1. C4 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011 THE FREE LANCE–STARFREDERICKSBURG, VA..
BUSINESS
rail kicker
LIBERTY HOLDING
AN OPEN HOUSE
Liberty Tax will be hosting
an open house on Satur-
day, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m., to see its newly
renovated office. Vendors
will be available, and door
prizes and refreshments.
Attendees are urged to
bring canned goods to
support Fredericksburg
Area Food Bank.
recalls
CORD ON SCOUT
JACKETS A HAZARD
Boy Scouts of America
is recalling about 5,400
Cub Scout wind tech
jackets because the jackets
have retractable cords with
toggles at the hood/neck
area and at the waist,
which can pose a strangu-
lation or entrapment haz-
ard to children.
For additional information,
call 855/873-2408 or
visit scoutstuff.org.
—Consumer Product Safety
Commission
BRIEF CASE
COMING UP >> IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSES
LANDRY’S TO BUY MCCORMICK & SCHMICK’S
HOUSTON—The owner of restaurant company Landry’s Inc. said
Tuesday that he has agreed to buy McCormick & Schmick’s
Seafood Restaurants Inc. in a deal that values the Oregon-based
chain at more than $130 million. Tilman Fertitta said he will acquire
the chain through a cash tender offer of $8.75 per share.
—Associated Press
Promise
gives
market
a bump
ITALIAN PM’S VOW TO
RESIGN ENCOURAGES
INVESTORS; DOW ENJOYS
TRIPLE-FIGURE GAIN
BY DAVID K. RANDALL
AND MATTHEW CRAFT
AP BUSINESS WRITERS
NEW YORK—Stocks turned
higher Tuesday once in-
vestors got the news they
had been hoping for: Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlus-
coni promised to resign once
a new budget was passed. The
Dow Jones industrial closed
up 102 points.
Italy became a key focus
for investors this week after
doubts emerged that the
country would go through
with a tough package of
austerity measures. Many
investors saw Berlusconi as
an obstacle to sweeping eco-
nomic reforms that would be
needed to help Italy cut its
debt load and avoid sinking
into a debt crisis.
The yield on the 10-year
Italian government bond
spiked close to 7 percent
Tuesday, a sign that markets
are questioning the coun-
try’s ability to pay its debt.
Unlike Greece, Portugal or
Ireland—all of which re-
ceived financial lifelines—
Italy has too much debt to be
rescued by its European
neighbors.
Europe’s debt crisis has
dictated much of the trading
in financial markets since the
beginning of October. In-
vestors fear that a default by
Greece or another nation
that shares the euro currency
could lead to a widespread
financial crisis similar to the
one in 2008 after the fall of
Lehman Brothers.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 101.79 points, or
0.8 percent, to close at
12,170.18. Manufacturer 3M
Co. gained 2.7 percent, the
most of the 30 stocks in the
average.
The S&P 500 rose 14.80,
or 1.2 percent, to 1,275.92.
Financial companies posted
the strongest gains. Regions
Financial Corp. jumped 5.3
percent. Wells Fargo & Co.
climbed 4.4 percent.
The Nasdaq composite
rose 32.24, or 1.2 percent, to
2,727.49.
U.S. stock indexes fell in
the morning after Berlusconi
narrowly survived a confi-
dence vote, a sign that he
might continue to cling to
power. The market turned
higher immediately after
headlines crossed around 2
p.m. Eastern saying Berlus-
coni had promised to step
down after economic re-
forms are passed. That is
expected to happen next
week.
European stock markets
were also higher. Italy’s main
index rose 0.7 percent. Ger-
many’s main index rose 0.6
percent, France’s 1.3 per-
cent.
In the U.S., the Labor
Department said employers
advertised more jobs in
September than at any other
point in the past three years.
The 7 percent rise in open-
ings is a sign that companies
may step up hiring.
Priceline.com Inc. rose 8.6
percent after its third-quar-
ter earnings more than dou-
bled from a year earlier. Most
of the gains were attributed
to a jump in hotel bookings.
EYUP AND NURCAN IZLER
THE DEAL >> FOCUS ON LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS
To nominate a business owner for The Deal, email:
DealMaker@freelancestar.com
Provide a description of the business, how long it’s operated,
its location, contact information, website and why the owner
should be featured.
The Free Lance–Star’s coverage of area businesses in
The Deal does not mean that the newspaper is endorsing
any particular business.
NOMINATIONS
ARE THE OWNERS OF SMYRNA MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE AND CAFÉ, A SOUTH STAFFORD RESTAURANT
AND GROCERY SPECIALIZING IN HOMEMADE, HOME-STYLE MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE.
FAMILY: All of our family still
lives in Smyrna, our hometown in
Turkey.
EDUCATION: Eyup: degree
in mechanical engineering
Nurcan: degree in banking
WHAT DID YOU WANT
TO BE WHEN YOU GREW
UP? We both wanted to do
something where we could keep
learning about the world and
different cultures. We have
realized this as we have lived and
worked in more than 20 coun-
tries.
FIRST JOB: Eyup: I worked as
a mechanical engineer for a
company that manufactured
agricultural machinery in Turkey.
Nurcan: I first worked in bank-
ing.
HOW DID YOU END UP
OWNING SMYRNA
MEDITERRANEAN CUI-
SINE AND CAFÉ? The com-
pany I was last working for [as a
mechanical engineer] sent me to
work here in Virginia. After about
five or six years, the company
closed down its operations here.
During that time, we always
found it difficult to find the food
and ingredients we were used to
eating. We also noticed the types
of food our friends here were
eating and knew there was a
healthier alternative for them as
well as ourselves. My wife is a
very good cook, having been
part of a family of very good
cooks. Her family came and
stayed with us for six months
when we first began the business,
helping to come up with recipes
for the food we now serve.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGE YOU’RE
WRESTLING WITH NOW?
Being a small business, we do not
have the kind of money to
advertise and market like big
chains.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE
MOST ABOUT YOUR
JOB? We have actually had
customers, some with serious
health problems, come to us and
say how they’ve lost weight, their
blood pressure is down, the
cholesterol is down. And they
attribute this to changing to the
Mediterranean diet. We’re not
looking to become rich. It is very
satisfying to know that we are
helping people here.
WHAT IS ONE THING
YOU WOULD CHANGE
ABOUT YOUR JOB? That
more people would know about
us and the benefits to their
health the food we cook pro-
vides.
WHO IS YOUR HERO?
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He was
the first president of the Repub-
lic of Turkey. He did so many
wonderful things for the Turkish
people. He created a secular
government, something unheard
of in Muslim countries at the
time. He made Turkey more
modern, brought about great
social changes including making
it possible for women to vote and
hold public office. He is very
much revered in Turkey.
WHAT IS A WEIRD/FUN
FACT ABOUT YOUR PRO-
FESSION? We knew that the
food we serve was healthy and
would help people. We just never
realized we would hear about
results as quick as we did. In two
or three months, customers were
returning and telling us how
good they were feeling, that the
cholesterol was lower, or that
they had lost weight.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD
YOU GIVE SOMEONE
THINKING ABOUT
STARTING A BUSINESS
RIGHT NOW? Make sure you
have the capital. Also, have skill
in the business you starting. My
wife is a great cook. And be
prepared to put a lot of time into
the business.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST
LIKELY TO BE DOING
WHEN NOT WORKING?
We like to travel, to see new
places, meet new people, and
continue to learn about the
world.
WHERE DO YOU WANT
TO BE FIVE YEARS FROM
NOW? Continuing to grow. We
have four employees now. Per-
haps growing larger to employ
more, and exposing more and
more people to the Mediter-
ranean cuisine.
smyrnacuisine.com
—As told to Craig Schulin
briefs
Tax relief is available for
Louisa earthquake victims
People who live or have a business in
Louisa County and were victims of the
Aug. 23 earthquake may qualify for tax
relief from the IRS.
President Obama has declared Louisa
County a federal disaster area, which
permits the IRS to postpone some
deadlines for taxpayers within its
boundaries.
For Louisa, deadlines falling on or
after Aug. 23, and on or before Oct. 31
have been postponed to Oct. 31, 2011.
This includes previously obtained ex-
tensions to file 2010 returns and the
estimated tax payment for the third
quarter, normally due Sept. 15.
In addition, the IRS is waiving the
failure-to-deposit penalties for em-
ployment and excise tax deposits due
on or after Aug. 23, and on or before
Sept. 7, as long as the deposits are made
by Sept. 7, 2011. For more details, see
blogs.fredericksburg.com/whatsin
store.
—Cathy Jett
Area business leaders upbeat
The vast majority of Fredericksburg-
area business leaders believe the local
economy is faring better than the U.S.
as a whole, according to a survey taken
by about 120 people who attended the
Fredericksburg Regional Alliance’s Oct.
27 annual meeting.
The FRA’s written survey asked
attendees a half-dozen questions about
the economy. The FRA plans to start
including surveys in its quarterly
newsletters. Here are among the find-
ings from last month’s survey:
About 60 percent are not confi-
dent that the U.S. economy will
improve in the next six months.
A little more than a third said loss
of retirement values was the single
most important economic issue facing
their household.
About 44 percent thought the
depressed market for housing con-
struction was the biggest factor weigh-
ing on the local economy.
About 88 percent think the local
economy is performing better than the
nation’s, and the rest think it’s doing
about the same.
—Bill Freehling
Maryland-based bank starts
King George County branch
Maryland-based Community Bank of
Tri-County broke ground last week on
its King George County branch, the
company’s first in Virginia and 11th
overall.
The bank is building a roughly
3,000-square-foot branch at the en-
trance of the King George Gateway
shopping center near the Naval Support
Facility Dahlgren and under-construc-
tion University of Mary Washington
graduate campus. Walmart opened a
Supercenter there in August.
The bank branch is expected to open
in the second quarter of 2012.
—Bill Freehling
Homeowners having trouble
making mortgage payments
NEW YORK—While lawmakers in
Washington debated the debt ceiling
and consumer confidence dropped,
more homeowners in the U.S. were
having a harder time making their
mortgage payments. The rate that
mortgage holders were late with their
payments by 60 days or more rose in
the June-to-September period for the
first time since the last three months of
2009, according to TransUnion.
The credit reporting agency said 5.88
percent of homeowners missed two or
more payments, an early sign of
possible foreclosure. That was up from
5.82 percent in the second quarter of
2011.
—Associated Press
FILE / ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor visits a damaged
Louisa County classroom, where
earthquake victims may get tax relief.
PETER CIHELKA / THE FREE LANCE–STAR