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Success at Special Kids Banquet
October 03, 2007
Special Kids is truly blessed to be a part of this amazing community in Rutherford County. Over 400 guests attended the Everyday Heroes banquet.

We are also thankful for Calvary Baptist Church offering their facilities and Demos’ restaurant providing the dinner. Because of their willingness to support the banquet, every dollar invested in Special Kids goes directly to the care of children with special needs. Lots of friends came to enjoy the evening. With the event Sponsorships by Dr. Lovelace, SEC, Inc., The Blueberry Patch & The Lowe Family this event turned out to be a wonderful way to help bring in more investements for children at Special Kids.

Hendersonville, Tennessee - September 28, 2007- The Hendersonville Area Chamber of Commerce showed huge success with the 8th annual Taste of Hendersonville on September 20th, as people from all over the area enjoyed food and fun with Historic Rock Castle as the backdrop to a perfect evening.

This year’s event boasted over 1000 people in attendance and was presented by Demo’s Steak and Spaghetti House. Another benefit to this year’s event was that the non-profit civic clubs and organizations were on hand with information and goodies for attendees and a kid’s area sponsored by Woodmont Prudential Realty’s Scott Hanning kept children happy and active. Other sponsors included IsurfSumner.com, Sumner Lifestyles magazine, Alsco, Budweiser and U.S. Foodservice.

Chamber President John Pennington states, “The quality of the restaurants along with the reputation the ‘Taste’ has built brought out a great crowd. We appreciate the support of our restaurants and particularly Peter Demos for chairing the event.”

The official Taste judges were Deanna Lambert – WMBB News 13 in Florida, September Norman – September’s Café, and Dan Thomas – WSMV Nashville. After tasting each restaurants foods and much deliberation, the Best of Taste award was given to the Black-Eyed Pea. Walking away with the People’s Choice award was Texas Roadhouse.

The Hendersonville Area Chamber of Commerce is an active group of business people providing networking opportunities, small business support, public representation and information services. Current membership stands at approximately 730.

2004 Taste of Hendersonville best booth winner is shown here with September Norman, Celebrity Judges, Anna Marie Ritter and Holly Thompson and Sharon Davis of September’s Café.

MURFREESBORO, TENN. - Middle Tennesseans have come to count on Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House for consistently flavorful recipes for nearly twenty years. But patrons know that some of the best meals available at Demos' restaurants are not even on the menu! That's why Demos' launched an internal contest to identify the best employee-created meal throughout the four-restaurant chain.
"Employees create new items that are not on the menu all the time," says Peter Demos, president of Demos'. "Many of these items are very tasty, and we wanted to give our customers an opportunity to experience the creativity of our staff."

After more than 100 entries, the winning dish was announced this week. Chicken Florentine by Hendersonville Demos' manager Mike Crabtree took top prize.

"Employees had to use existing ingredients while keeping it profitable at the $3.95 Lunch Special price," said Demos.

The winner of the contest won a $200 cash prize and the dish will be featured on the Hendersonville menu in August. Once the recipe is tested in the Hendersonville kitchen, the dish will begin appearing in the other area restaurants.

Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House was started in 1989 in Murfreesboro by Jim and Doris Demos. The Demos' had a vision of a restaurant that would offer very affordable, unique entrees, made with family recipes and service exceeding customer expectations. Recipes are made from scratch and all steaks are USDA choice and hand cut on the premises. Demos' Restaurants can now be found in Lebanon, Hendersonville and downtown Nashville.

"Whittlemania" — a local campaign to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity — launched its 15th year with meal ticket sales on March 1, redeemable in April at Demos' Steak & Spaghetti House in Murfreesboro and Toot's Restaurants in Murfreesboro and Smyrna.

Habitat for Humanity's largest annual fundraiser, this year participants may purchase separate Toot's and Demos' tickets, at a cost of $5 each, said Rutherford Habitat Executive Director Beth Smith.
Tickets may be redeemed for up to $7 value in meals at the restaurant, throughout April.
Whittlemania namesake Dan Whittle, a retired reporter/columnist for The Daily News Journal, announced main sponsors of this year's fundraiser.

"As in years past, we're proud to announce loyal joint sponsors of The Daily News Journal, Toot's, Demos' and Lamar Advertising," Whittle said. "These companies have been the triggering mechanisms that have generated funds to construct 15 Habitat homes in La Vergne, Smyrna and Murfreesboro, to date. Plans call for this year's construction of a Whittlemania home in Murfreesboro."

As in past years, tickets can be purchased at The DNJ office at the corner of Lytle and Walnut streets in Murfreesboro, as well as Habitat board members and volunteers, and at the Habitat offices and Restore at 850 Mercury Blvd.

"Plus, this year, we'll have tickets being distributed at the MTSU campus by our Habitat Chapter at the university," Smith said.

The campaign slogan — "Whittlemania! Catch it! Don't fight the feeling!" was created 10 years ago by Murfreesboro political consultant Mike Terry.

"I like the feel of the Whittlemania campaign because for a few dollars for a good meal, the entire community can participate in constructing a brand-new home for some deserving low-income family each year," Terry described his motivation to work in the cause. "Whittlemania promotes getting involved and spreads the concept of volunteerism."

For further information about Whittlemania, call 890-5877.

Detroit Free Press
OK, the boss gave us a tough one this time. These things are easy to put together during day events, but when a deadline-pushing night event like the Motor City Bowl is the assignment ... well, things can be a little tricky.

So as we wandered the Ford Field concourse Tuesday night, we were kind of scrambling for a sexy nugget.
That's when the old eagle eye spotted a line of young men. And at the end of the line was a beautiful young woman wearing a tiara. She was seated and signing photographs of herself.
"Bingo!" we thought.

Turns out Miss Michigan Angela Corsi was in the house to spread the word about the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan and Crossroads for Youth, an Oxford-based nonprofit that mostly works with orphans.

Corsi, 24, won the state pageant in June and will represent Michigan in the Miss America Pageant next month in Las Vegas. She is a graduate of Farmington Hills Mercy and Michigan State. She is in grad school at Michigan, but had to take the year off when she brought home the coveted honor. Her talent is contemporary en pointe ballet, which, if you can picture dancers on their tippy-toes grooving to swing instead of classical music, you got it.

So we definitely had a story. But we had to wait until she got finished signing photographs and posing with fans for cell phone shots.

So we waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Finally after she signed her last photo, she strolled over to your intrepid reporter, stuck out her hand and apologized profusely.

No problem. But hey, this is a sports section. What we want to know is whether she will win the championship, er, pageant next month.

She made no promises but said, "It will be the culmination of a lot of hard work."
The Miss America Pageant will be televised on CMT at 8 p.m. on Jan. 29. For more information about Make-A-Wish, go to www.wishmich.org. For more about Crossroads, go to www.crossroadsforyouth.org.

Motor City a must for Santa

Who knew Santa was a Blue Raider?

Rolling through a sea of blue, we noticed Santa fisting a brew and yelling for Middle Tennessee.
After this dude's busiest day of the year?

"I had to give my reindeer and elves the night off so I could come watch my Raiders in their first bowl game in ... years," Santa yelled over the screaming throng.

OK, OK. The guy in the Santa suit was actually Mike Davis, 32. He caught a plane in from Nashville, Tenn., on Christmas night. Despite the loss, Santa had big plans for the rest of Tuesday night.
"I'll drink some more eggnog," he said.

"With rum!" one of Santa's helpers yelled.

A lil' something about MTSU

And for those of you wondering about Middle Tennessee, here's the 411.

The college has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students and is located in Murfreesboro, which is 30 miles southeast of Nashville.

One famous alumnus is James M. Buchanan, the winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for economics.
Another is U.S. Sen. Albert Gore Sr. Yeah, he's the former vice president's dad.

But in our minds, the thing that stands out the most about Murfreesboro is the restaurant that goes by the name of Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House.

This place serves a mean steak and it comes with a side of spaghetti.
Don't believe us? Then ask Russell Luna.

Luna, 20, is a sophomore at Middle Tennessee and works at the Daily (Tenn.) Herald of nearby Columbia.
"It is definitely the most famous restaurant in Murfreesboro," Luna said. "They have great food and great steaks.

Now you are wondering how we know about this place. Well, back in the day, we found ourselves spending the night in Murfreesboro, so we experienced the steak and spaghetti combination firsthand.
Journalism and travel agency. You get it all here.

The Motor City Bowl Ticker was compiled by VINCE ELLIS. He can be reached at 313-222-6479 or vellis@freepress.com.

Murfreesboro, TN
Listening to customer input and responding to ever-increasing business volume, the Murfreesboro location has just completed a massive remodeling project designed to further enhance their trademark aesthetics, service and convenience.

The Demos family has always felt a deep appreciation for their customers and is constantly looking for new ways to exceed customer expectations through their attention to service, quality of food and the dining experience itself.

From the bustling dining room, Doris Demos stated, “For over 16 years, our emphasis has centered on the pursuit of total customer satisfaction. This comprehensive remodeling project ensures the most comfortable dining experience possible to show our customers that we listen and that we care.”

The Demos remodeling plan added 75 parking places, additional seating, new chandeliers, softer lighting and new exterior awnings. The restaurant engaged the very same designer and contractor who gave the restaurant its original look in 1989 to ensure the restaurant’s trademark aesthetics.

Voted “Best Restaurant” for 11 years in a row, Demos’ Steak and Spaghetti House in Murfreesboro is located at 1115 Northwest Broad Street.

HENDERSONVILLE, TN
Award-winning Demos’ Steak and Spaghetti House brought an unprecedented event that “hovered” over Hendersonville, Tennessee on Monday, January 10th. A helicopter was used for over two hours to prepare the parking lot to be paved for their new restaurant at 161 Indian Lake Boulevard in Hendersonville, Tennessee at the entrance to Drakes Creek Park. Poor weather had delayed the opening of the new Demos’ restaurant for almost a month, so restaurant founders and owners, Jim and Doris Demos decided to dry the surface by contracting Colemill Enterprises, a helicopter rental company based at Cornelia Field to hover over the parking area to dry the lot enough to put a second layer of gravel to prepare for paving. Pat Gregory, the pilot, arrived with his Bell Jet Ranger helicopter (40 ft. wing span) at the site at 12:00 noon on Monday, January 10th.

This unique community event prepared the way for Demos’ Steak and Spaghetti House to benefit the local economy by bringing it’s successful restaurant to Hendersonville. Demos’ Steak and Spaghetti Houses are popular eateries in Murfreesboro, Lebanon and Downtown Nashville. Demos' joins several other successful businesses coming to Hendersonville such as a new Home Depot, a Wal Mart Super center and a 54,000 sq ft. retail development.