Family owned Columbus Brick Company has been bought out by Johnson City, Tennessee-based brick manufacturing company, General Shale.
Founded in 1928, General Shale is the North American subsidiary of Wienerberger AG, which is located in Vienna, Austria.
Columbus Brick Company, which was a fourth-generation family business in the area that manufactures bricks in a variety of colors, shapes, textures and style, was established in 1890. To this day, Columbus Brick remains as the only brick manufacturing company in the United States that offers genuine, paper-cut brick. Columbus Brick manufactures a total of 140 million brick units annually and employs 75 people.
Moving forward, Columbus Brick will keep its name as a subsidiary of General Shale and will fall under the new leadership of General Shale President and CEO Charles Smith. However, Al Puckett, Columbus Brick’s former CEO, will serve the company in an advisory capacity, and Ed Thebaud, general manager, will continue to oversee day-to-day operations locally.
On Main Street, the historic Columbus depot is expected to receive a certificate of occupancy by Friday, Royce Hudspeth of Rhett Real Estate said.
The depot, which was purchased by Gayle Guynup in 2014, will feature one-bedroom apartments and commercial space. There will be four apartments available on the second floor.
Hudspeth said it is still unknown who will occupy the first-floor commercial space. There is a possibility for one tenant to occupy approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space, or two tenants, each with 3,500 square feet of space.
Also happening on Main Street in Columbus, a new boutique is scheduled to open on Friday.
Mira Mira, owned by Columbus natives Margaret Ann Borland and Tami McBryde, specializes in women’s clothing, jewelry and gifts. Borland previously owned a catering business, Table of Plenty, which has been taken over by her brother, Marty Wages. McBryde previously owned Mam’selles, which was also a clothing boutique located in Columbus.
Mira Mira will be open Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Moving on to Starkville, Advanced Collision Repair has reopened in a larger location at 1025 Highway 12 W., next to Waffle House.
The building, which was originally designed for a Kia Dealership but was never filled, is only two miles west of the previous shop located at 825 Highway 12 W. next to Zaxby’s.
Advanced Collision Repair operates Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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