development corporation.
“Lonza is committed to growing our cell and gene therapy capabilities in Pearland,” said Stefan Troger, senior vice president of Operations, Emerging Technologies Business Unit for Lonza’s Pharma and Biotech segment, in a news statement.
“The curative potential of gene therapy continues to grow, and Lonza is on the forefront of working with clients to help them treat diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Our team works with innovative designs and with novel cuttingedge technologies, so we are building in an area that is serving as a growing hub for the health care sector.”
Ricardo Jimenez, Lonza Houston’s site director, is a Pearland resident. He moved to the city in 2000. Jimenez said he is honored to contribute to the growth of the city.
“Pearland has shown great support of the life science sector, and the Lower Kirby District is a perfect example of that,” he said. “It has been a great journey
The Lower Kirby District consists of 1,200 acres located on the western border of Pearland facing South Beltway 8.
According to the Pearland EDC, the area is wellpositioned to capture a significant portion of office, retail, commercial and industrial projects as the Houston market continues to grow and expand.
Existing developments within the Lower Kirby District include Merit Medical’s R&D and manufacturing facility, Dover Energy’s regional manufacturing and operations center, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corp.’s office and manufacturing facility, Cardiovascular Systems Inc.’s medical device manufacturing facility and Pearland Surgery Center.
Visit www.pearlandedc. com for information. Deer Park ranked in top 20 to start business
Deer Park is among the top 20 best small cities in America to start a business, according to financial website WalletHub.
The city ranked No. 15 on the site’s recent list of the most business-friendly small markets to launch a new venture. Deer Park is the only Texas city in the top 20 report.
To identify the most business-friendly small towns, WalletHub’s analysts compared 1,268 small-sized cities across 15 metrics, which included looks at average growth in number of small businesses, prevalence of investors, office-space affordability and corporate taxes.
The top small city to start a business, according to the financial website’s list, is Holland, Michigan. Riviera Beach, Florida, came in at No. 20 on the list.
For the full report, visit www.wallethub.com. Allen Jones is a freelance writer and can be reached at allen.jones@freelancewriter.us.