- Johnny Rockets Sold for $25 Million to Fatburger Owner
(fsrmagazine.com - 8/13/2020) On Thursday, it scooped up iconic diner chain Johnny Rockets for $25 million—FAT Brands’ first acquisition since Elevation Burger in June 2019, but likely far from its last. (full story)
- Spirit Halloween brings on infection protection experts as it opens 1,400 stores
(chainstoreage.com - 8/12/2020) The nation's largest specialty Halloween retailer said it has spent months preparing to safely open more than 1,400 locations in strip centers and malls nationwide. (full story)
- Green Thumb Industries Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results
(streetinsider.com - 8/12/2020) During the quarter, Green Thumb opened six new stores, for a total of nine stores opened year-to-date... (full story)
- Clean Juice Continues Rapid Growth Trend Despite COVID-19
(themountaineer.com - 8/12/2020) The new locations include West Frisco, Texas; Lake Mary, Florida; and St. Johns, Florida. Six additional units were awarded to new franchise partners in East Lansing, Michigan; a multi-store agreement in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton, Florida; Phoenix, AZ, and for the first time, northern Kentucky, the franchise's 24th state. (full story)
- National company eyes Provo as attractive market to continue expansion
(heraldextra.com - 8/12/2020) In addition to existing locations and the newest five locations, Edible has estimated that it would like to add another three to seven locations statewide with a particular focus on central and northern Utah. (full story)
- Stein Mart files for bankruptcy; may close all stores
(hometextilestoday.com - 8/12/2020) In the filings, Stein Mart officials indicated that it expects to close a significant portion, if not all, of its brick-and-mortar stores.
(full story)
- Brooks Brothers Bought for $325 Million by Authentic Brands, Simon Property
(fool.com - 8/12/2020) The partners' successful bid for the men's clothing company follows up an earlier "stalking horse" bid of $305 million they made at the end of July. The purchasers upped their offer to $325 million, and Brooks Brothers announced Wednesday that it had accepted. (full story)
- Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh Opening a New Location in Watertown’s Arsenal Yards
(franchising.com - 8/12/2020) St. George and his partners, brother and sister business duo, Leigha and Karl Schmidt, plan to open three more locations in the area over the next five years, making it a mainstream dining staple in The Bay State. (full story)
- Sur La Table to be acquired; some stores will stay open
(chainstoreage.com - 8/11/2020) The nearly 50-year-old kitchenware retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in July and said it would close over 50 of its 121 stores, has been sold for nearly $89 million to a joint venture between e-commerce investment firm CSC Generation and Marquee Brands LLC. (full story)
- Steak ‘n Shake Closes More Restaurants as Quick-Service Flip Begins
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/11/2020) In terms of what this will eventually look like, Steak ‘n Shake’s total unit count has declined by 69 restaurants over the first half of 2020, the company revealed. Fifty-six of those are corporate locations.
(full story)
- Coolgreens to Begin Record-Breaking 50-Store Expansion in Texas
(restaurantnews.com - 8/11/2020) Coolgreens CEO Robert Lee announced today that the company has signed an area development agreement with industry veteran Clay Carson to open 50 locations throughout Austin, Houston and San Antonio in the next five years. (full story)
- Jeremiah's Italian Ice Awards Over 200 Units Throughout Pandemic
(prnewswire.com - 8/10/2020) The Florida-founded franchise concept, has awarded an additional 224 units this year to 8 Area Representative partners across the country, 193 of these units awarded in the month of April alone. The new agreements will be bringing Jeremiah's Italian Ice to new markets across Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee. (full story)
- Slim Chickens Signs 10-Unit Deal in Dallas Metroplex
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/10/2020) Slim Chickens announced that it has signed a multi-unit deal with franchisee Ray Johnson to develop 10 restaurants across Dallas’ Collin and Denton counties. Johnson is pursuing sites in lively towns like Highland Village, Flower Mound and Bartonville, to name a few. (full story)
- Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results
(benzinga.com - 8/10/2020) Grocery Outlet currently expects to open between 30 and 32 stores this year with no additional closures planned. The Company continues to build its real estate pipeline to support 10% annual unit growth.
(full story)
- I Heart Mac & Cheese Growing in Arizona
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/10/2020) Franchisee James Maragh has inked deals for three Arizona locations slotted to open in Peoria-North, Scottsdale North and Gilbert. (full story)
- FAT Brands Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results
(restaurantnewsresource.com - 8/10/2020) "We are optimizing operations wherever possible, and continuing the expansion of the FAT Brands asset light model. Through the end of July, there have been 15 new store openings, and we have plans to open 18 additional stores by the end of the year."
(full story)
- National Vision Holdings, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results
(businesswire.com - 8/7/2020) The Company opened 12 new stores, transitioned five Vision Centers in Walmart stores to its management, closed five stores, and ended the quarter with 1,185 stores... (full story)
- Fazoli’s Sales and Growth Boom with Multiple New Restaurant Openings Amid Crisis
(franchising.com - 8/7/2020) While Fazoli’s is breaking sales records, the brand is also gearing up for at least 13 new restaurant openings this fiscal year. In the coming months, Fazoli’s has nine more locations set to open in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina. (full story)
- Refreshed LIME Fresh Mexican Grill is Ready to Grow
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/7/2020) LIME Fresh’s first restaurant outside of South Florida is scheduled to open in Orlando later this year. According to Rama, it will be the first of many new locations planned throughout other parts of Florida and beyond. (full story)
- Dick’s SG Announces Grand Opening Of 11 Stores In Nine States
(sgbonline.com - 8/7/2020) Dick’s Sporting Goods will expand its national footprint with the opening of four Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, one combination Dick’s and Golf Galaxy location, five Dick’s Sporting Goods Warehouse sale stores and one Overtime by Dick’s Sporting Goods location in August. (full story)
- German grocery giant continues US expansion
(rew-online.com - 8/7/2020) As part of an ongoing expansion, Lidl US announced it would open 25 new stores in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. By the end of next year, Lidl expects to sell its products in more than 100 stores and create more than 1,000 new jobs across nine states.
(full story)
- Acclaimed Japanese ramen restaurant will celebrate its grand opening in LoDo on Aug. 17
(franchising.com - 8/7/2020) In addition to the new LoDo location, Franchisees Brad Smith and Tony Avila are preparing to bring JINYA’s perfectly balanced bowls to Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins. (full story)
- What a Way to Celebrate 65 Years
(retailleader.com - 8/7/2020) During the third quarter, the company opened two new stores, resulting in a 4.6% new store growth rate... (full story)
- Lumber Liquidators Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results
(thecentralvirginian.com - 8/5/2020) The Company opened two net new stores in the second quarter of 2020 bringing total store count to 422... (full story)
- Planet Fitness Inc Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript
(fool.com - 8/5/2020) We opened 21 new stores in the quarter. A handful of these locations were originally scheduled to open in Q1, but were delayed... (full story)
- Smoothie King continues store expansion amid pandemic
(chainstoreage.com - 8/5/2020) Smoothie King expects to open a total of 80 new U.S. locations by the end of 2020. During the next five months, the company is aiming for continued development in the following markets: Baltimore, Birmingham, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City and Phoenix. (full story)
- Chicken Salad Chick Opening NC Restaurant in High Point
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/5/2020) Umphenour will co-own and operate the High Point restaurant with his father Paul and has plans to open three additional Chicken Salad Chick locations across the Piedmont Triad over the next few years. (full story)
- Gyro Shack Preps for its Next Growth Chapter
(qsrmagazine.com - 8/5/2020) The plan is to open one to two more stores this year—if COVID allows for the right real estate—and then four to six stores in 2021 and 10 to 12 in 2022. (full story)
- My Eyelab Delivers on 2020 Vision with Impressive YTD Growth
(valdostadailytimes.com - 8/5/2020) The new openings and signings mark a 40 percent year-to-date growth rate over last year for My Eyelab, bringing the national eye care and retail brand’s number of franchise stores to 42 with a track to 55 franchise units operating by year end. (full story)
- These Milwaukee entrepreneurs plan to bring the Milwaukee area's first Biggby Coffee to Franklin
(jsonline.com - 8/5/2020) The duo is aiming to open five Biggby Coffee shops in the next five years. They said Midtown is still one of their "preferred" locations, and could even be next. "We're both originally from that area," Grace said. "We know the value of having a meeting spot at that location." (full story)
- Frye Will Shutter All of Its Stores as it Moves to Digital
(footwearnews.com - 8/5/2020) The New York-based boot maker announced yesterday in an email to customers that it would shutter its entire brick-and-mortar fleet of 16 stores in a bid to go “all in” on its digital business. (full story)
- Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. Announces First Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results
(businesswire.com - 8/4/2020) Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. announced its financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 27, 2020...The company opened 5 new stores during the quarter... (full story)
- The Melting Pot Plans to Grow by 30 Locations by End of 2024
(fsrmagazine.com - 8/4/2020) The brand is targeting key trade areas such as Southern California, the New England area, Texas, Arkansas and prime markets such as Memphis, Tenn.; Breckenridge, Colo.; and Des Moines, Iowa. (full story)
- Great Greek Mediterranean Grill Continues Expansion Path to 20 Locations in the State of Michigan
(restaurantnews.com - 8/4/2020) The Great Greek opened its first Michigan restaurant in Troy during the summer of 2019 as part of a multi-unit development agreement for 20 locations throughout the state of Michigan. (full story)
- GSR Brands Beats Challenges of Early 2020 With Success and Looks Ahead to More Expansion
(franchising.com - 8/4/2020) Tom & Chee will open a Pittsburgh location and ink an area development agreement with an Oklahoma City franchisee in Q3. Across Gold Star Chili and Tom & Chee, GSR Brands looks to add five new franchisees by close of 2020. (full story)
- With Sales Holding, Texas Roadhouse Is Developing Restaurants Again
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 8/4/2020) Two more Roadhouses fired up their grills in July, with four more slated to open during the remainder of the third quarter. Another eight restaurants, including a new Jaggers, will be added to the fold by the end of the year, Taylor said. (full story)
- Wawa To Construct Drive-Thru-Only Convenience Store In PA
(pymnts.com - 8/4/2020) Wawa Inc., the East Coast convenience and gas station chain, is planning to build a new store...will offer drive-through service only, removing the need to limit the number of customers in the store... (full story)
- Publix's Q2 comps rise nearly 20%
(grocerydive.com - 8/4/2020) After pausing new store openings early during the pandemic, Publix has resumed soft openings. Its website lists nine new stores... (full story)
- TruFusion Debuts Innovative New Studio Prototype Amidst Accelerated Franchise Development Growth
(prnewswire.com - 8/3/2020) In addition to its aggressive growth efforts in development areas across the U.S., the leading fitness franchise concept is also slated to open several new studios in key target markets nationwide before end of year, including Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, West Hollywood and Ballard, WA. (full story)
- Sola Salon Studios Signs Eight Franchise Agreements To Open 22 New Locations Across The U.S.
(prnewswire.com - 8/3/2020) Sola Salon Studios, the world's largest and fastest growing salon studios franchise, announced today the signing of multi-unit development agreements with eight franchise groups that will bring 22 new locations to key markets throughout the U.S. over the next several years, including Florida, New York, California, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska. (full story)
- Matchbox Food Group Declares Bankruptcy
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 8/3/2020) Matchbox Food Group, a 12-unit Washington D.C.-based casual-dining operator, declared bankruptcy on Monday, saying it plans to reorganize its business and could close locations. (full story)
- 7-Eleven to Acquire Speedway
(cspdailynews.com - 8/3/2020) Marathon Petroleum Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Speedway convenience-store chain to 7-Eleven Inc., a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., for $21 billion in cash. (full story)
- I Heart Mac & Cheese Expands Footprint Across Indiana With Four New Locations
(franchising.com - 8/3/2020) I Heart Mac & Cheese, announced the brand’s latest franchisee agreement that will bring the brand to West Lafayette, Lawrence, Greenwood, and Merriville, Indiana. (full story)
- Jeremiah’s Italian Ice Opening First Texas Location
(restaurantnews.com - 7/31/2020) All three locations will be owned by former Jeremiah’s Italian Ice employee Megan Bourke. Bourke had been interested in franchising with Jeremiah’s for years, and after the brand announced the opportunity last year, she jumped at the chance to help the fan-favorite expand into the Lone Star state.
(full story)
- Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results
(businesswire.com - 7/31/2020) Mr. Taylor continued, “We are pleased with our 2020 new store opening plan, which now includes 13 new warehouse stores, up from our most recent estimate of 11 stores. (full story)
- Jon Smith Subs, the Local Sub Shop Inks a New Multi-unit Deal for Atlanta, GA!
(restaurantnews.com - 7/31/2020) The greater Atlanta area will soon be home to five Jon Smith Subs locations with the first restaurant to be located at 4967 Cowan Rd, Acworth, GA in Cobb County. (full story)
- Same-Store Sales Remain Down Nearly 50% At Shake Shack
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 7/31/2020) The fast-casual burger chain has returned to unit development, opening nine new stores so far this year with plans to open 15 to 20 new Shake Shacks by the end of the year. Shake Shack opened four new domestic company-operated restaurants in Q2.
(full story)
- Capriotti's Sandwich Shop Signs Agreements to Open 46 New Locations Across the United States
(restaurantnewsresource.com - 7/31/2020) To date, the brand has inked deals for five franchised locations for a total of seven under development. With goals to open 15 more shops by the end of 2020, Capriotti's currently has 112 open locations, and more than 180 in progress. (full story)
- California Pizza Kitchen Declares Bankruptcy
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 7/30/2020) The Playa Vista, Calif.-based chain, which operates about 200 locations, has more than $400 million in debt and is mostly owned by the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital along with members of the company’s management team. (full story)
- Pret Shuts Its Chicago And Boston Markets As Sales Plunge Nearly 90%
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 7/30/2020) The U.K.-based fast casual known for its grab-and-go offerings has closed 17 locations in Boston and Chicago, as well as 30 stores in the U.K
(full story)
- Sprouts Farmers Market Inc Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript
(fool.com - 7/29/2020) For the second quarter, we opened six new stores, ending the quarter with 350 stores in 23 states... (full story)
- Wingstop's Success Story Continues Despite The Pandemic
(restaurantbusinessonline.com - 7/29/2020) What’s more, the Dallas-based wing chain added 23 net new units during Q2—including 17 new restaurants in June alone. The company expects to open 120 to 130 new locations during 2020. (full story)
- Kwik Trip to Acquire Stop-N-Go Convenience Centers
(cspdailynews.com - 7/29/2020) Based in Madison, Wis., family-owned Stop-N-Go operates 36 convenience stores in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. (full story)
- Portland-Based Killer Burger to Grow Via Franchising
(qsrmagazine.com - 7/29/2020) The strategy starts with a focus on franchising throughout the Pacific Northwest along the I-5 Corridor, from Southern Oregon up to the Canadian border. Killer Burger projects more than quadrupling its franchise presence in the next five years.
(full story)
- I Heart Mac & Cheese Signs Deal for Third Texas Location
(qsrmagazine.com - 7/29/2020) With locations already operating in College Station and Port Arthur, and plans for several additional locations across the state, Texas is positioned to be one of the brand’s key markets. The Flower Mound location will be the first I Heart Mac & Cheese restaurant for franchisee Ricardo Araujo. (full story)
- New Asian Street Food Restaurant Coming to Ballston
(arlnow.com - 7/29/2020) Hawkers has nine locations currently open in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, according to its website. Additional locations are coming to Nashville and Bethesda. (full story)
- Take 5 Oil Change Expands in Midwest and West
(franchising.com - 7/29/2020) Take 5 Oil Change continues impressive growth in these uncertain times, welcoming seven new investment groups since the beginning of this year, with development commitments for more than 80 new stores. In addition, 16 new franchise store locations have opened so far this year through the South and Midwest. (full story)
- MassageLuXe Welcomes New Chief Growth Officer to Executive Team
(franchising.com - 7/29/2020) MassageLuXe, a fast-growing massage franchise, is excited to welcome franchise expert Kristen Pechacek to its executive team. As the Chief Growth Officer, Pechacek will accelerate the brand’s mission to expand from 68 units to 250 units within the next five years. (full story)
- Scooter’s Coffee Develops New Location in Minnesota
(franchising.com - 7/29/2020) Scooter’s Coffee is exceptionally excited about expanding in Minnesota by adding locations in the Twin Cities. Timothy and Jill Scott signed a multi-unit agreement with Scooter’s Coffee, planning for five new locations. (full story)
- Captain D’s Propels Midwest Expansion With Opening of First Central Illinois Restaurant
(franchising.com - 7/28/2020) Following the opening of a new restaurant in Carbondale just last year, Captain D’s expansion into Champaign reinforces the brand’s focus on Illinois growth, with additional restaurants planned for the Chicago metro area in the near future.
(full story)
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