This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

The original Café 121 in Sanford has been a popular dining destination for locals since 2008. So popular, in fact, that owner/chef Gregg Hamm is taking his show on the road. The Johnson & Wales-trained chef opened a second Café 121 (140 E. Chatham St.; 919-468-9884; chefhamm.com) in downtown Cary on Valentine's Day.

"We tried to keep the opening quiet," says Hamm. "We're still hanging pictures on the walls, and the exterior renovations to the building aren't finished." Even so, those who remember the last incarnation of the space as EJ's Soul Food will be astonished at its transformation into an inviting, casually romantic spot with fresh flowers and white linens on the tables.

Café 121 serves lunch Tuesday-Friday, brunch Saturday and Sunday, and - at least for now - dinner Friday and Saturday nights only.

The chef's signature Jala-Ribeye (grilled to order and topped with jalapeño-spiked pimento cheese) highlights a mostly traditional offering of steaks, seafood and pasta dishes. An extensive selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads and homemade soups should attract a lunchtime following in short order.

And with eggs Benedict, jumbo pancakes, and Southern fried chicken with gravy and eggs your way among the brunch options on weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Café 121 just might succeed in bringing people into downtown Cary on weekends.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

A national staffing firm based in Oklahoma City has opened a branch in Sanford, led by franchisee Joe Clancy.

Clancy and his team at the new Sanford location of Express Employment Professionals, located at 2230 Jefferson Davis Highway, will help match local job seekers with positions. Express places applicants in traditional, temporary and contract jobs in a range of industries, including professional, transportation, customer service, administrative, technical and light industrial.

Applicants can submit their applications to Express Employment Professionals at the Sanford office or by calling 919-775-1292.

Nationally, Express Employment Professionals placed 335,000 people in jobs last year.

Clancy has a background in accounting and finance and has been a past board member of the Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Lee County. He is a current member of the board of directors at Central Carolina Hospital.

Zurn Industries, a manufacturer of engineered plumbing products, announced today it is expanding its Sanford plant and expects to create 38 jobs over the next three years.

The Erie, Penn.-based company received a $38,000 grant from the One North Carolina fund as part the expansion.

The average wage for the new jobs will be $33,356, plus benefits.  That's below the Lee County annual wage of $36,608.

Zurn makes and distributes plumbing products and accessories, including drainage systems, water control products, hydrants and fixtures.
 

Lowe's Home Improvement has set Sept. 8 as the grand opening of its new Sanford store, which will replace the one totaled by the April 16 tornado.

The rebuilt, $10 million store will provide another sign of rebirth for the Lee County community, which was hit hard by the tornado.

The store will employ 160 people. All of the damaged store's employees were shifted to other Lowe's nearby. The store will have 103,000 square feet of sales space, plus a 34,000-square-foot garden center.

Officials broke ground on the replacement store in May.

The reopening festivities will include food, entertainment and more.

On Friday, a Sanford Hardee's restaurant that was severely damaged by the April 16 tornadoes in North Carolina will reopen to the public.

The building at 3002 S. Horner Blvd. in the Southside Plaza shopping center sustained severe damage. The tornado blew out all of the restaurant's windows and ruined the air conditioning units attached to the roof. The store is directly across the street from the Lowe's Home Improvement store that was nearly demolished in the storm and sits between the Lowe's and other businesses like Big Lots and Tractor Supply Co. that sustained the heaviest damage.

Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the Rocky Mount-based Hardee's franchisee for the area, has had crews working around the clock since the day after the tornado to repair the damage and reopen the store.

“We want the community and our customers to know that we stand with them as many people and businesses are still hurting,” said Mike Boddie, president of Boddie-Noell’s restaurant division.

The restaurant will reopen at 11 a.m. on Friday. Boddie-Noell will donate 10 percent of the store's sales through May 15 to the Red Cross.

Lowe's Home Improvement will rebuild its Sanford store that was severely damaged by a tornado Saturday evening. The Mooresville-based home improvement company had previously said it was not sure if the store would be rebuilt.

The Sanford store, which opened in 1998, has been condemned by the city, said Lowe's spokeswoman Karen Cobb. Demolition of the remaining structure will start soon, she said, possibly as early as this weekend. The company hopes to reopen the store before the end of the year.

The store's 160 employees, many of whom were heralded as heroes after ushering customers to safety in the back of the store during the storm, were all moved to other nearby Lowe's stores.

Caterpillar reported stronger fourth-quarter profit and sales, as global economic recovery helps the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment gain ground.

The results beat Wall Street expectations and Caterpillar officials predict that 2011 also will exceed analysts' projections.

The company's shares, up nearly 80 percent in the past year, rose 53 cents to $96.29 in morning trading.

With its improving fortunes, Caterpillar also is expanding production and hiring more workers. The Illinois company cut thousands of employees worldwide during the recession, including hundreds in the Triangle.

But last year Caterpillar announced plans to build a new factory in Winston-Salem and expand its Sanford operations. The company already employs more than 1,000 workers in North Carolina, mostly at operations in Clayton, Cary and Sanford, and plans to add hundreds more.

An Italian company that makes engine and transmission components is planning a $15 million expansion of its Sanford facility and adding 65 jobs to build three new fuel systems for Chrysler cars.

Magneti Marelli Powertrain Systems USA said today that it will expand its existing 250,000-square-foot facility on Nash Street in Sanford.

The company will add jobs in all three areas of production: die-casting, machining, plastic molding and assembly, plus support areas, including maintenance, logistics and engineering.

The company, which is part of an Italian company, Magneti Marelli Holding S.p.A., currently employs 290 people at its plant. The expansion is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

A beauty products company is planning a $12 million expansion at its Sanford manufacturing operations and expects to add 140 jobs by early next year.

Coty Inc. already makes lotions and fragrances at its Sanford facility, which opened in 1971 and employs about 800 people. The expansion will add production lines to make nail polishes. Production is scheduled to begin in March.

City and Lee County officials provided incentives worth about $280,000 to attract the jobs, which will pay an average of about $38,000 a year, said Bob Heuts, economic development director for Lee County.

"We did provide some incentives to make sure that project ended up here and not somewhere else," Heuts said. "Obviously, a manufacturer like that has many options around the world."

SANFORD - Fuquay-Varina scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to overcome Lee County 31-10 and claim a share of the Tri-Nine 4A conference championship on Friday.

The Bengals (10-1 overall, 7-1 Tri-9) will be seeded behind Panther Creek, who tied F-V for the title but finished ahead on the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Catamounts one-point victory over the Bengals earlier this season.