WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Taco restaurant to replace upscale grill in downtown; Lawrence's longtime Pyramid Pizza restaurant closes

An upscale restaurant in downtown Lawrence soon will be replaced by one with a comfy couch and a good 7-layer bean dip. Those are the kinds of twists and turns you get when you put a veteran food truck chef in charge of opening a new restaurant. In November, Ta Co. will be opening in the space at Eighth and Massachusetts streets currently occupied by RND Corner Grille. Jay Draskovich — the chef behind ...

Analysis: Understanding what matters and what doesn't in the NCAA's case against KU

Read the message boards or chat rooms and it has been apparent for a while that KU basketball fans were in for a rude awakening. The alarm began blaring on Monday when the NCAA document came in the mail. That document — a Notice of Allegations, which is the NCAA’s equivalent of an indictment — claims the men’s basketball program was involved in some shady recruiting practices and could face some of the ...

Beauty academy to locate in downtown; retail shop owner buys vacant Buckle building

This is the time of year where I sometimes do have luck finding a cheap facial. It is called a Halloween mask. But soon, cheap facials and a whole lot of other spa services, will become a year-round offering at Ninth and Massachusetts streets. Elegant Design Beauty Academy is hoping to make the center of downtown the center for beauty and spa education in Lawrence. The business is opening a full-service beauty ...

Grinders reopens in downtown with local music and what it hopes is more of a Lawrence vibe

I can assure you that Olive Garden does not fly its all-you-can eat breadsticks in from Italy. If it did, my table alone would need its own FAA tower. Maybe a flight control tower will be the newest addition to downtown’s skyline, though, because there is a restaurant touting it flies rolls for its Philly cheesesteaks in from Philadelphia. The restaurant isn’t exactly new. Rather it is revamped and ...

LMH leaders say rumors of 'wholesale layoffs' are untrue, but financial losses continue; eastern Lawrence clinic to open

Amid continuing financial losses, leaders of LMH Health are now combating — and denying — rumors that the nonprofit hospital will turn to large-scale layoffs to improve the business’s bottom line. At a Wednesday evening meeting of the hospital’s board of trustees, board member Bob Moody said he had become aware that some hospital staff members were under the impression that “wholesale layoffs” ...