WINDOW SHOPPING
Different Metro Diner comes to Tulsa
TULSA — A new restaurant with a familiar name is planned for south Tulsa.
The Metro Diner, a Jacksonville, Florida-based chain serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, is set to open in November in the former Baker Street Pub location at 6620 S. Memorial Drive.
The property is to undergo a $487,000 renovation, according to city of Tulsa building permits.
Metro Diner’s original location was opened in 1992. There are now more than 60 locations, including one in Oklahoma City, and several in the works.
Metro Diner is unaffiliated with the restaurant by the same name that operated near 11th Street and Harvard Avenue by the University of Tulsa campus for more than 20 years.
That diner closed in November 2006 as part of a TU campus expansion.
Natural Grocers closes Tulsa location
TULSA — Natural Grocers will close its south Tulsa location by November 9.
The closure is based on the store’s recent financial performance and “an effort to enhance operation efficiencies.”
The store at 9137 E 71, which opened in 2013, has 16 employees.
Some of those workers will be transferred to other Oklahoma stores, and the remaining will receive a severance package that includes health benefits covered through the end of the year.
The chain’s other Tulsa store at 3126 S Harvard will remain open.
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. said this is the first store closure since the Colorado-based company was founded in 1955.
The chain said it has no plans to close any other stores.
A closing sale will begin Sept. 17, with 25 percent off all products at the store.
Musk apologizes for snags in delivery
Tesla apparently is having trouble informing customers about deliveries of the Model 3 mass-market electric car.
In a Twitter response to a customer Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk wrote that some “may experience longer response times” because of a large increase in vehicle deliveries in North America. He wrote that resolving the issue is Tesla’s top priority.
Earlier in the day, the customer tweeted to Musk that he couldn’t get a vehicle identification number from his sales adviser even though he is scheduled to pick up his Model 3 on Monday. The customer wrote that it was frustrating and his loan for the car is up in the air.
Musk apologized and wrote that he’s working on the issue. Tesla spokesmen did not immediately comment.
#MeToo McDonald’s workers vote to strike
The #MeToo movement is coming to the Golden Arches.
McDonald’s workers have voted to stage a oneday strike next Tuesday at some of the company’s restaurants in 10 cities in hopes of pressuring management to take stronger steps against on-the-job sexual harassment.
Organizers say it will be the first multistate strike in the U.S. specifically targeting sexual harassment. McDonald’s is defending its anti-harassment efforts and says it is recruiting outside experts to offer advice.
Ford Motor Co. turns graffiti into jewelry
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has commissioned a Detroit company to reuse graffiti paint flaking off the Michigan Central Station as the automaker prepares to renovate the long vacant train depot.
Ford selected jewelry design company Rebel Nell to create pieces from paint chips that have fallen from the station’s walls.
The project pays homage to the artists who’ve used the train station as a canvas since it closed in 1988, said Shawn Wilson, a Ford spokesman.
Amy Peterson, Rebel Nell’s CEO and co-founder, said the project is an opportunity to preserve the legacy and history of the train depot.
Rebel Nell, which helps and hires women transitioning from homelessness, has created about 300 jewelry pieces, including pendants, cuff links, pins and items in Detroit and Michigan themes.
The proceeds from the jewelry pieces ranging from $35 to $225 will go to four local charities including Love Runs, an organization working to stop human trafficking, and Covenant House, which provides shelter for young people.
MasterCard tries to erase borders
MasterCard rolled out a digital trade platform Wednesday designed to make it easier for companies to do business around the world.
The company’s MasterCard Track will, among other things, help businesses identify and assess potential international customers and suppliers, and manage global payments electronically.
The database will include information on more than 150 million companies worldwide.
Michael Froman, Mastercard’s vice chairman and president of strategic growth, says that global commerce is surprisingly inefficient and especially difficult for modest-sized companies to break into.
“Small and medium-sized companies find the whole thing bewildering,” says Froman, who was U.S. trade representative in the Obama administration.
They don’t know which suppliers to trust or which customers can be counted on to pay their bills. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
MasterCard developed Track in collaboration with Microsoft and is working with nine companies that supply business-to-business software.