Getty Realty to invite bids on four Maine gas stations

Four Maine gas stations are up for grabs, part of a divestiture of property held by Getty Realty Corp.

The gas stations are located at 393 Western Ave., Augusta; 23 Main St., Fairfield; 686 Lisbon St., Lisbon Falls; and 460-464 Warren Ave., Portland.

The properties are being sold by NRC Realty Capital Advisors through a bid process that includes 23 other properties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Buyers can bid on one, some or all.

Specific details about the listed properties will be available in May, with a June 11 deadline for bids. Minimum bids range from $145,576 to $520,000.

Olive Garden to put tablets for ordering in all restaurants

Olive Garden will put table-top tablets in all 845 restaurants nationwide starting in May, letting customers order appetizers and drinks from the devices.

Darden Restaurants has been testing the tablets at a handful of Central Florida Olive Gardens for over a year, but has now decided to roll them out at all of the Italian-style casual eateries.

The 7-inch touch-screen tablets also will allow customers to pay and split bills from the table as well as play games and trivia. The Ziosk-brand tablets also have a card reader to allow debit and credit card purchases.

The results of the tablet testing have been positive, Olive Garden said. Tips are higher for servers, dining times are faster and guest satisfaction scores have increased.

J.C. Penney email error leads to early release of sales data

J.C. Penney investors got an early peek at its first-quarter sales Tuesday after the company inadvertently emailed the information to a securities analyst.

The gaffe prompted the department-store chain to share the data with investors under Regulation FD rules, which forbid selective disclosure. To date, same-store sales are up about 6 percent in the period, helped by an early Easter, J.C. Penney said in a regulatory filing. After the holiday’s benefit fades, the full quarter’s growth will probably be 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent, the company said.

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