Trade Talk: American schedules Chicago flights

American Airlines has scheduled flight times for service between Fargo Hector International Airport and Chicago O’Hare.

The new service, announced last month, begins April 6.

The nonstop jet service will be offered by American Eagle Airlines, the regional affiliate of American Airlines.

There will be three daily flights from Hector to O’Hare.

• Flight 3710 departs at 7 a.m. and arrives at 8:39 a.m. This flight begins April 7.

• Flight 3711 departs at noon and arrives at 1:39 p.m.

• Flight 3713 departs at 3:30 p.m. and arrives at 5:09 p.m.

  There will be three daily flights from O’Hare to Hector:

• Flight 3712 departs at 9:30 a.m. and arrives at 11:30 a.m.

• Flight 3714 departs at 1 p.m. and arrives at 3 p.m.

• Flight 3716 departs at 8 p.m. and arrives at 10 p.m.

McAlister’s Deli chain plans stores in Fargo area

McAlister’s Deli, a Ridgeland, Miss.-based quick-casual restaurant chain, plans to open two stores in the Fargo area by 2011.

“We’ve wanted to enter the Fargo market for a while and feel the time is right,” said Phil Friedman, president and CEO of McAlister’s Deli.

Founded in 1989, the restaurant is known for its spuds, sandwiches, salads, desserts and trademarked Famous Sweet Tea.

McAlister’s has more than 285 restaurants in 22 states.

Goodfellas Pizza earns accreditation

West Fargo-based Goodfellas Pizza is the latest North Dakota company to operate under the North Dakota state meat and poultry inspection program.

“Goodfellas has met all the requirements for the meat inspection program,” said Doug Goehring, state agriculture commissioner.

The pizzeria now operates under a grant of inspection issued by the state Department of Agriculture that enables it to sell products wholesale to other retail establishments anywhere in the state.

“It’s a very big deal for us,” said Goodfellas co-owner Tom Jerome. “We get our pizzas put in a lot of places around town and potentially around the whole state.”

Fourteen North Dakota companies operate under the state meat and poultry inspection program.

North Dakota tribe, union form partnership

North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Indian Tribe has partnered with the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department to develop long-term construction career opportunities on the reservation.

The program is part of the newly created Native Construction Careers Institute, a national partnership involving 12 construction unions, Indian tribes and the Council for Tribal Employment Rights.

The NCCI pilot program was instituted at Spirit Lake last winter, with 20 tribal members participating in 300 hours of training provided by the Laborers International Union of North America. Ninety-two percent graduated and were hired by private contractors.

Two graduates of a second 200-hour training program covering entrepreneurial skills have established their own subcontracting firms.

NCCI and the Spirit Lake Tribe have received stimulus funding from the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development to provide a third training program next spring.

For information about the program, contact Jolene Crosswhite, director of Spirit Lake Employment and Training at (701) 766-1200, or Conrad Edwards, Council for Tribal Employment Rights at (253) 661-2156.

Readers can reach Business Editor Craig McEwen at (701) 241-5502 and business reporter Tracy Frank at (701) 241-5526

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