Around Town -- February 15, 2013 - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

  A local home builder jumps into the market hoping to address area housing demand; a downtown restaurant prepares to unveil a brand new dining environment; while another eatery takes home national honors -- all this in today's "Around Town."

A new home building business hits the ground running with construction underway in the Bismarck-Mandan area.  Patriot Homes, owned by Navy veteran, Tory Otto, offers a variety of homes, from custom-built to entry-level.  "I'm really trying to bring a good service to the neighborhood, and that, of course, is what the Patriot is all about is the service.  So I've partnered up with the Mariners, which is a land development company in town and we're going to build homes, as well as develop," says Tory Otto, Owner of Patriot Homes.

Patriot currently has buildable lots available in the Country Hills subdivision Northeast of Bismarck, as well as in the Wheatland Hills Development in Lincoln.  One of the Country Hills projects will be in the Parade of Homes this Fall.  For additional information, e-mail owner Tory Otto at tory@marinerconstruction.com.

You may have noticed McDonald's on Main is closed for renovations.  What you may not know is the updated, contemporary look that awaits customers when the restaurant reopens.  "I call it a McCafe theme.  It's going to be softer, padded seats, lighter colors, graphic wallpapers instead of pictures.  So, it's going to be a whole new theme McDonald's is working on.  So we're pretty excited," says Denny Sotebeer, Owner/Operator on Main Street McDonald's.

Changes will bring at least one new menu item -- a chicken with veggie wrap set to be introduced in early April.  Later this Spring, a dual order point drive-thru will be added.  While you won't be able to eat inside for another three weeks, the drive-thru reopens Tuesday.  

The Bismarck Ground Round was recently chosen as "2012 Restaurant of the Year" at the chain's national convention in San Francisco.  Bismarck has held top sales in the country for Ground Round restaurants 14 years in a row.  Ground Round operates in 13 states.