Wheat State growing
After only three years in existence, Wheat State Pizza is expanding. The company, which operates two restaurants in Emporia, now has 11 restaurants in Kansas and is preparing to open another store in Kansas, as well as one in Springfield, Mo.
Founded by Ryan Murphy in 2004, Wheat State grew from its beginnings in Lawrence and now operates restaurants or franchises in Baldwin City, Overland Park, Junction City, Pittsburg, Paola, Shawnee and Overbrook. A restaurant is to open next week in Salina and the company says it is looking for places in the Wichita and Topeka markets as well as other sites in Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.
Information about the company, which is known for its handmade pizza crust, is revising its Web site, www.wheatstatepizza.com. Information is also available from Troy Odle at (866) 92-WHEAT.
Adds national affiliation
A Lasting Image Photography of Olpe has been accepted for membership in Senior Photographers International, a portrait photographers association whose members photograph more than 200,000 high school seniors each year.
Staci Sull, who owns A Lasting Image Photography, will be eligible to participate in meeting with other association members to share expertise and ideas and discuss other aspects of their business. A Lasting Image Photography studio is now included on the organization’s Web site, www.seniorphotog.com., and also has its own site, www.alastingimagephoto.com.
The studio, at 112 Anna St. in Olpe, may be reached at (620) 475-3953.
Heads area sales
Jeffrey Burmeister of Manhattan is U.S. Cellular’s new area sales manager, overseeing the north-central Kansas area, which includes Emporia.
Burmeister, who joined the company in 2000, has been a retail wireless consultant in Ellsworth, Maine, and an account executive and U.S. Cellular store manager in Portland, Maine.
U.S. Cellular has been in service in north-central Kansas for a year.
Certified Angus in stock
Price Chopper stores, including the market in Emporia, are now selling Certified Angus Beef brand, a brand the company says is known for marbling standards met by only one in five Angus-type cattle, or 8 percent of federally graded beef.
Information about the brand, including recipes and information on beef cuts, is online at www.certifiedangusbeef.com.
Foreclosures rise
LOS ANGELES — The number of foreclosure filings reported in the U.S. last month jumped 93 percent from July of 2006 and rose 9 percent from June, the latest sign that homeowners are having trouble making payments and finding buyers during the national housing downturn.
There were 179,599 foreclosure filings reported during July, up from 92,845 during the same period a year ago, Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. said Tuesday. There were 164,644 foreclosure filings reported in June.
The national foreclosure rate in July was one filing for every 693 households, the company said.