Roots of LaMar’s Donuts date back to 1933 when Ray LaMar began making donuts at the age of 17. Ray LaMar learned his trade and progressed through management ranks of Jack Frost Do-nuts Company. Ray LaMar recalled his early days of work at Jack Frost Do-nuts Company in LaSalle Theater at 34th and Broadway. “I was paid $12 a week. I worked every day for 2 years before I found out I was supposed to get a day off.” the store opened for retail business at 11am and stayed open until midnight. Back then, a dozen donuts cost 18 cents and cake donuts were either plain or dusted with powdered sugar or granulated sugar and there were yeast donuts. By the early 1940s, Ray LaMar introduced new flavors, devil’s food donuts, chocolate iced donuts and an apple-spice donut, to the menu.

Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) operates the Central Hockey League (CHL), a development league with 16 teams located in Texas, Oklahoma, and a half dozen other states. Affiliated with the National Hockey League, the CHL serves as a proving ground for young players before they are called up through the ranks. Teams including the Arizona Sundogs (Prescott Valley), the Corpus Christi Rayz (Texas), and the Texas Brahmas (Fort Worth) compete each season for the Ray Miron President's Cup. Started in 1992, the CHL regulates franchise ownership and helps promote its teams. WPHL is a subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corporation.

Elephant & Castle® opened its first North American pub and restaurant in 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. E&C's distinct atmosphere and selection of popular British Classics made it an instant success!

La Quinta...Spanish for "Next to Denny's?" LQ Management is owner of the La Quinta (which is Spanish for the villa) hotel brand. The company has hotels throughout the US (about 45 states), Canada, and Mexico under the La Quinta Inns and La Quinta Inn & Suites brands. LQ Management franchises the majority of its properties. The growing company has more than 750 hotels, which encompass some 65,000 guest rooms; in addition, it has some 250 properties in the development pipeline. La Quinta hotels operate in the limited service, midscale segment. It targets a mix of corporate and leisure travelers. LQ Management is owned by investment firm The Blackstone Group.

Intrawest doesn't mind peaks and valleys in its business, as long as they're covered with snow. Intrawest ULC company owns or has interests in about 10 ski resorts in North America, including a 77% stake in flagship Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia (a 2010 Winter Olympics venue). Intrawest also owns the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Canadian Mountain Holidays, a provider of helicopter access to ski and hiking trails. Intrawest was taken private by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group in 2006 in a deal worth about $2.8 billion, including the assumption of more than $990 million in debt.

And one, and two, and three -- actually, Bannatyne Fitness operates approximately 60 fitness locations in the UK, but who's counting? Duncan Bannatyne, for one. Bannatyne founded his namesake health club company in 1996. As one of the largest independent health club operators in the UK, Bannatyne's has more than 180,000 presumably-more-firm-than-average members in clubs that range from Aberdeen in the north to the south coast of England.

The not-for-profit zoo occupies 55-acres in Hermann Park at the heart of Houston's cultural district. It is home to more than 4,500 animals from about 800 species and hosts about 1.5 million visitors per year. Facilities include the McGovern Children's Zoo, Kipp Aquarium, the tropical bird house, Texas Wetlands, and the Wildlife Carousel. The zoo participates in programs that oversee the breeding of more than 40 endangered animal species. Several of its facilities may be reserved for private functions and private tours are offered "behind the scenes." The Houston Zoo was founded in 1922 to house a bison donated by the US government.

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants lays out the white tablecloth in Columbus, Ohio, and beyond. The company operates about 20 upscale establishments encompassing more than half a dozen dining concepts, including Cameron's American Bistro, Cap City Fine Diner & Bar, Marcella's, Martini Modern Italia, Martini Italian Bistro, Molly Woo's Asian Bistro, and Ocean Prime. Many of the company's restaurants are found in and around Columbus but it also has dining operations in about half a dozen other states. In addition, Cameron Mitchell offers catering services. Founder, chef, and president Cameron Mitchell left cross-town rival Fifty-Five Restaurant Group in 1992 to open his first restaurant, Cameron's American Bistro.

Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) operates lotteries and other games of chance in the Atlantic Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. It manages scratch-off card games, regional lottery drawings, and video lottery games, as well as interactive games played online. All of the profits generated by the company's games are returned to the provinces and used for a variety of programs. ALC was formed in 1976 and is owned by the four provincial governments.

The board of Northern Racing has given approval for the development of a new £7.5m Grandstand in the Premier Enclosure at Fontwell Park Racecourse in West Sussex. Architects have been appointed to produce a three-story building complete with twelve private hospitality boxes on the top floor, a glass fronted hospitality/banqueting lounge for 250 people on the middle floor and a multi-purpose hall on the ground floor with new catering and betting facilities. The project managers for the scheme are Arcadis AYH and the architects are Manchester based AFL. It promises to be one of the best Grandstands in the country. As well as being used for more than twenty race meetings a year, the stand will be hired seven days a week for events including weddings, conferences and exhibitions.

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