Among noteable businesses and locations around the Metro area are the following (split out by type of establishment, with more details and locations coming in the future), however this list is far from complete and inclusive (if you see something missing or have an idea, feel free to submit it and if it fits with what is planned it will be added and you will receive credit for your suggestion). Note that any similarities to real and existing or past business, establishments, or locations is purely coincidental and is not meant as an infringement on those existing places. As with any mderately large Metro area of around a million people, there are several hundred large businesses, thousands of smaller business of various types, and thousands of other noteable locations. Again this is but a short list of business and locations that I've started to detail within the setting, but is by no means all-inclusive:
Educational:
Lakeside Community College
Masterson University
Metro Public Library System (32 locations)
Oakwood University
State University
_______ Technical College (open to suggestions)
many public and private schools
Medical/Hospitals:
Argyle Medical Center
Bayview Hospital
Centurion Medical Center
Grand River Hospital
Metro Medical Campus
Paradise Village (assisted living)
Saint Matilda Hospital
State Medical Center
Southampton Hospital
Entertainment:
Bayside Albatrosses (baseball)
Capilo's (strip club/bar)
Grand Isle Casino
Grand Isle Penguins (hockey)
Midnight Call Resort
Queen of Hearts (strip club/bar)
Southampton Amusement/Water Park
Valley Entertainment
Foodservice/Restaurants:
An Tábhairne ("The Pub")
Ben's (bar)
Ben's Burger Barn (8 locations)
Billy-Bob's Burger Joint (7 locations)
Black Cat, the (jazz club)
Café Mustoufá (internet café)
Cafféine Web Café (5 locations)
Caldera Indonesian BBQ
Cavanaugh's Grill
Clan-Station (internet café) (4 locations)
Clearwater Bar and Grill
DelReino Steakhouse
Devon's Bakery & Café
Edgar's Club
Fisherman's Wharf (3 locations)
Flannigan's Bar
Flannery's Pub
Frederica's Bar
Graham's Restaurant
Harlan's Bistro
Ihram's Chili Bar
Johny Jim's (27 locations, sub-sandwiches)
Korner Koffee Kafé (17 locations)
Kramer's Kitchen (4 locations)
McLeay's Bar
Metro Pizza and Grinder (9 locations)
Midnight Call Resort
Mitsugashi's Steak and Sushi
O'Leary Pub
O'Malley's Bar
Pot-o-Beans (coffee/café)
Quinton's Quaint Quay (seafood)
Redlight Café (gentleman's club)
Riverbend Sports Grill
Riverbend Steak and Seafood
Seafood Palace
Selma's (fast food) (7 locations)
Shahrazad's Library (coffee shop)
Tierra's Taco House (3 locations)
Vito's Pasta and Pizza (3 locations)
Wong's China Buffet (4 locations)
Large Manufacturers:
Agtelarn LLC
Alden Rubber and Plastics
Argyle Electronic Technologies
Argyle Pharmachem Corp.
Arvon Semiconductor
Babantos Iron and Steel
Bayside auto assembly plant
Bayside Paper Mill
Bayview Publishing Corp.
Bollard Plastics
Brampton Machining & Mold
Crethnor & Khoner (clothiers)
Darien Machining and Manufacturing
Dhwieghtcorp Manufacturing
Dunham Tagamette Corp.
Eberhart Furniture & Equipment
Eikenhout Fluids Corp.
Fairgrove Provisions & Produce
Gholwhen Food Products
Grand Bay Shipyard/Boatworks
Great Lakes Glass and Plastics
Grey's Iron and Steel
Gordon Aluminum
Haldir Fabric & Clothiers
Hertzenburger Publishing
Kensington Automotive Corporation
KD Industries
Longoria Motorsports Corp.
Lyondell Bakery Corp.
Metawood Furniture Corporation
Metro Consumer Products
Mid-East Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Midwest Building Products
Midwest Chemical
Midwest Medical Instruments
Midwest Motor and Electrical
Midwest Petroleum
Midwest Pipe and Steel
Midwest Power (3 plants)
Midwest Widget Corp.
Naughton Millwork & Building Products
Omni Industrial Corp
Oshen Verdain
Pedigree Materials Corp.
Quantum Energy
Railcarcorp, Inc.
Riverbend Steel Inc.
Southampton Industrial Corp.
Southampton Plastics
Southside Brewery
Thaircoill Industrial Equipment
Thaircoill Metals
Thornton Foods and Milling
United Milling
Vortex Corporation
Waterfront Aggregate and Cement
Westfield Grain
Wilkins Electronics
Wolfram Products
Parks/Museums/Sports:
Bayside Stadium (baseball/concerts)
Bay View Acres (golf/equestrian)
Central Bay Sports Complex
Central Museum
Clearwater Park
Grand Isle Arena (hockey)
Grand Isle Country Club (golf/tennis)
Grand River Public Golf Course
Grand River Science Museum
Highlands Golf and Hurling
Metropolitan Gallery
Riverbend Park
Riverbend Public Golf Course
Southampton Motor Speedway
Varentos Gardens and Museum
Willowvale Nature Preserve
Large Service Employers:
Aarda Media & Communications
Anarcanum Transit
AriTech Software
Bayside Homes (builder)
Bayside Mortgage and Finance
Bayside Phone Corp.
Bronson Technology Services
Callondair Financial and Banking
Crosthwaite & Becker (real-estate management services)
D & L Services (cleaning/custodial)
Daniels Plumbing/Heating/Cooling
DeVine & Verve (financial & investment services)
Engram REIT
Enigma Supply Company
Gabriel Broadcasting
Gabriel Cablevision, Inc.
Glendale Insurance Corp.
Great Lakes Communications Company (radio/TV)
Great Lakes Real Estate
Green's Grounds Service (lawn care)
Groendyke Investment Management Services
Haddix Construction
Horton Trucking & Warehousing
Ieto, Gevier, Barglon, & Associates (law firm)
Image Management Incorporated
Independent Cab
Intervoice Communications (cell)
Jazper Corporation
Kadmair & Associates Law Firm
Ledington Accounting and Finance
Lendosa Aviation
Ludlow Holdings and Investments
McDaniel Building & Excavating
Metro Airport
Metro Financial Services
Metro News (newspaper)
Metro Realty
Metropolitan Credit Union
Midwest Bank Corp.
Midwest Capital Exchange
Midwest Receivables & Factoring
Newton Services Corp.
Nichol's Automotive Group (auto dealerships/repair)
Oberon Refrigeration & Distribution Corp.
Oberotti Masonry and Stone
O'Donnell Holdings Corporation
Paradise Builders
Parley Management Services
Phugati Motors (auto dealerships/repair)
Quauff Steel Supply
Quigley Development Corp.
Random Avgerinos Engineering
Robertson & Associates
Simpfendorfer Investment
Southampton Construction
Utilistruct Corp.
Valentos Construction and Crane
Vangerion Environmental
Vortex Trucking & Distribution
Western Bay Railroad
Retail/Shopping:
Arvon Heights Mall
Bargain-Mart (3 locations)
Bayside Bookstore (5 locations)
Bayside Farmer's Market
Caterona Gallery
Gibbon's Markets (3 locations- grocery)
Hallecet Antiques
Mendoza Markets (16 locations- grocery)
Pennywise Markets (5 locations- grocery)
Riverbend Mall
Scarbarrow Lumber & Hardware (5 locations)
Shahrazzad's Library (2 locations)
Southampton Mall
The (Arvon) Hills Mall
Torrance Sporting Goods (4 locations)
University Center Shopping Mall
Specialty Businesses:
Allied Security Services
Blackspot Extrication (bounty/repo)
Fressineau Stoneworks
Harrington Marina
Highlands Photo & Video Studios
Lenca Sculpture
Spike & Hammer Software
Springfield Investigations
Zeringue Metaphysics
Aarda Media & Communications (ARDA) - This small but publicly traded media and communications company is primarily made up of a local TV station as well as two more TV stations in other locations around the Midwest, and a total of 5 radio stations (two of which are in the Metro area), an Internet Service Provider (offering both dial-up and wireless broadband in the Metro area), as well as publishing several small focused magazines and two newspapers in the Metro area.
Agtelarn LLC- is a limited liability corporation that is owned by several reclusive wealthy individuals. This is a medium sized manufacturing company that produces a wide variety of plastic items including but not limited to: automotive parts, toys, furniture parts, electronic cases and parts, and a wide variety of other objects. None are sold directly to the public but are instead purchased and used in products made by others (except for some of the toys that are used as prizes in cereal boxes or at fast-food restaurants). Their main offices are located in Southampton; however they have small manufacturing sites in nearly every large city around the Midwest. It employs about 1260 people with yearly sales of about $280M, with 12 plants (4 in the Metro area). Their main office is located on three floors of one of the high-rises in the Financial District.
Alden Rubber and Plastics (ALRP) - This medium sized manufacturer has been in existence for about 60 years, with three locations producing a wide variety of goods from rubber and plastic to a small aluminum recycling mill, including such things as automotive parts, connectors, and other various items that are then sold to other manufacturers. It employs about 650 people with sales of about $250M per year, and is a publicly traded company. Their offices are located at their original manufacturing site, which is in the Riverside District of Lakeview City, however they have two other locations in the Metro area as well as one in another Midwest city a couple hundred miles from the Metro area.
Allied Security Services (ALSS) - This company handles security at many locations for many different businesses that have security needs. They also provide body guard services to some of the areas wealthy and famous. Their offices are located on one dedicated floor in one of the high-rises in the Financial District.
Anarcanum Transit - is a large company that has several divisions dealing in various aspects of the transportation industry. These include trucking (both long-haul and contracted freight, container shipping services (both the containers themselves and the shipping of such containers), ships (a fleet of a few smaller great-lakes freighters as well as several Tugs and hundreds of Barges), as well as several smaller local and regional industrial railroads. The company is privately owned and operated by Sue-Ellen Anarcanum. She is a somewhat tall and slender woman with long bleach-blond hair and enticing eyes and of uncertain European lineage. The main office and much of their Metro area operations is located in the Hub District, with terminals in nearly all the large cities of the Midwest.
Argyle Electronic Technologies (AGET)- This medium sized manufacturer produces a wide variety of higher-end electronic devices, both for the consumer market (entertainment and communications) as well as specialty devices for other industries. They operate out of a single manufacturing site and office complex located in Argyle Hills. This is a publicly traded company, although the Argyle family still owns a substantial share of the company, with yearly sales of about $450M and about 1400 employees.
Argyle Medical Center - This small medical center is located in Argyle Hills, and has a lot of high-end capabilities despite the relatively small size of its facilities and operation. It is known for being one of the most highly rated hospitals in the region. It is a publicly traded company that was founded through several grants from some wealthy individuals, as well as by more wealthy individuals who control most of the shares of the company. It is extremely well managed and is very financially stable, but will turn away anyone who can not afford the costs associated with being a patient of the hospital. Thus it tends to cater to the upper-middle and upper class of the Metro areas population.
Argyle Pharmachem Corporation (APCC) - While this company is small in terms of its number of employees, it is considered to be medium sized as far as sales are concerned due to the businesses that it participates in and the capital and R&D spending that it has. It is a publicly traded company, that was founded by the Argyle family more than 150 years ago and which they still own a modest portion of. It has yearly sales of about $850M but only has about 980 employees. Its headquarters and R&D campus is located in Argyle Hills, but it has three small manufacturing sites located in Arvon Hills, Southampton, and Willowvale. It produces small quantities of specialty pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals all in high-value added markets.
AriTech Software - a large software firm that produces both custom and mass produced business software, as well as having a "games" division that produces several "first person shooter" type games a year, as well as getting ready to release a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game with a very "dark" flavor to it, called "Shadows Online". Their main offices are located in the finance/business district of the Metro area on several floors of one of the smaller high-rises there. This company is owned and controlled by a Mr. Gabriel Terimon. Gabriel Terimon also owns several radio stations around the Midwest under the name of Gabriel Broadcasting (3 classic rock, 3 rap, 1 alternative rock, 1 jazz, 1 talk/news, 3 pop, 2 easy listening, 4 country, and 1 classical), as well as a cable television company (Gabriel Cablevision, Inc.) that has a fairly large coverage area spread out throughout the Midwest. He a small and thin man of African decent who is of late-middle age with thin and graying hair who wears thick horn-rimmed glasses.
Arvon Heights Mall - This is the newest of the Metro areas malls and shopping complexes, due in part to the increase in the economy of the small suburb of Arvon Hills over the last ten years with the building and growth of Arvon Semiconductor. It is a moderately large mall with 5 large anchor stores and about 180 smaller retailers present. It was built only a couple of years ago and opened only a few months ago. It is owned and operated by Ludlow Holdings, and was built by Haddix Construction.
Arvon Semiconductor (ARSC)- This company is one of the newer companies to be established locally and was formed by a few wealthy individuals who put together a management and technical team to get things rolling then went public with an IPO to raise further funds to set up their small manufacturing facility in Arvon Hills. As such it is a publicly traded company with a few wealthy individuals as the primary holders of stock, but with a fair amount still in the hands of the investment public. It employs about 250 people and has yearly sales of about $200M and is growing at a modest pace, despite only being in business for about 10 years.
Babantos Iron and Steel- a large privately-held steel smelter and forger that include several steel and iron mills as well as stamping plants and other production facilities around the Midwest. The main office is located in Foundry district. It is owned and operated by Terrence Babantos who is a reclusive and some say very strange man. He is a short and very stocky man with long brown hair, beard, and moustache who when seen is usually dressed in brown or gray clothing of a very functional nature and of heavy material. He usually wears an old leather cap that looks like it has seen better days. He has a loud and boisterous personality, however he speaks his mind a little too-freely and tends to anger or alienate most people that he meets. He visits each of his mills and plants at least once every six months, and looks over the books and processes at that time. This is usually followed a week later by a catered-in dinner or plant picnic where he rewards his employees if he is satisfied with the work that has been performed and the profitability of the location. However he never attends these himself, and most of his employee's never even meet him other than during the tours, as most of his interaction with them is through his local managers.
Bargain-Mart (BRGM)- This small chain of discount grocery and consumer goods stores (6 locations) does quite well in the lower income areas, where people are willing to put up with the semi-rundown condition of their stores in exchange for low prices on their basic food and household needs. This is a publicly traded company with their offices located in their original store.
Bayside auto assembly plant- One of the largest manufacturing facilities in the Metro area, this plant is owned by one of the worlds major auto companies and is used as an assembly location for several of their vehicles in the Midwest region.
Bayside Bookstore- This is a small but local book store chain that sells both new and used books as well as a limited supply of music.
Bayside Farmer's Market- This large farm market is an extremely busy location when they are open, as many of the farmers who are just outside of the Metro area travel here to sell some of their fresh-grown goods to the public.
Bayside Homes- This privately owned company is one of the many large residential builders in the metro area, primarily dealing with mid-priced to higher-end homes.
Bayside Mortgage and Finance (BYMF)- This is one of the few banks in the area that does not use the word "bank" in their name, and openly advertise that they are more flexible than most banks, with a fairly large portion of their business also being in the mortgage market.
Bayside Paper Mill (BYSP)- This large paper mill is located along the waterfront in Southampton. This is the largest of 5 mills owned and operated by Bayside Paper Corporation, a publicly traded company.
Bayside Telephone Corporation (BYTC)- This is the dominant (and largest) phone company in the Metro area, controlling a fairly large portion of the land-line service throughout the region as well as recently starting to provide cellular service via the recent purchase of one of the smaller local cell companies.
Bayside Stadium- This small outdoor stadium is home of the Bayside Albatrosses, semi-pro baseball team, as well as being used for other large outdoor events such as concerts during the summer months.
Bay View Acres- Golf Course
Bayview Hospital- This is one of the larger hospitals in the Metro Area, located along the waterfront of the Bayview district.
Bayview Publishing Corp. (BVPC)- Large publisher that produces several small circulation magazines, specialty newspapers, as well as a modest assortment of books and custom business materials for area businesses.
Ben's (bar)- This small bar is located in one of the more run-down neighborhoods of Waterfront district. He rents the spot from Angue Z, as it is located in the corner commercial tenement of the large building that she owns in this run-down neighborhood.
Ben's Burger Barn- This small and local fast-food chain has eight locations in the Metro area, and is quite popular with a lot of people who are looking for a quick (greasy) meal. They have a fair assortment of burgers and other extras such as fries and onion rings, soda, shakes, as well as a few basic fish sandwiches and salads for those who are more health-conscious.
Billy-Bob's Burger Joint- Another of the several small fast-food chains in the Metro area. This one is a very close competitor of Ben's Burger Barn above, except that Billy-Bob's is a little more upscale (average about 25 cents more per burger, and they grill their burgers as opposed to frying them), currently has seven locations, but doesn't offer quite as wide a selection (although their salad selection is slightly better).
Blackspot Extrication- This is a private firm that deals with specialized security needs, Bounty Hunting, and Repossession services.
Bollard Plastics- is a large manufacturer of plastics in the Metro area, with their main site being in the Foundry District, as well as having smaller plants in Southampton, Riverbend District of Bayside, and in the city of Thaircoill. This is a privately held company with a substantial income owned by the grandson of the founder, who is a reclusive individual; many even say a hermit. This owner will occasionally join in high-level meetings by phone conference, but never appears in person, as a small board of directors who are very accomplished manages the company.
Brampton Machining & Mold (BRMM) - Medium sized machining and mold-making company that serves many of the Metro areas other industries and is a publicly traded corporation.
Bronson Technology Services (BRTS) - This publicly traded company offers a wide variety of web and computer based services; including web hosting, web site development, database management services, technology integration services, and custom computer programming services.
Café Mustoufá (internet café)- This large and specialized internet café is one of the largest and higher class within the metro area and has a distinct middle eastern feel to it.
Cafféine Web Café (internet café)- This internet café chain has five locations spread out around the upper class areas of the Metro area such as two locations in the Financial District, as well as others.
Caldera Indonesian BBQ- This somewhat pricy restaurant specializes in spicy Indonesian cuisine.
Callondair Financial and Banking (CLFB) - One of the regions larger banking services companies.
Capilo's- This is a shady strip-club and bar that is frequented by some of the seedier members of the Metro areas society. As such it is a common hang-out of some of the Metro areas less desirables.
Caterona Gallery- an art gallery specializing in strange and exotic art, as well as rare antiquities. Owned and operated by a woman named Berona Velencia Caterona. Berona is of average height and somewhat thin but curvy build, with long black hair and pale skin. She is quiet most of the time; however she is not afraid of speaking her mind and backing it up with amazing combat abilities when the need arises. Her gallery is in an old stone building with few windows and a very solid structure, in one of the more elite neighborhoods of the Metro area (Argyle Hills). With the gallery being in the front on the first two floors of the building, with storage in the back 2/3 on the two lower floors. Meanwhile her private chambers are located on the third floor of the building, behind dark and heavy curtains that are nearly always drawn closed. Her knowledge of antiquities is amazing, however both Roger Zarkopf and Aleria Hallecet are even more knowledgeable on the subject, however Berona is more connected when it comes to being able to track down and get a hold of such artifacts. While she is not friends with either of the other two, she will sometimes work with one or the other of them (but never both at the same time due to their animosity towards one another) to track down information on such objects.
Cavanaugh's Grill- This is a steak and ribs place that provides good quality lunches and dinners and is located in the Financial District.
Central Bay Sports Complex-
Central Museum- This large museum is funded partially by Metro area taxes as well as a variety of donations by some of the local areas wealthy families and other sources, in addition to entrance fees into the museum. They offer a variety of artwork in a variety of styles and themes.
Centurion Medical Center (CMED)- One of the larger hospitals within the Metro area, located near the northern edge of the Finance district. One of the E.R. surgeons of note is Wolfgang Redfeather. He is unusual in his appearance, being a blond haired Native American. This being due to his mother being of German decent and his father being of Native American decent, thus he has the Iroquois features and complexion, yet the northern European blond hair which he wears tied back and about a third of the way down his back.
Clan-Station (internet café)- This is a large internet café chain that also caters to gamers.
Clearwater Bar and Grill-
Clearwater Park-
Crethnor & Khoner- This large clothing designer and manufacturer that actively promotes outlandish and exotic clothing styles (to the point of pushing the limits of indecent exposure laws) has been a part of the Metro area for the last two decades. They have manged to do quite well in the mid to high-end clothing market despite doing all of their manufacturing locally instead of overseas where the labor costs are much lower. Their offices are in the Finance District, with manufacturing locations in the Waterfront and Southside Districts, as well as several in underdeveloped countries in both Central America and the Far East. This company is manged by a pair of men named Gregory Crethnor and Benjamin Khoner who admit that they have an anonymous partner who they referr to as "Mr. G" who supplies the funds needed to get new styles publicized.
Crosthwaite & Becker (CBMG) - This large company handles a wide variety of real estate development business activities. Their activities include operating and managing several REIT's (Real Estate Investment Trusts) each with its own focus of business (industrial properties, retail properties, entertainment properties, etc.) as well as other types of related management services (maintenance, rental/lease management, etc.).
Currant Bun- This small but busy shop is kind of an odd combination of businesses, with their sign out from reading "and a Currant Bun- coffee, bakery, deli, pub". Their primary business is as a coffee shop and bakery, serving a wide range of coffee products, pastries, doughnuts, and other baked goods, as well as having a deli that offers a variety of sandwiches (utilizing their own breads, wraps, and rolls) and salads as well as a few other dishes. They also bake custom cakes and do some small catering. However they also hold a liquor license and as such serve alcoholic drinks after noon and until late in the evening, although the selection of drinks that are available tend to be wines and unusual beers or liquors. It has a very psychedelic or beatnik feel to it, with beaded doorways rather than doors (except for the outside entrances), funky lighting fixtures and artwork, as well as wild and psychedelic murals painted on most of the walls and ceilings. The place has a very small stage and sometimes hosts poetry readings as well as upstart musicians. The owner is a man of late-middle age named Arnold Laine. He is thin with long gray hair and a beard and moustache. He is there from the time that the doors open at 7:00 am (M-F, 9:00 am on Saturdays) until they close at 10:00 pm (M-Th, and 2:00 am Friday and Saturday). The shop is in a three story building that has low-cost tenements above it, with Arnold owning the entire building and living on the second floor just above the shops entrance. All of the rentals (including the one that he lives in) are small with only the bare necessities of modern luxuries).
D & L Services (cleaning/custodial) - This privately owned and operated cleaning service does housekeeping and custodial work for many business and residential customers.
Daniels Plumbing & Heating- One of the larger of the many heating, cooling, and plumbing contractors in the metro area. It is a privately owned and operated company that also serves as a dealer for several name-brand manufacturers of equipment. They have a single location that has not only their offices and warehouse, but also a showroom and the garage out of which their employees operate (since most of their employees drive trucks or vans that contain most of the tools that they need to do their jobs). They service the entire Metro area and offer 24/7 coverage for emergency service needs.
DeVine & Verve (DVVF)- Financial management company that has several divisions including investment banking, stock brokerage services, ETF management, mutual fund management, investment trust management, etc. This company handles a very large portion of the assets that trade on MCCX as well as handling assets on other exchanges for their customers (via the other larger exchanges in New York, Toronto, and Chicago). The founders Fred DeVine and Edward Verve took the company public in 1907 to raise funds for expansion. They are now one of the larger financial management companies in the Metro area and trades on the local exchange. They manage numerous Mutual Funds as well as Sector ETF's that make up what some refer to as the MCCX Sector Indices. Among these are the following:
DeVine & Verve Consumer Cyclical ETF
DeVine & Verve Consumer Staples ETF
DeVine & Verve Energy ETF
DeVine & Verve Financial ETF
DeVine & Verve Healthcare ETF
DeVine & Verve Industrials ETF
DeVine & Verve Materials ETF
DeVine & Verve Technology ETF
DeVine & Verve Transportation ETF
DeVine & Verve Utilities ETF
Darien Machining and Manufacturing (DRMM)- This publicly traded company is a medium sized machine shop and custom manufacturer of specialty and unusual goods and equipment.
Dhwieghtcorp Manufacturing (DHWT)- This large and diverse manufacturer is one of the larger publicly traded conglomerates within the Metro Area and is one of the larger companies that trades on the local stock exchange. Their products include such things as furniture, building products, consumer goods, packaging, specialty industrial equipment, electronics, parts for the automotive and boating industries, as well as a wide variety of other items.
DelReino Steakhouse- This is a pricy Brazilian style steakhouse.
Devon's Bakery & Café-
Dunham Tagamette Corp (DTMC) - This moderate sized mining company operates several small to medium sized mines around the Midwest as well as a couple located in other parts of the world. Their headquarters are located in the Financial District, while their other holdings include five open-pit iron mines (3 in the Midwest, 1 in Russia, and one in Brazil), one limestone quarry (Midwest), two precious metal mines (copper, silver, gold, platinum, etc., one in the Canadian Rockies and one in Australia), two nickel mines (one in Asia and a larger one in the Canadian Midwest which also produces some copper), two tin mines (one in the Midwest and one in Argentina which also produces zinc), as well as one small diamond mine (northern Canada) and one small emerald mine (in Central America).
Eberhart Furniture & Equipment (EBFE) -
Edgar's Club- A small nightclub/bar that usually has music.
Eikenhout Fluids Corp (EKHF) - This small specialty chemicals company manufactures small to medium volumes of a variety of specialty fluids such as industrial lubricants, cutting fluids, and the like. They have one medium sized location along the river in northern Southampton. They are a small publicly traded chemical company that trades on the local stock exchange. They have been in business for nearly 60 years, and the founding family still holds a modest amount of the shares (~25%) and still plays an active role in its management.
Engram REIT (ERIT) - A publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust that owns a wide variety of properties, primarily commercial in nature however they also own and manage a small number of apartment complexes.
Enigma Supply Company (ENGM) - undecided on details yet, liked the sound of the name and am open to suggestions as to business details (they will be publicly traded though).
Fairgrove Provisions & Produce- This small market chain specializes in high quality meats and produce. They have three locations, all of which used to be small grocery stores, before the days of the superstores that now sell most goods to the public. However this small chain still does fairly well due to their lost cost operation selling good quality food products to the public.
Fisherman's Wharf-
Flannigan's Bar-
Flannery's Pub-
Frederica's Bar-
Fressineau Stoneworks- This moderate sized warehouse down on the waterfront in the Waterfront District of the city that is now largely vacant of active businesses is owned by Xavier Fressineau. It has a high chain link fence with barbed wire around the top and slats that block out most of the view of what is behind the fence. However the gate to the facility is left open during business hours. This low warehouse and the large lot that it sits on is used to store massive quantities of granite, marble, and a wide variety of other types of stone. He does most of his work indoors within the old low building, which is also made of cut fieldstone. He also makes his home within this structure. Xavier Fressineau is a very large and stocky man of African-American decent with a tall and very stocky build, 6'8" tall and 320 pounds of shear muscle and brute strength, with thick and wiry black hair that hangs half-way down his back and is also somewhat thick on his chest, back, shoulders, and arms. He also has a thick but well trimmed goatee and moustache, and incredibly dark eyes. He usually wears drab grays and browns most of the time, either denim and tee shirts or leather most of the time. He usually wears several gold chains and rings around his neck and thick fingers. He also has a forge and smithy equipment in the building that he uses to create various works of metal as well as his stonework, often as decorations or intricate metal artwork. He has a very gruff voice but tends to be very well spoken, despite his gruff appearance and rough and tumble look.
Gabriel Broadcasting- This is one of several companies owned and operated by Mr. Gabriel Terimon (also the owner of AriTech Software). This company is made up of numerous radio stations that operate around not only the Metro area but also throughout other parts of the Midwest. These include 3 classic rock, 3 rap, 1 alternative rock, 1 jazz, 1 talk/news, 3 pop, 2 easy listening, 4 country, and 1 classical stations.
Gabriel Cablevision, Inc.- This is one of several companies owned and operated by Mr. Gabriel Terimon (also the owner of AriTech Software). It is a modest sized cable TV company and as such has several areas where their cable service is offered (as well as offering cable based internet access to those same areas) that services an estimated quarter-million homes and businesses around the Midwest (around 100,000 homes and/or businesses in the Metro Area).
Gholwhen Food Products-
Gibbon's Markets-
Glendale Insurance Corp. (GLIC)-
Graham's Restaurant-
Grand Bay Shipyard/Boatworks (BOAT)- This large complex builds a small portion of the great lakes freighters that haul various goods around the Midwest, as well as also providing dry-dock maintenance services for these large ships. They also do a modest business in the building of custom sail and power boats for those who can afford such high-ticket luxury items.
Grand Isle Arena- (hockey and figure skating)
Grand Isle Casino- This casino is owned and operated by a local tribal council of Native Americans and is quite successful as both a gambling establishment and entertainment provider for the Metro area. It is the only legally operating casino in the entire metro area.
Grand Isle Country Club- (golf/tennis)
Grand River Hospital-
Grand River Public Golf Course-
Grand River Science Museum-
Great Lakes Communications Company (GLCC)- (radio/TV) This large publicly traded corporation is the largest single owner and operator of TV stations and radio stations in the metro area, as well as offering cable TV service to nearly 200,000 homes and business in the metro area. Their headquarters as well as some of their stations operations are located in one of the high-rises in the Financial District of the metro area.
Great Lakes Glass and Plastics (GLGP)- This medium sized and publicly traded manufacturer produces both glass and a variety of plastics used by other companies to produce other goods.
Great Lakes Real Estate- One of the larger real estate sales agencies in the Metro area. It is jointly owned by the various owners of the individual offices that make up the larger company. It is a privately held franchise of sorts with each franchise owner buying into the larger parent company in exchange for being able to join their sales network.
Green's Grounds Service- (lawn care)
Grey's Iron and Steel Corp. (GISC) - This is the larger of the two primary steel producers in the Metro Area. This company had been a privately held company for nearly 100 years, but the Grey family sold off much of the interest in the company to other investors during the 1970's when the steel industry went through severe problems as the Japanese steel industry displaced a lot of the North American steel industry. In the mid 1980's the company moved to be a publicly traded company after allowing employees to buy into it in an attempt to lower labor contract costs followed shortly thereafter by the company filing for bankruptcy. However with its debt load reduced and renegotiated as well as its labor costs cut it has since started to regain some of its former economic strength and has been making a rebound, even though very little of the company is still owned by the Grey family that had founded it back when Bayside was a young and growing city in the late 1800's.
Groendyke Investment Management Services (GIMS) - One of the smaller investment management companies in the Metro area, but still large enough to hold a modest presence in the marketplace. They are a publicly traded company, with the founder (Benjamin Groendyke) still at the helm and owning about 30% of the company's shares. They handle investments, as well as manage some mutual and retirement funds and are a licensed stock brokerage firm that trades on the MCCX, as well as having trading ties to many of the larger exchanges (and can thus process such trades for their customers on exchanges that they do not actually have seats on). They also manage a couple of REIT's as well as ETF's and UIT's.
Gordon Aluminum Corp. (GALM) - This publicly traded company mines Bauxite and then refines it into Aluminum, as well as being the largest recycler of aluminum in the Metro Area. While their 3 open-pit mines are located a short distance from the metro area, they use railroads to transport it to their plant located in the Riverbend District of Bayside City just west across the river from Thaircoill. While this company is only a medium sized manufacturer, they seem to do quite well for themselves and even during bad economic times seem to turn a profit.
Haddix Construction (HDXC) - One of the larger construction firms in the Metro area. They are publicly traded, however nearly 30% of the company is still controlled by the Haddix family as well as other early partners from when the company was started in the early 1900's.
Haldir Fabric & Clothiers (HDFC) - This publicly traded and struggling company is one of the few remaining cloth and clothing manufacturing companies still operating in the Midwest.
Hallecet Antiques- This two-story building in a middle/upper-class area of the Metro area (Highlands District) is home to Aleria Hallecet and her Antiques business. She deals in rare and hard to locate antiques, as well as true Antiquities (ancient artwork and artifacts), as well as exotic weapons (antique firearms and melee weapons). She is in her late 20's or early 30's, yet has eyes that give the impression of having seen the world and having wisdom beyond that of the wisest of men. She is about 5' 6" tall with a slightly stocky build; with shoulder length dark-brown hair and an obvious scar that crosses her face from her lower left cheek to her right temple. Some people refer to her as "The Hell-Cat" which she plays up, with her nearly barbaric temper and outspoken opinion. She speaks a wide range of languages, every one of them nearly fluently.
Harlan's Bistro- One of the Metro areas more classy lunch and dinner options. This restaurant offers an extensive wine list as well as a full bar and a wide range of quality meals (including several nightly "specials" that are unusual or rare dishes).
Harrington Marina- A large marina that rents slips for boaters who want a secure and limited access (private) dock for their boats and/or yachts. While it does not allow public access, their prices are still fairly reasonable and as such there are a wide variety of people who use the marina, which allows anything from medium sized fishing boats all the way up to very large yachts.
Hertzenburger Publishing (HTZP) - This publicly traded publishing company prints a wide range of books.
Highlands Golf and Hurling Club- This is a private (by invitation only) gold club that also offers a wide variety of other sporting related activities. It caters to the regions upper-middle class and above. There is a moderate yearly membership fee as well as various fundraising dinners and such throughout the year.
Highlands Photography & Video Studios-
Horton Trucking & Warehousing (HTWC) - This trucking company primarily handles full-load trucking services, both local and long-distance, however they also offer warehousing services for customers who do not want to invest into their own warehouses or handle the upkeep of such locations. They also do some limited LTL (Less Than a Load) trucking around the Midwest as well.
Ieto, Gevier, Barglon, & Associates- is a law firm that handles some high-end clients but that tries to stay out of the media and public eye. Kwan Ieto is of obvious oriental lineage, being from Japan, with short black hair, brown eyes and slender build. He is speaks very quickly and with a very positive tone to his voice. He speaks a variety of eastern languages as well as English, however when speaking in English there is no discernable accent. George Gevier is a tall and stocky man with thin blond hair and blue eyes, obviously of Norse lineage with an accent that at times can be somewhat heavy. He tends to be quiet and introverted most of the time. Ginger Barglon is a somewhat tall and thin woman with shoulder length and very wavy red hair, green eyes, and a loud voice that she uses effectively to influence others. Their main office is located in one of the high-rises of the Finance district. The firm also has several associate members. On rare occasions they also use Jerome Bankow (or "G.B." as he likes to be called) for "special" jobs through his Springfield Investigations company.
Ihram's Chili Bar-
Image Management Incorporated- is a large and diverse company dealing in advertising, marketing consulting, and management of celebrity and sports personalities as an agent. This company is privately held by a reclusive and wealthy individual who is rarely seen in public named Deimos VanMarden. However when he is seen in public, he is a tall and suave man with light brown hair (appears to be of Dutch decent) that typically has an entourage of women surrounding him. He is also the owner of a semi-professional hockey team in the area. The rare occasions when he does come out in public is for major events such as some of his hockey team's home-games, as well as special events involving his company or involving clients of his (movie stars, television personalities, or big name athletes). Their main office is in one of the high-rises in the Finance District, with other offices located in other cities around the Midwest.
Independent Cab- is a small group of independent taxi drivers who pool their resources so that they can compete with the two larger companies in the city.
Intervoice Communications (IVCM) - This is the largest of the various regional cell phone companies, as well as offering wireless data-transmission services and wireless internet services to their customers. It is a publicly traded company that trades on the local stock exchange and has their headquarters located on two floors of one of the high-rises in the Finance District. They have cell towers scattered around much of the Metro area and provide good coverage in the Metro area as well as nearly 100 miles into the surrounding countryside, however much further out than that is roaming, thus most people who do a lot of traveling do not utilize their service due to their roaming charges, however those who rarely leave the area find that their prices are very competitive if they do not have much need to travel.
Jazper Corporation (JZPC) - This medium-sized publicly-traded conglomerate participates in several different businesses in both the manufacturing and services sectors and seems to be sinking a lot of funds into aquisitions and expansion, and thus is one of the faster growing companies in the Metro area.
Johnny Jim's (JJIM) - This is one of the larger sub-chains in the Metro area, with 27 locations. They have a variety of sub sandwiches, with indoor seating and drive-through windows, as well as delivery service available for a small additional fee. It is one of the few local restaurant chains that is large enough to be a publicly traded company, even though it is one of the smallest of the companies that trades on MCEX.
Kadmair & Associates Law Firm- One of the larger legal firms in the Metro area, dealing in all variety of cases, from criminal to business.
KD Industries (KDIN) - A medium sized manufacturer of various industrial equipment. They supply a variety of custom manufactured industrial equipment, including presses, roller-mills, chemical processing equipment, extruders, industrial ovens, and a wide variety of other equipment for a wide variety of manufacturing industries around the Midwest.
Kensington Automotive Corp. (KENA) - This is a large regional manufacturer of automotive parts for the auto companies, making both mechanical and electronic parts of a wide variety of types for several different customers. They have several small to medium plants around the Metro area as well as plants in other mid-western cities. They are a publicly held company that trades on the local stock exchange. The founding family still owns more than 25% of the shares and thus still holds many of the upper level management positions within the company.
Korner Koffee Kafé- This is probably the largest local chain of coffee shops, offering a wide range of middle to high end coffees and teas, an assortment of other drinks, as well as pastries and other convenience snack foods. They have 17 locations around the Metro area with several of them being in the Finance District (which is also where their headquarters is located).
Kramer's Kitchen- This is a greasy spoon type of diner with 4 locations. While their menu is not as healthy as many other places, they have a loyal customer base and reasonable prices, and are open for early breakfasts, as well as through the night to handle the after-hours customers from the Metro areas nightlife.
Lakeside Community College- One of the local community colleges in Arvon Hills of the Metro area.
Ledington Accounting and Finance (LEAF)- A large publicly traded financial services company that handles accounting and bookkeeping for many of the larger corporations around the Metro area that do not do such work in-house or that have another firm audit their books due to being a publicly traded company that needs to show a higher level of financial transparency.
Lendosa Aviation- A company that offers charter flights (has several small and medium sized jets) as well as aircraft maintenance for private planes. They operate out of many of the larger Midwest airports with their main offices located near the main airport in the Metro area. Owned by Ramon Lendosa who is late-middle aged. He is a very reclusive and wealthy industrialist (who is also partial owner of several other small and medium sized manufacturing companies in and around the region, as well as being heavily invested in the stock market. He is one of the wealthiest of all the Everlasting around, and goes to great lengths to stay out of the public eye. He lives in a large walled mansion in one of the upper class districts of the Metro area. His mansion and estate is one of the lavish estates on the main island of the Grand Isle District, located next to a huge catholic church that is the oldest and one of the largest still standing within the Metro area , with the huge and ancient graveyard (the largest in the Metro area) wrapping around behind his estate. This huge cemetery is used by the wealthy of the area, with it being a huge walled place with large gates and mature trees and covering nearly 200 acres. His estate covers about 20 acres with an eighteen foot tall stone wall all the way around. The mansion is a large three-story dark-gray cut-stone home with steep peaked roofs and high ceilings and large open spaces. The garden that covers much of the 20 acres is incredibly beautiful with many varieties of trees and flowers, as well as shrubbery and other plant life.
Ludlow Holdings and Investments (LDLW)- This large firm deals in commercial and residential leasing and development (real estate), as well as having a financial stake in several smaller companies around the region. The current manager is Hobart Ludlow, the son of the company founder. While it is currently a publicly traded company, controlling interest (~53%) is still held by Hobart. His mother founded the company when she was still quite young (late teens) and got started through a very large inheritance that she received, and then many investments and deals seemed to fall into her lap, allowing her to turn the small fortune she had inherited into a very large fortune. Her only son Hobart has been running the company for nearly 30 years now and has managed to increase its value even more substantially than his mother had. He is an extremely influential member of society and has a very charismatic personality. He always has an entourage of female companions around him when in public and is considered by many to be one of the most eligible bachelors in the region. However when not dealing with some public event, he tends to be very reclusive and stays within the walls of his huge estate. He was born almost nine months after his mother had received her huge inheritance from her father who she had never known due to having spent most of her childhood in orphanages after her unwed mother died when she was only three years old. Among the real-estate holdings is a large high-rise office building in the Finance District of the Metro area, where he uses the top floor as his personal living quarters as well as the two floors below it being used by his company. The remaining 26 floors are all leased out to other businesses, with there being two basement levels for parking. Hobart is somewhat tall and of stocky build with short black hair but generally appears like he has not shaved in about 24 hours. He often dresses in fine business suits of dark colors; however he occasionally wears more casual clothing when he is out and about in the cities but even then is fairly well dressed. Among the women who are always nearby (and the only one that is seen around him regularly, since the others all change regularly (he never seems to keep a serious girlfriend) is his Public Relations Liaison and Personal Assistant, Miss Jennifer Kramer. She is a perfectionist in everything she does and says, and her job is to make sure that Hobart keeps a good and wholesome public image both for himself and his business.
Longoria Motorsports Corp. (LOMS) - A medium sized regional manufacturer of motor sport vehicles (motorcycles, ATV's, powerboats, jet skis, scooters, snowmobiles, etc.). The company was founded when three friends started helping each other to build custom motorcycles and started selling them to the general public. The business expanded to the point where they now produce multiple models within a variety of product lines. The went public more than 40 years ago to raise the funds to start up small scale production of a couple of their early designs and now have three different large manufacturing facilities along with a small office and engineering center all within the Metro area.
Lyondell Bakery Corp. (LYBC) - One of the largest bakeries in the Metro area. This publicly traded company has been around for more than 60 years and produces many of the breads and other similar or related food products that are made and sold around the region.
Masterson University- Masterson University is a large private (nearly Ivy League quality) university located in the Grand Isle District (Bayside). It has an extensive humanities and science/engineering departments, as well as medical, educational, and business related fields of study.
McDaniel Building & Excavating- One of the larger construction companies in the Metro Area.
McLeay's Bar-
Mendoza Markets- This is a large chain store that handles groceries, household goods, clothing, and a wide variety of other items (very similar to Meijer, except smaller). It is owned by an Antonio Mendoza, a late middle-aged hispanic man of average build and average height with a very suave and charismatic manner. He has short black hair and appears very clean cut and proper. He can occasionally be seen touring his stores (there are about 40 of them and the number is slowly increasing with a new location opening each year). However he spends most of his time at the distribution center, which is made up of three large warehouses that cover an entire large city block in one of the southern suburbs (Frampton Woods). The entire complex is fenced in and the area is fairly well lit. The warehouses are nearly surrounded by loading docks and two of them are multi-leveled.
Metawood Furniture Corp. (MWFC) - A large manufacturer of cheap furniture. Most of their furniture is manufactured from compressed saw dust and glue then covered with a thin veneer to give the appearance of real wood. Their furniture is cheap and tends not to hold up well for long periods of time, however due to selling large quantities of their inexpensive products, they do quite well and do a large volume of business.
Metro Airport- This is the Metro Area's public airport, providing commercial flights to most other large metro areas around the Midwest.
Metro Consumer Products (MCPC)- This company produces a wide variety of products including cleaning supplies, toiletry type paper products, household goods, as well as several regional brands of food products.
Metro Financial Services (MTFS) - Another financial and investment products services company. They are publicly traded and handle investments (including being a registered stock brokerage with the MCEX exchange, as well as having ties to other exchanges) and other financial management services.
Metro News- (newspaper)
Metro Pizza and Grinder- (9 locations)
Metro Public Library System- (32 locations)
Metro Realty- This is the second largest real estate brokerage in the Metro area and is privately held (it is 40% owned by Ludlow Holdings).
Metropolitan Credit Union- This is the largest of several credit unions that operate in the Metro area. It is, as are all credit unions, a non-profit organization owned by its depositors.
Metropolitan Gallery- A large fine-arts gallery and museum located in the Finance District. Supported by entry fee and membership fees, donations from area companies and wealthy families, and government grants.
Mid-East Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MEPI) - This somewhat small and specialty pharmaceuticals company is publicly traded on the local stock exchange. They primarily develop and then market through larger pharmaceutical companies a wide variety of specialty but low volume drugs to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions.
Midnight Call resort and club- a nice resort hotel that caters to business and entertainment themed travelers visiting the Metro area. It is located in the northern part of the Finance District, very near the Clearwater Dsitrict and the river. It also has a popular nightclub attached that has moderately successful rock bands play somewhat regularly, as well as a few local bands on the off-nights. It is owned by Samantha Cartwright. Samantha is middle aged with long dark hair and a somewhat pale complexion. She is tall and has a shapely figure, which she always dresses in deep red or dark blue dresses that are long, tight, and low cut. She is quiet, speaking very rarely unless she has something important to say, otherwise she communicates through her employees. Her office overlooks the large nightclub that is at the center of her resort, from which she keeps a watchful eye on what goes on. The Hotel is a large eight-story brick building that takes up most of a large city block. This Hotel has 386 rooms, including 58 luxury suites for high-end business guests. The nightclub is located on the main floor near the middle of the building. There is also a large indoor swimming pool and gymnasium, both of which her office also overlooks. The office has one-way windows on three sides, with heavy shades that can easily be drawn to darken the room. A high-class restaurant is also located within the building, which caters to the middle and upper class business guests, and is open from 6:00 AM till 10:00 PM daily. Room service is available to Hotel guests around the clock, as is the gymnasium, while the swimming pool is open from 8:00 AM till 10:00 PM. The nightclub opens at 12:00 (noon) and shuts down (typically) between 2:00 and 2:30 AM.
Midwest Bank Corp. (BANK)- Located in one of the high rises in the finance district this is one of the largest banks in the region. They are also heavily involved in lending and managing retirement funds and other finance related activities. They are one of the largest of the publicly traded companies on the MCCX (Midwest Capital Exchange), as well as managing several small mutual funds that are heavily invested into other companies that are traded on the MCEX.
Midwest Building Products (MWBP)- A moderate sized and publicly traded manufacturer of building products including lumber products, gypsum products, roofing materials, etc.
Midwest Chemical (MCEM)- A relatively small and publicly traded chemical company that produces a variety of specialty chemicals as well as dabbling in a few product lines that fall into the commodities chemicals sector.
Midwest Receivables & Factoring Services (MRFS) - This publicly traded company handles collection of receivable accounts for companies that are having collection troubles or that do not want to deal with such issues in-house, as well as offering Factoring services for companies that need to borrow short term against their accounts receivables. This factoring service results in a fairly economical way to borrow a portion of the funds that are already owed to a company from customers over a short period of time. While the effective interest rate on such things tends to be a little higher than normal for borrowed funds through some other sort of financial services organization, it also tends to be much quicker to close such deals. The specifics of this sort of service are usually negotiated, based off of the past collection records and can also be modified based on who actually handles the collection of the funds from the borrowers customers and the transaction fees involved.
Mitsugashi's Steak and Sushi- This small but high-priced Japanese steak and sushi restaurant is often very busy and is a mainstay of the upper class for dinner in the Finance district.
Metro Medical Campus- this large hospital, clinic, retirement village, and office complex is one of the largest medical facilities in the entire Metro area. There are several buildings that make up the office complex which provides clinic and office space to numerous doctors' offices and other medical related businesses. Complete with a heli-pad for emergency transport of patients in and out via helicopter when needed.
Midwest Medical Instruments (MEDI) - A small but high tech and high value added medical equipment manufacturer. This company while a relatively new listing on the MCCX, has grown quite rapidly over the past decade and appears to possibly be one of the up and coming star stocks on the exchange. Its founding partners still serve as its executive board and control about 30% of the shares.
Midwest Motor and Electrical (MTRE) - A moderately large manufacturer of electrical motors and similar electronic components for industrial uses, they have one large facility located along the Southside District. It is a publicly traded company that had previously been part of a much larger company located outside of the area, however it was spun off as a separate company due to a combination of struggles with its labor union being viewed as a drag on its parent company. However its new management quickly worked with the union to lower costs and increase efficiency to turn it into a viable stand-alone company that has performed very well over the last two decades.
Midwest Petroleum- is a large privately held company that has several small to medium sized oil refineries and petrochemical plants. It is owned by a group of wealthy people, with the primary control of the company being under Daniel VelMarnes and Kellen McClinoch. While there are several other partners, most of them play relatively small roles in running the company. Daniel typically appears as a tall and lanky man with short dark hair and a goatee who always dresses in a dark business suit and caries a cane. Kellen is a man of average build and height with a large skull, protruding chin, and oversized mouth. He has medium brown hair and a Caucasian dark tanned complexion (as if he has spent way too much time out in the sun). He is also very soft-spoken most of the time. They are headquartered in the Finance district of the Metro area with one large refinery in Thaircoille, as well as a few others in other Midwest cities.
Midwest Pipe and Steel Corp. (PIPE)- A steal manufacturer that has expanded into the manufacture of steel and cast iron piping and fixtures. This small publicly traded company is one of the oldest manufacturers in the Metro area, and despite their relatively small size has performed moderately well for their stockholders over the years, even during the tough times in their industry from the 1970's through the 1990's.
Midwest Power (MPWR) - (3 plants) This relatively small but publicly traded utility company provides electrical power to a fair portion of the Metro area.
Midwest Widget Corp. - This somewhat small specialty manufacturer of odd gadgets and devices for other industrial uses is a privately held company that very little is known about outside of those who work for the company.
Naughton Millwork & Building Products (NMBP)- This is one of the larger publicly held building product manufacturers in the Metro area, specializing in the more cosmetic aspects of the building products industry such as quality windows, doors, trim work, siding, and fencing products.
Newton Services Corp. (NEWT)- undecided on details, liked the sound of the name, am open to suggestions
Nichols's Automotive Group- This privately held company owns several auto dealerships in the metro area as well as throughout the Midwest. Founded by Jerry Nichols back in the 1930's, during the Great Depression, their family of dealerships has slowly grown into a well recognized name for those looking to buy mid-priced or economy cars, however they do also have a handful of dealerships that offer high-end automobiles also.
Oakwood University- This small private university was founded by a group of wealthy individuals who lived in the Metro area about 80 years ago and set up a large fund to cover its operation. It is much smaller than the other universities in the area and only offers a few programs including business, advertising, arts, music, law, political sciences, humanities, and the likes. It does not offer much in the way of sciences or technical other than the basics that would be needed as background for the above mentioned programs. However its standards are very high, which combined with its high attendance costs limits its enrolment to a relatively small number of students from the Midwest's upper class families (although they offer a handful of scholarships each year to those that are not born into wealth). As such it is recognized among the Midwest's elite as providing nearly an ivy-league quality education in the areas in which it is active.
Oberon Refrigeration & Distribution Corp. (ORDC) - This company operates several large refrigerated warehouses around the Metro area, as well as in other Midwest cities. They provide not only warehousing services for their customers, but also operate a small fleet of trucks to provide distribution services for their customers as well (many of the smaller restaurant chains around the Midwest that are too small to operate their own warehouses and distribution networks utilize their services.
Oberotti Masonry and Stone- One of the larger and more reputable masonry companies in the Metro area. They are one of the major players within the masonry portion of the areas residential construction as well as doing a modest amount of work in the commercial construction sector also. This old family business has been operated by the Oberotti family for four generations now and has several hundred employees.
O'Donnell Holdings Corp. (ODHC) - This moderate sized publicly traded company is the owner of many smaller businesses that operate in and around the Metro area, as well as other locations around the Midwest.
O'Leary Pub- One of several Irish pubs in the metro area.
O'Malley's Bar- One of several Irish pubs in the metro area.
Omni Industrial Corp- is a very large technology company that develops and manufactures as well as maintains weapon systems for the U.S. military, as well as security systems for high-profile locations, and other high-tech military and security related equipment. They also do some work for the airline industry as well as satellite design and construction for various governments and communications companies around the world. They have manufacturing locations in both the Bay View District of Lakeview as well as in the Eastside District of Bayside; with their headquarters and R&D work being done in one of the high-rises in the Finance District. This company even though it is very large is very private and keeps a very low public profile. It is 70% owned by Cletus Maynard, a wealthy but naive and uneducated heir to the Omni Industrial Corp holdings. The company offices are located in one of the high-rises in the downtown business/finance district of the Metro area, with a few manufacturing and research facilities (part of the high-rise is also dedicated to research) around the Metro area.
Oshen Verdain (OSVD) - not sure yet on details, liked the sound of the name... am open to suggestions
Paradise Builders- This large construction company handles both large commercial building projects as well as smaller residential projects. It is one of the largest of the Metro areas numerous construction firms, however it was formed by a large number of smaller contractors and such that got together and merged to form this company as a way to be able to compete with some of the older and larger firms in the area. Thus this company has only been around for less than two decades, but has quickly grown into a formidable firm. Due to its being founded by the merger of numerous smaller companies, it has numerous owners. One advantage that this company has is that it has its own architects on staff (many of whom are partial owners.
Paradise Village- This is a very large assisted living and retirement complex located in the Metro area.
Parley Management Services (PRLY) -
Pedigree Materials Corp. (PEMC) - This company manufactures a variety of specialty materials for other manufacturers.
Pennywise Markets- This small chain of grocery stores has been around for generations (one of the oldest family owned business in the Metro area). While their stores are relatively small compared to the larger grocery chains, they offer very good produce and meat at reasonable prices and as such tend to be busy most of the time.
Phugati Motors- A company that is comprised of 5 different auto dealerships around the metro area. They sell a variety of manufacturers (each of the 5 dealerships has different makes that are sold there). One of their dealerships handles only high-end imports, while two more handle various makes of mid-priced domestic cars and trucks, another handles a couple makes of economy imports, and the fifth handles a couple of mid-priced import brands.
Pot-o-Beans- (coffee/café) This small coffee shop and cafe is owned by Charlotte Liebentritt (the shop is located in one of the ground floor spaced rented from Angue Z. in the Waterfront District). She is a middle aged woman of German origin, about 5'6" and 145 pounds, with medium length blond hair that moved to the area about 4 years ago and rented one of the smaller empty shops in Angelique's building as well as one of the apartments there (see above). She is outspoken and enjoys being around people, thus her choice of businesses when she inherited a little over a quarter million dollars from her late husband (life-insurance and assets) just prior to her moving to the area from the east coast. She decided that since she didn't have much family and her and her former husband never had any kids that she would move to a new area and open up a small coffee shop and café, named "Pot-o-Beans" where she would serve good quality food for a reasonable price and get to know new people and try to help out the local community. She is a mortal, with no knowledge of the Reverie, but she does have a little bit of knowledge about the occult and lore. The food she serves is all organic, as are all the coffees and many of the other drinks. The place is painted in bright colors, but the lights are kept dim in the evenings with candles supplying the majority of the light, thus making it a quiet and romantic place for couples to go for an inexpensive dinner (even though it is in one of the more run down parts of the city, the place stays semi-busy). Charlotte is involved in all aspects of the business, both due to it being a struggling business that just barely breaks even and because she likes to interact with her customers, as well as wanting to keep busy and play an active role in everything that goes on. On occasion poets and musicians will perform for the patrons, and in exchange, she provides them with dinner and drinks, as it helps to draw in people and add to the ambiance of the place.
Quantum Energy (QNTE) - This publicly traded electric and natural gas utility company handles a fair portion of the electrical and a very large portion of the natural gas needs of the Metro area.
Quauff Steel Supply (QUAF)- This distributor of steel framing and members for the construction industry also does some specialized fabrication at their facility. They are a small publicly traded company, but are the largest wholesale distributor of such products for the larger scale construction trades in the metro area.
Queen of Hearts- This "gentleman's club" is nothing more than a shady bar and strip club that is popular with those who are lacking in morals and have money to burn for a cheap thrill.
Quigley Development Corp. (QIGD) -
Quinton's Quaint Quay- This high-end seafood restaurant is located on Grand Isle along the waterfront next to one of the higher end marinas. They serve very fine but very expensive food for a discerning crowd. Reservations are not required but are recommended and sometimes needed to avoid a long wait to get in the door.
Railcarcorp, Inc. (RCCI)- The Metro areas only manufacturer of railroad cars, producing a wide range of products that are used by many railroads not only around the Midwest, but throughout much of North America. This is a publicly traded company.
Random Avgerinos Engineering (RAND) - This large publicly traded construction engineering firm does a fair bit of the design work for the Metro area streets and utilities as well as coordinating some of these projects. They also handle a lot of large construction projects (high-rises and industrial complexes) around the area. While they are the largest civil engineering firm located in the Metro area, they also do work in other areas of the Midwest.
Redlight Café- This "gentleman's club" is nothing more than a shady bar and strip club that is popular with those who are lacking in morals and have money to burn for a cheap thrill.
Riverbend Mall- One of the several malls located in the Metro area. This one has the typical anchor stores, as well as many of the common specialty stores that are typically found within most malls. It is one of several owned by Ludlow Holdings.
Riverbend Park- This large public park is located in an area of the cities that is somewhat industrial in its focus, but yet it is kept up and is a very popular place for runners and bike riders due to its extensive paved trails and nice woodlands along the river.
Riverbend Public Golf Course- One of the metro areas public golf courses.
Riverbend Sports Grill- One of the larger sports bars in the metro area with the numerous large screen TV's as well as a couple of pool tables. It is pretty popular as the drinks are of average cost and the food is moderately good.
Riverbend Steak and Seafood- A decent and moderately priced steak and seafood restaurant. They sometimes have live music (usually lower key stuff, such as a piano player or a small local band that plays softer music) in the evening (usually about once every other week).
Riverbend Steel Inc. (RVRS)- This is a somewhat small but specialty steel manufacturer that specializes in unusual alloys and specialty steel alloys as well as some other types of unusual metal products. They are publicly traded on the local stock exchange and are managed by some of the company's largest stock holders.
Robertson & Associates (RBRD) - A large publicly traded engineering and industrial construction firm that handles the design and construction of both small factories as well as larger industrial complexes around the Midwest and especially active in the Metro area.
Saint Matilda Hospital- One of the older hospitals in the Metro Area, it is owned and operated by the Metro Area Catholic Church. As such they are a non-profit facility that tends to take in a lot of the less fortunate. However they are well funded by several large donors in addition to by the local churches.
Scarbarrow Lumber & Hardware (SCBR) - This chain (5 locations around the metro area) of hardware and lumber yards supplies a fair portion of the local market (both home-owner DIY's as well as builders and contractors). It is a medium sized regional retailer specializing in construction and home-improvement markets. This company was founded in the early 1960's and expanded to a second location in the mid 1970's, then went through the IPO process to become a publicly traded company and raise funding to open two additional locations. The founder passed away just a few years ago and his heirs sold off most of the shares that they inherited, thus it is now managed by those who had been promoted from within the company as well as a couple of the larger investors.
Seafood Palace- This is a higher-end seafood restaurant that has nice décor and is a quiet place that is often used as a romantic dinner location. It is located near the waterfront in the Finance District.
Selma's- This is a fast-food burger type of joint that also offers salads and wraps on their menu. It is a decent place for a quick bite to eat and is reasonably priced. They have 7 locations around the Metro area, with some being near malls or other heavily traveled retail areas, as a location near each of the two larger universities.
Shahrazad's Library- a large store/coffee shop with a heavy Middle Eastern theme to its décor that sells music, books, software, art, and unusual collector items and is located near the State University (Clearwater District) with a second location recently opened in a similar building near Masterson University (Grand Isle District). Owned by Bradley (Brad) Goodlow. This is a very social place of business that is often moderately crowded with mortals during the weekends and early weeknights. Brad also has three fairly large rooms set aside on the second floor of his large building off the upper level of the bookstore which he allows and encourages gamers (both RPG'ers and Wargamers) to utilize whenever the store is open (Sun.-Th. 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, F-Sat. 10:00 AM through 12:00 AM). His own living quarters are on the third floor of the building. He appears as a tall and lanky man with long thin hair of a blue-gray sheen, deep green eyes, and Caucasian-like skin but yet has middle-eastern features. He dresses in long flowing clothing that is usually of purple or silver with an almost psychedelic print, and has a very flamboyant personality to match his unusual clothing.
Simpfendorfer Investment (SMFI) - This small but publicly traded investment management and stock brokerage firm was founded by Alonzo Simpfendorfer (who still owns about 30% of the companies publicly traded shares and acts as its CEO). This company provides a wide variety of services, including retirement and mutual fund management; brokerage services in a variety of equity and debt instruments, real estate development and management services, as well as providing private equity investment and management services for investors and companies looking to expand.
Smith Brothers (SMTB) - ??? Undecided on type of business, but liked the sound of the name
Spike & Hammer Software- is a small two-man (or so it seems) software company that deals in specialty software applications as well as small custom online games. The two owners are known only as "Spike" and "Hammer", and are rarely ever seen in public, as they operate out of a very old and run down industrial building in the Foundry District. Hammer is quiet and introverted, rarely speaking to anyone, and when he is chatting with people on-line he still says very little, using very short and to the point answers that show no emotion. Meanwhile Spike is very talkative almost to the point of being irritating, rarely going more than a minute without saying something. Due to their heavy use of computers and the Internet, they generally have almost no direct human contact other than through on-line. In addition to doing specialized programming for customers who are willing to pay top dollar for their services, they also run a small MMORPG, which is not openly advertised or sold. This game is downloadable only through their web site, which is not publicized and is moderately expensive, then there is a monthly fee for using it that is much higher than any more public MMORPG available.
State Medical Center- This large hospital is part of the State University and is used for both research and for teaching those going into the medical profession. Due to their teaching and research status they tend to perform a fair amount of cutting edge procedures and often handle odd cases that some of the other area hospitals are either ill-equipped for or are not able to
State University- a very large state-run university "State University" located in the Clearwater District of Bayside city.
Southampton Amusement/Water Park- A modest sized amusement park that has recently added some waterpark type of rides. They are only open for about 5 months out of the year; however it is a nice local place for parents to take their kids for a fun day of entertainment or for special outings.
Southampton Construction- One of the many moderately large construction companies that operate in the Metro area. Specializing in residential construction, both single family as well as larger complexes (condo's, apartments, subdivision developments, etc.).
Southampton Industrial Corp. (SHIC)- This heavy industrial equipment manufacturer is a specialty equipment maker that provides a lot of large equipment to the mining, steel, construction, and commodity handling industries. Their equipment includes roller mills, large conveyor systems, crane systems (both gantry and tower style), as well as other heavy-duty specialty equipment.
Southampton Hospital- A medium sized hospital that provides most services, but tends not to be the best for very serious conditions. However for a lot of common procedures and minor emergencies their facilities and staff are more than adequate.
Southampton Mall- One of the several malls in the Metro area, this one is owned and operated by C&B Retail Properties REIT. It has the normal anchor stores surrounded by numerous specialty stores of various types that are common in most malls.
Southampton Motor Speedway- This is the only race track located in the city (there are two others not too far away from the Metro area, but yet outside of the cities proper). It is a paved track that is actually odd shaped. They hold races both of the NASCAR and Indy-car variety pretty regularly (although none of them are nationally recognized races and are thus semi-pro), along with one Can-am style race per year and a couple of races where they will let people bring their street cars onto the track (although the drivers are responsible to cover any costs associated with damage that results from it and many of the insurance companies have people there to record who has vehicles participating in these races to protect themselves from having to pay for reckless behavior.
Southampton Plastics (SAMP) - A relatively small plastics manufacturing company located in Southampton. This is one of the smaller publicly traded manufacturers in the Metro area. It was only recently taken public by its founders, who sold a 60% equity stake to raise funds for a large expansion to their plant that was just recently completed.
Southside Brewery (SSBR) - This brewery is the largest producer of alcoholic beverages in the Metro area. It is a relatively small but publicly traded company that dates back more than a century. Its products are not anything special from a quality standpoint, but they do a fairly large volume of sales to bars and party stores around the Midwest.
Springfield Investigations- A small private investigation firm that will watch and gather information for their customers and sometimes even provides security services for small special events. It is owned by Jerome Bankow (or "G.B." as he likes to be called).
Thaircoill Industrial Equipment (THIE) - This heavy industrial equipment manufacturer produces a variety of specialty equipment for various manufacturers around the Midwest, including stamping machines, presses, extruders, reactors, heat exchangers, as well as a variety of other equipment. Their headquarters is located in Thaircoill at their large manufacturing site.
Thaircoill Metals (TMTL) - This small specialty steel mill and smelting company specializes in production of alloys and metal products that the larger mills have trouble producing.
Thornton Foods and Milling (THFM) - This grain milling and food processing company has several locations around the Midwest, with their largest grain silos and milling facility, as well as several other smaller plants of various types located in the Metro area.
The (Arvon) Hills Mall- One of the several retail properties owned and operated by Ludlow Holdings and leased to a wide variety of retail chains and small restaurant chains. It has the normal anchor stores surrounded by numerous specialty stores of various types that are common in most malls, as well as a large centrally located food court.
Tierra's Taco House- (3) A small family owned Mexican food restaurant that has three locations around the metro area.
Torrance Sporting Goods- Owned by Greg Torrance, which is a large sporting goods store located in the Clearwater District of the Metro area, as well as three smaller stores in Frampton Woods, Thaircoille, and the Riverside district of Lakeview. While he deals in nearly any type of sports equipment, these stores are well known for their complete stock of guns and ammo, as well as other less conventional weaponry. He is a tall and muscular man with long dark brown hair and a thick beard and bushy moustache. He usually wears blue jeans and tee shirts or sometimes leathers. He is also involved in a local motorcycle gang. This gang call themselves the "Storm Riders" and all have tattoos of lightning bolts somewhere obvious on their bodies. The apparent leader of this gang is called "Zeus" due to his tall and very stocky stature as well as his booming voice and fearless attitude.
United Milling (UNML) - This is a large and publicly traded company that processes various grains and other food products which are then sold to food manufacturers (food producers, bakeries, etc.).
University Center Shopping Mall- This large shopping mall is located near the State University in the Clearwater District, and just off of the expressway.
Utilistruct Corp (UTLC) - The largest of the utility construction firms in the Metro area, they specialize in both wired and pipeline type utility systems. This publicly traded company dates back to the 1920's and has installed and performed much of the maintenance on most of the power lines and pipelines around the metro area. They install and maintain both above and below ground cabling for the electric utilities, phone companies, and cable companies around the Metro area as well as also handling both gas and other utility pipelines, and has installed much of the Metro areas water mains, sewer lines, and storm drains, as well as doing related work inside some of the larger industrial complexes around the Metro area.
Valentos Construction and Crane (VLCC)- A specialty construction company that specializes in heavy steel construction as well as providing crane/lifting services for other construction companies and industrial companies.
Valley Entertainment- This is a very large entertainment complex in Arvon Hills that has both movie theatres and performance theatres (for plays and small concerts). The complex also includes a family-oriented pizza and sandwich restaurant, a sports bar, an arcade, a roller rink, an ice rink (there are three amateur hockey leagues as well as open skating), a miniature golf course, racquetball courts, indoor tennis courts, gym and fitness center, and a bowling alley. It is also located right across the street from a very large shopping mall (which is owned by Ludlow Holdings and Investments). Valley Entertainment is owned by Tara Ogveidan. She is a tall thin woman with long straight hair that is an almost silvery- black (black with considerable silvery gray) color. She typically dresses almost exclusively in long black dresses, however she rarely leaves the grounds of the main location due to having a penthouse within the complex.
Vangerion Environmental (VENV)- This specialty services company deals with environmental issues, be it dealing with and cleaning up spills by the various industrial companies. They also design various equipment to reduce pollution or deal with waste streams coming from the various industrial companies of the Metro area as well as sometimes taking on projects in other Midwest cities.
Varentos Gardens and Museum- a huge public garden in the Highlands District (minimal charge, or yearly membership to enter, as well as being partially funded by several ) with a very large manner set in the middle of the huge estate that now acts as a museum. Had been the home of a wealthy businessman (Garlan Varentos) from the 1800's who never had any heirs and set up a trust to keep it as a museum and public park for others to enjoy. A reclusive man who very little is known about manages and maintains it. He does the vast majority of the work performed on the grounds after hours. The public knows him only as Mr. Conley. He typically wears worn and faded blue jeans and plain gray, green, or white tee shirts, as well as steel-toed leather work-boots. He is often somewhat dirty and dust covered especially his hands and clothing due to his working in the gardens.
Vito and Carducci (VTCI) - ???? Undecided on type of business, but liked the sound of the name
Vito's Pasta and Pizza- (5) This small pizza chain has a reputation for having some of the best pizza around the Metro area, as well as a variety of other great Italian foods. Probably 2/3 of their business is via pizza delivery (their pizzas are a little on the expensive side but this is a case of "you get what you pay for", so their pizzas are generally worth the extra money. The owner, Vito Carducci is a jovial fellow and can sometimes be seen at one of the locations during the evenings, but some say that you don't want to mess with him, as he has connections in the underworld.
Vortex Trucking & Distribution (VRTD) - This large trucking and regional delivery company was split off as a separate business entity from its parent company (Vortex Corporation) about a decade ago.
Vortex Corporation (VRTX) - This company is a moderately large conglomerate that has its fingers into many different businesses around the Midwest and especially in the Metro Area. It is a moderately large publicly traded company that keeps a very low profile, despite having numerous manufacturing plants around the Metro area as well as throughout much of the Midwest. The largest single owner is Ludlow Holdings (about 12%).
Waterfront Aggregate and Cement (WAGC) - This is one of the larger suppliers of cement and aggregates for construction around the Metro area. They are located along the coastline of the Waterfront District (as the name suggests). They are set up to receive aggregate via railroad from a variety of gravel pits outside of the city, but yet not too far away. Likewise they receive their cement shipments via great lakes freighter from some of the various cement manufacturers that dot the coastline of the Great Lakes.
Western Bay Railroad (WBRR) - This short-line railroad handles most of the industrial rail lines around the Metro area, providing service to many of the local industries by providing service to the mainlines that handle rail traffic in and out of the Metro area. This small and publicly traded company managed to form when two other small local railroads filed for bankruptcy many years ago, purchasing the right of way and equipment of both for pennies on the dollar. The man who put up the funds to get it started then took the company public only a couple of years later to provide funding to expand and upgrade much of the railroads equipment.
Westfield Grain (WFGN) - This medium sized granary and milling company is one of only two such companies that operate in the Metro area. They are the smaller of the two companies and are not as diverse as their competitors; however they maintain their equipment well and provide good quality products to other food processing companies.
Wilkins Electronics (WLKE) - A specialty electronics manufacturer that produces a lot of custom computer chips, mother boards, and other electronic components for industrial and specialty applications. Due to the custom nature of their products, their sales vary quite a bit from one quarter to another as their sales fluctuate.
Willowvale Nature Preserve - This huge nature preserve is operated by a non-profit group that is funded by a variety of sources. It covers roughly 23 square miles along the outer edge of the metro area and is open to the public for hiking, trail walking, biking, and other activities during daylight hours. They also offer a variety of educational programs and day-camps off and on throughout the year. However it closes at dark and does not allow camping.
Wolfram Products (WOLF) - A specialty manufacturer of high tech equipment for medical and scientific use and electronics and custom computer systems for industry as well as complex communications networks and satellites.
Wong's China Buffet- (4)
Zeringue Metaphysics- Founded by an elderly woman many years ago, it is now operated by her granddaughter Angelique Genevieve Zeringue ("Angue Z." as her friends call her), is a small woman of African/Creole decent who's family had moved up to the Midwest from Louisiana in pursuit of a better life in the industrial growth of the area in the early days of Industrial Revolution. She was raised in a poor family, where her mother worked two jobs as a cook in some of the local restaurants around the metro area and her dad worked on the docks when he was young, but was injured and was unable to work (had a severe limp and bad back due to a crate of equipment falling on him when it was being unloaded from a boat when Angue was very young). Both of her parents passed away quite a few years ago in a fire, when the run-down house the rented burned down at night while Angue was staying the night at a friend's house when she was in high school. Angue then moved in with her grandmother who lived on the ground floor of a four-story building in a part of the Metro area that is dominated by lower class residential and retail (Waterfront District, although a bit off of the waterfront). It had various shops on the first floor and apartments on the upper three floors. Her grandmother ("Grammy" as she was called) owned a small shop that dealt in occult and metaphysical goods and which she performed fortune telling and tarot readings in a back room for the locals (called "Zeringue Metaphysics"). She also lived in another back room on the ground floor of this building with a small kitchenette area off of it. The owner of the building had given Grammy a major break on her rent for the shop and apartment for several years in exchange for her managing the building for him (he was a wealthy man who had made most of his money in the oil industry and had moved away many years earlier), but when he died about 15 years ago, he left the building to Grammy Zeringue in his will. When she died about 7 years ago, Angelique inherited it and continued on the business. Since the large building is primarily empty, she has converted part of it into a homeless shelter and soup kitchen for some of the cities poor, which is called "Bread and Beds". She actively does fundraising in the community to raise funds to cover much of the costs associated with the homeless shelter and soup kitchen. There are several regular volunteers who help her out, as well as a few well off individuals who help with donations to keep the place open. Among the remaining shops still located in the building are a small run-down bar called "Ben's" (owned by Ben Bernoudy, a small scale loan shark, numbers runner, and low-life who has his hands into the pockets of many of the poor locally), and a small coffee shop/café called "Pot-o-Beans" (owned by a young woman who moved to the area a couple of years ago named Charlotte Liebentritt). Seven of the 30 apartments in the building are rented, while about 10 have been converted over to be part of the homeless shelter, while the remaining 13 are currently empty (and for rent if any characters are interested).