Trade Talk: Games Galore, Murphy Brothers renew deal

Posted by admin on Jun 20, 2011 | 1 comment

It’s been three years since Dave Lerud, owner of Fargo’s Games Galore, was introduced to Jerry Murphy of Murphy Brothers, an Oklahoma-based carnival ride and attraction company. Murphy was looking for attractions suitable for younger children. He thought Lerud’s bounce houses and other inflatable games might fit the bill.

He was right, and after the two companies signed another deal earlier this month, the partnership will again put Games Galore products in festivals and fairs ranging from New Mexico to Arkansas.

The games fill a niche for children who are too small for thrill-ride-type attractions. “A lot of the younger children can’t go on the regular rides,” Lerud says. Instead, they get bounce houses, inflatable slides, and an obstacle course.

For Lerud, the arrangement is a feather in the cap as well as a business deal. “Jerry Murphy is a very, very knowledgeable guy,” he says. “Games Galore is very proud of the fact that Jerry wants to do business with us.”

Area Perkins restaurants survive corporate woes

Both the Fargo and Moorhead Perkins restaurants are still in business after the company closed dozens of eateries last week – many of them with little or no notice – as part of a bankruptcy restructuring plan.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based company said in a statement that it will close 58 restaurants identified as underperforming locations. In areas of the country, that meant closing groups of restaurants en masse. It also said the process of identifying underperforming restaurants is still ongoing.

The closures also encompass Marie Callendar’s restaurants, a separate brand within the company. Together, the two brands have about 600 restaurants nationwide.

In its statement, the company cited sluggish business in concentrated markets such as California, Florida and Nevada and ongoing economic malaise among the reasons for its financial struggles. The company lists $290 million in current assets and about $441 million in liabilities.

NDTO holding exports talk

Registration is now open for an upcoming North Dakota Trade Office seminar on complying with export and sanction laws while doing business abroad.

The talk, presented by Washington, D.C.-based international trade attorney Douglas Jacobson, is July 13 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Fargo’s Holiday Inn (there’s an identical session

in Dickinson the next day). Topics include export regulations, sanctions and embargoes, defense and arms trade controls, and pending reform efforts.

Admission (including breakfast) is $20 for NDTO members and $40 for nonmembers. Registration runs through July 8. More information is available at the NDTO website.