IsJay’s Sweets and Celebrations is open at 206 South Main Street. The bakery is owned by LaVerne Stephens of Concord. “IsJay’s” is a combination of the names of her twin sons, Isaiah and Jayson.

Stephens makes cakes to order, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, chocolate dipped strawberries, muffins, truffles and Key lime pie. The bakery has seating and can also be used for events and private parties, everything from birthdays to wedding receptions. There is also a video game lounge.

Catering and baking classes are available. Stephens was running a wholesale baking business for five years before opening IsJay’s.

IsJay’s hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information call 704-310-5720.

New restaurant on Brick Street

Mike and Paula’s Eatery opened Monday in the space that was formerly Cartucci’s Restaurant.

The eatery serves country style food. Breakfast is served all day. Wings, sandwiches, biscuits, omelets, hot dogs and hamburgers are included on the menu, which has selections for lunch and dinner.

The restaurant is owned and operated by Paula Chamberlain and Mike Preslar, who are engaged. Paula has spent her career as a waitress and this is her first time running a restaurant.

Chamberlain said many of the restaurant’s staff used to work at the former Farmhouse Restaurant at the corner of Jake Alexander Boulevard and Old Concord Road.

The hours are Monday through Wedesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 704-870-8756.

Kesler joins law firm

The Law Firm of Whitley & Jordan, P.A. has announced that Joseph P. Kesler has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

Kesler was born and raised in Rowan County and graduated from North Rowan High School in 2007.  He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He graduated from Campbell University School of Law in May of 2014 and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar as a licensed attorney in September of 2014.  He joins Cecil L. Whitley and Darrin D. Jordan, partners of Whitley & Jordan, P.A. where he will enter into the general practice of law with a concentration in all types of criminal law, to include DWI defense and traffic cases. The firm also handles family law cases as well as cases involving injury from auto accidents.

He is the son of William and Linda Kesler of Salisbury and he has one brother, Weaver Kesler.  He is the grandson of William Kesler, Sr. of Salisbury and the late John and Anne Pendleton who were from Salisbury.

Mooresville company expanding

MOORESVILLE — Windecker Aircraft Inc. will add nearly 60 jobs to its staff at the Lakeside Business Park.

The Charlotte Business Journal reported the aviation company has decided to stay in Iredell County, add 58 jobs and invest $6 million in its research and development projects. The city and county will provide incentives totaling $255,000 if the company meets employment and investment goals.

Windecker is looking for “highly skilled engineers and technicians,” the Journal reported.

Thrivent earns award

Thrivent Asset Management has been honored with a Lipper Fund Award for Best Mixed-Assets Small Fund Family.

The award recognizes the performance of six mutual funds managed by Thrivent Asset Management. All four of the Thrivent Asset Allocation funds, as well as the Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Fund and Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund, are part of the category for which Thrivent received the award, announced March 31. The award recognizes Thrivent for its consistently strong three-year risk-adjusted performance (as of Nov. 30, 2014) relative to its peers and based on Lipper’s performance-based methodology, in the Mixed-Asset Lipper category.

Thrivent was honored at an awards gala in New York City on March 31.

This is Thrivent Asset Management’s sixth Lipper award since 2008. For more information, you can visit Thrivent.com/Lipper. Thrivent is represented in the Salisbury area by a number of financial representatives. Individuals interested in contacting a local Thrivent Financial representative can find more information at www.thrivent.com.

Edward Jones is top workplace

Financial-services firm Edward Jones was recognized as one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials in the country by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine.

Edward Jones ranked the No. 10 best workplace for millennials, a generation defined from the early 1980s through 2001.

This ranking comes from an anonymous survey of associates administered by the workplace culture experts at Great Place to Work.

“As we grow our firm to serve succeeding generations of individual investors, we know that attracting and developing millennials is key to our long-term success,” said Philpott. “We offer a career destination and a business model that allows them to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our clients.”

Edward Jones and the 99 other winning companies were selected based on the evaluations of nearly 90,000 millennial-aged employees who were surveyed using the Trust Index, Great Place to Work’s employee assessment survey. The 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials is part of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and Fortune based entirely on employee surveys from published Great Place to Work Reviews.

Edward Jones has offices in Salisbury and China Grove.