BUSINESS BUZZ

WHAT’S UP WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

Hospital Merger

Two of East Dallas’ biggest names in healthcare became one recently, when BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE HEALTH and its affiliate TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION took over operations at DOCTORS HOSPITAL AT WHITE ROCK LAKE.

During a May ceremony, the newly anointed Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – White Rock was unveiled. “Our intent with this partnership is to take the best of both,” said Brett Lee, Dallas Market CEO at Tenet Healthcare, during the event. “We got the opportunity to work with some really talented people with this partnership.” The staff at Doctors Hospital will not be impacted, and the hospital will continue to accept all of the major insurance providers, meaning patients should still be able to access their preferred doctors. Doctors Hospital is one of five in North Texas that Baylor and Tenet formed partnerships with this spring. The move does stitch the 57-year-old, 218-bed local hospital into a much larger medical system that now includes 48 hospitals, 6,000 active physicians and 40,000 other employees. Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest nonprofit healthcare provider in the state with total assets of $9 billion.

EAT UP, DRINK UP

Iconic Dallas restaurant group NORMA’S CAFÉ was busy last month hiring more than 80 positions for its new location at Caruth Plaza, 9100 N. Central Expressway, suite 151. They plan to open this month, offering diners big bites of traditional southern flavor including their famed chicken-fried steak and mile-high pie. This marks their fourth store, with additional locations in North Dallas and Frisco. The original Norma’s Café opened in 1956 in Oak Cliff.

ATOMIC PIE, which closed last summer amid plans to expand, has brought back carry-out service from 4-9 p.m. daily, with plans to restore full restaurant service soon. When it reopens, it will have a fresh vision that also incorporates Lake Highlands Creamery. New investors are making the expansion possible, the business said on its Facebook page: “Our new managing partners, Tom Goodale and Ryan Nicholson have been working hard to help put together a fresh new concept for Atomic Pie. We think we have a well balanced menu and atmosphere that the neighborhood will be proud of.”

COSTCO’S COMING

After the Dallas City Council approved a $3 million tax credit, COSTCO WHOLESALE is prepped to begin work on a 13-acre property on Coit at Churchill. The retail giant is expected to bring in $16.8 million in sales and property tax in its first 20 years of operation. They will also be bringing an anticipated 225 full- and part-time jobs that pay an average of $22 an hour, but a base of $13, well above both minimum wage at $7.25, and Dallas’ living wage of $10.37. Construction will begin in August, with the store expected to open in February 2017.