A “For Sale” sign posted outside the Biscuit Stop could spell the end for the popular eatery on South Bright Leaf Boulevard.

While it's the property — not the business itself — that's for sale, it's up to the buyer to decide whether to continue leasing the building to the Biscuit Stop.

“We are hoping whoever buys it would continue to lease to us,” said restaurant owner Betsy Pollard. She said she wouldn't reopen elsewhere if the new owner did not allow her to stay.

Real estate agent Mike Williams said he hoped to have a buyer soon. “We've got three different people that are looking at it seriously,” he said.

-Colin Campbell

Town manager says he will retire

Benson commissioners this month heard retirement plans from their town manager and renewed the town's youth curfew.

Town Manager Keith Langdon announced that his last day will be June 30, 2010, as he steps down after 25 years in local government.

In a letter to the mayor and commissioners, Langdon said he hopes the advance notice will give the town plenty of time to find his successor.

“I plan to remain in Benson and would like to see the Town of Benson continue to be the best place in which to live, work and play, and as always, I will be available to help anyway I can,” Langdon wrote.

Commissioners said finding someone of Langdon's caliber to fill the post will be a challenge.

“It's going to be hard to find somebody that's grown up here, that's known the people,” Commissioner Will Chandler said. He also cited Langdon's dedication to the job, noting that he once saw him driving around at 2 a.m. looking for burned-out streetlights.

-Colin Campbell

Bank parent raises capital

The corporate parent of Four Oaks Bank & Trust has raised $12 million to boost its capital.

“Since we were already well-capitalized, this makes us more well-capitalized,” said Nancy Wise, chief financial officer of the Johnston County bank, which has 17 branches in eight counties.

The completion of the promissory-notes sale follows the bank's July 29 announcement that its second-quarter loss was smaller than projected. The loss wasn't as large as anticipated because income-tax benefits from the loss were more than expected, Wise said.

The second-quarter loss of $705,000 stemmed from an increased provision for loan losses and higher payments to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC is charging higher insurance premiums and recently levied a special assessment against all banks to shore up its insurance fund, which has been depleted by bank failures.

In the second quarter of last year, Four Oaks Bank had a profit of $964,000.

-News & Observer