Biz Buzz: Baker Equipment is converting vehicles two ways

As gas prices climbed higher last year, alternative fuels became a much-discussed topic as companies and individuals began working on ways to ease the dependence on foreign oil.

Whether it was electricity, ethanol or hydrogen, many saw the need to adjust.

While gas prices have dropped back from those highs, many companies, wary of prices heading north again, are still looking for vehicles using alternative fuels.

"I would say a lot of fleet managers learned their lessons last year," said Joseph G. "Skip" Baker Jr., president of Baker Equipment in Richmond.

Baker, a distributor of truck equipment, works with fleet owners to convert traditionally gas-powered vehicles to compressed natural gas. It started offering the service last year.

It now has branched out by offering to convert fleet vehicles, such as vans or taxis, to propane power.

The company has a signed a deal to join Alliance AutoGas, a network of clean propane fueling sites and vehicle conversion centers.

The vehicles will be equipped with the original gasoline tank and added propane tanks.

This allows the operator to run the vehicle as a propane/gasoline hybrid. When propane runs out, the vehicles will automatically switch to gasoline.

Companies that make the transition through Baker then will be entitled to use the 300 fueling stations that are part of the Alliance AutoGas nationwide network.

That infrastructure, Baker said, is major selling point for companies because, in the past, prices for propane at stations varied so much it wasn't cost effective.

"You can now drive across the country and know what it's going to cost you in advance," he said.

A conversion costs several thousand dollars, but Baker said a company could recoup the cost in less than a year if the vehicle is driven 60,000 miles, as taxis often do.

For now, Baker technicians are training on propane conversions and the company could be doing them as early as this month.

The company will continue to do compressed natural gas conversions.

Baker believes he will have a steady stream of business even though gas prices have flattened because he thinks it's only a matter of time before they go back up.

"We have to be aware that prices can go up with just a slight uptick in demand," he said. "We now know what can happen."

Gift shop closes

Tickle Your Fancy store in Chesterfield County has closed, but it will continue selling online.

The store, off of Hull Street Road near Southshore Drive, shut down about two weeks ago. It moved last year from the Stony Point Fashion Park.

Tickle Your Fancy sold shoes, clothes, accessories and gifts.

Owner Heather Hughes said she would not open another store, but would continue to have a Web presence.

Café serving dinner

The Arcade Café has started serving dinner.

The restaurant, which was bought this year by Paul and Peggy Cartwright, is on Grove Avenue, just west of Libbie Avenue.

Paul Cartwright describes the restaurant as "a traditional 'come with friends, have lunch and chat' lunch spot."

But after redoing some of the décor, Cartwright said they've decided to open Arcade for dinner Wednesdays through Saturdays.

The restaurant seats about 50 people and has an enclosed patio that seats about 22.

Cartwright says he hopes the late opening will draw people into the Libbie and Grove shopping district.

"We feel that this area has the potential to bring back the village atmosphere," Cartwright said.

Westchester McAlister's

McAlister's Deli is scheduled to open today at Westchester Commons in Chesterfield.

At one time, McAlister's had three locations in the Richmond area -- Downtown Short Pump shopping center in western Henrico, on Huguenot Road in Chesterfield and in Riverside on the James in downtown -- but all have closed.

The newest restaurant is owned by Glenn Miller, who operates 20 Arby's restaurants in central Illinois. He also owns two other Virginia McAlister's, in Waynesboro and Harrisonburg.

Westchester Commons is off Midlothian Turnpike and state Route 288.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .