Wolfchase Macaroni Grill Sells for $1.9 Million

The Romano’s Macaroni Grill at 2859 N. Germantown Parkway in the Wolfchase area sold in an April 14 special warranty deed for $1.9 million to King Chow and Jasmine Lin of Cordova.

Dallas-based Chili’s Inc. sold the 6,564-square-foot restaurant to Chow and Lin, who financed the purchase with a $1.4 million trust deed through First Capital Bank.

Jeffery Hoban signed the warranty deed as vice president of Chili’s.

Built in 1998, the restaurant sits on 1.69 acres at the southwest corner of North Germantown Parkway and Stage Road across from Wolfchase Galleria.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2009 appraisal was $2.3 million.

The transaction also included an assignment of rents and leases from Chow and Lin to First Capital.

The restaurant is one of two Macaroni Grill locations in Memphis; the other is at 6705 Poplar Ave. in Germantown’s Carrefour at Kirby Woods.

Chili’s bought the parcel for $1.1 million in October 1998 – a year after Wolfchase Galleria opened – from L&G Development LLC and then developed and built the restaurant.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

FHN Q1 Results Point to Recovery

The parent company of First Tennessee Bank posted its eighth straight quarterly loss Friday morning, although the loss was narrower than expected and brings the bank closer to profitability again.

Memphis-based First Horizon National Corp., the largest banking company based in the state, during the first three months of 2010 beat its fourth-quarter earnings, socked away less money to cover bad loans and saw deposits rise.

The company reported a net loss of $27.7 million, or 12 cents a share, for the quarter. That compared with a loss of $70.6 million, or 32 cents a share, in the fourth quarter.

First-quarter earnings beat the consensus expected loss of about 16 cents a share.

FHN cut its loan loss provision to $105.5 million from $135 million in the fourth quarter. Falling loan balances shrunk the company’s assets from $26.4 billion at the end of 2009 to $25.6 billion.

The news was in line with the trend at other major banks that have reported Q1 earnings so far. Bank of America and JPMorgan posted surprising profits, suggesting banks are emerging from the recession seemingly stronger and healthier, or, as in FHN’s case, are on the verge of doing so.

“The economic recovery won’t be a straight line, but we’re doing what we said we would do to move toward sustained profitability,” said FHN CEO Bryan Jordan.

Opinions vary as to timing, but FHN is expected to be back in the black sometime later this year.

– Andy Meek

Appraiser’s License Permanently Revoked

The Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission has permanently revoked the residential appraisal license of Rex McCasland Jr. of Memphis.

The board took the action because McCasland pleaded guilty in Memphis federal court after being charged with a conspiracy charge related to mortgage fraud. The charges stemmed from appraisals from 2003 to 2006.

– Tom Wilemon

Bioworks Luncheon Set for Thursday

The next Memphis Bioworks Business Association Luncheon will feature three panelists who will offer “Insightful Discussion on Bioscience Technology.”

The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Fogelman Executive Center on the University of Memphis campus. The $25 online registration includes parking.

To register, visit www.bioworksbusiness.com.

The panelists are Russell Ingram, president of the Memphis Coalition for Advanced Networking; Dr. Clayton Naeve, chief information officer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; and Brad Silver, chief executive officer of Computable Genomix.

– Tom Wilemon

UTHSC to Hold Health Education Seminar

The Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research will hold events in observance of National Minority Health Month Friday and April 27 at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

On Friday, Dr. Rani Whitfield, a board-certified family physician in Baton Rouge, La., will present “H2D and Health Disparities,” a discussion on how he uses hip hop music to reach minorities and other vulnerable populations to explain health disparities and communicate culturally appropriate health messages.

On April 27, CHEER will present “The Mayor’s View on The Med and Health Disparities,” a seminar led by interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford. Ford will discuss his view of the funding challenges at The Regional Medical Center at Memphis and how the facility plays a role in Shelby County’s strategy for reducing health disparities.

Both events will begin at noon and will be held on the UTHSC campus at the Student-Alumni Center, 800 Madison Ave.

April is designated National Minority Health Month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.

For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu/CHEER.

– Taylor Shoptaw

Frist: Legal Fight Over Health Care Won’t Succeed

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says an effort to challenge the constitutionality of the new federal health care law is not likely to succeed.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen has defended Attorney General Bob Cooper’s legal opinion that the Legislature can’t force him to file lawsuits over the law.

All three Republicans running for Tennessee governor this year have voiced support for a legal challenge.

Frist, who decided against seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination last year, told reporters that he’s proud the new law will help reduce the number of uninsured people in the country.

But Frist added that he understands that many oppose the law.

– The Associated Press

Arkansas Man Sentenced To 10 Years for Obama Plot

A young white supremacist was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for conspiring to kill then-presidential candidate Barack Obama and dozens of other blacks.

U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen sentenced Paul Schlesselman, 19, of Helena-West Helena, Ark. He had pleaded guilty in January to his role in the plot.

A co-defendant, Daniel Cowart, 21, of Bells, Tenn., pleaded guilty in March and is awaiting sentencing.

Schlesselman’s attorney, Doris Randle-Holt, declined comment on the sentence. Schlesselman also was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

– The Associated Press