South metro business briefs

Three local designers will compete this fall in a Burnsville challenge inspired by HGTV, and local homeowners will reap the benefits.

The Designer's Challenge will be held Oct. 9 at remodeling company New Spaces, 2105 W. 143rd St.

Homeowners can submit their kitchen, bath or lower level to be chosen as a project to be redesigned. Projects must be submitted by Monday.

The designers will have less than 10 minutes to present their remodels for different categories and the audience will vote on the best designs. If the design for a homeowner's project is selected, the homeowner will be eligible for remodeling project incentives.

The event is free and will be held in two identical sessions, one starting at 10 a.m. and the other at 12:30 p.m.

"I think overall the appeal of HGTV is that you get to see a project come to life vicariously through somebody else. We hope that this event will offer the same thing," said Rick Storlie, consumer liaison for New Spaces.

There will also be a chef demonstration prepared by Warners' Stellian chef Cheryl Francke at 11:30 a.m. and a resource fair hosted by Marvin Windows and Doors, Warners' Stellian and Granite-Tops.

New burger chain coming

It will soon be burger time in Apple Valley. It's Burger Time, which has restaurants in northern Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, is opening an eatery off W. 150th St., where a HomeMade Pizza Company used to be.

The restaurant is scheduled to open at the end of October, said Dan Shrader, CEO of Food Shacks Inc., which owns It's Burger Time.

The first Twin Cities location will open in two weeks in White Bear Lake, Shrader said. The Apple Valley location will be the second site in the metro area. The company plans to open 15 to 20 metro-area locations in the next two years, said Food Shacks President Denis Brunk, who is responsible for site selection.

In 1987, the burger chain opened its first store in Fargo. The restaurant has a modest menu of burgers and sandwiches.

There is no longer a Timber Lodge Steakhouse in Burnsville. The restaurant off Aldrich Avenue S. has shut its doors.

Foodies will have to travel to Bloomington, Duluth or Owatonna to sample Timber Lodge's Itasca-tizers or other dishes.

New chicken joint to open in Burnsville Center

Another eatery is scheduled to join the food court at Burnsville Center. ChikWich is scheduled to open about Nov. 1.

It will be the brand's second location in the country, said David Hansen, vice president of L Tran Enterprises Inc., which owns and operates the restaurant. The first location opened at the Mall of America last October, Hansen said.