Author

Katie Lee

Newspeoplerestaurants

Golden Corral Names New Chief Financial Officer

by Katie Lee

Raleigh, N.C. — Golden Corral®, America’s leading buffet chain, has appointed Trona Balkissoon as chief financial officer, effective March 26, 2026. Balkissoon steps into the role following the retirement of CFO Jim Laverty. Balkissoon brings more than 25 years of global experience with Nestlé, spanning both retail and foodservice channels. She joined Golden Corral in April 2025 as senior vice president of finance, after most recently serving as chief financial officer for Nestlé’s out-of-home division, where she oversaw operations throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Since joining the brand, …

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Meta Establishes New York City Retail Flagship on Fifth Avenue

by Katie Lee

New York City — Meta Lab is opening a New York City flagship location at 697 Fifth Ave. Meta signed a 10-year lease agreement with Vornado Realty Trust for Meta Lab New York to occupy the entire five-level, 15,000-square-foot townhouse building adjacent to the base of the St. Regis Hotel. This marks the first flagship retail location for Meta in Manhattan, following its initial flagship store opening in Los Angeles in 2025. Meta Lab is a people-first experiential retail space that reimagines traditional shopping as a celebration of community, culture …

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franchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Krispy Kreme to Drive Capital-Light Growth Through Refranchising

by Katie Lee

Charlotte, N.C. — Krispy Kreme, Inc. is continuing progress on its turnaround plan to deleverage the balance sheet and drive sustainable, profitable growth through refranchising, a key component of the plan. On March 23, 2026, Krispy Kreme completed a transaction with its joint venture partner, WKS Restaurant Group, to increase WKS’s ownership stake in the Western U.S. joint venture from 45% to 80% and expand the joint venture’s footprint. The total amount payable to the company in connection with the transaction is approximately $90 million with approximately $50 million of …

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Dollar General Corporation Appoints CEO

by Katie Lee

Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Dollar General Corporation’s board of directors has appointed Jerry W. “JJ” Fleeman Jr., to succeed Todd Vasos as chief executive officer of Dollar General effective Jan. 1, 2027. The board intends to appoint Fleeman to serve as a director upon the effective date of the transition. To assist in the transition, Vasos will continue to serve as CEO until the effective date of the transition, at which time he will serve as senior advisor through April 2, 2027. Following the transition, Vasos is expected to remain a …

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la Madeleine Opens First Tennessee Café

by Katie Lee

Nashville, Tenn. — la Madeleine, the French-inspired café-bakery brand, has opened its first location in the state of Tennessee. The new café-bakery opened on March 18 in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and will have a formal grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting on April 14. la Madeleine offers a distinctive café-bakery experience where guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner through soups, salads, artisan sandwiches, pastas, handcrafted coffees and a display of freshly baked pastries. More than just a café, la Madeleine’s thoughtfully designed spaces — including a welcoming fireplace and inviting …

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Papa Johns Selects Deliverect to Modernize Delivery Operations Across U.S. Restaurants

by Katie Lee

New York City — Papa Johns has entered into a strategic partnership with Deliverect to deploy its Smart Dispatch & Delivery Management platform across all Papa Johns restaurants in the U.S. by the end of 2027. The partnership is part of Papa Johns’ multi-year initiative to modernize its fulfillment technology stack. The platform enables the brand to execute all orders, whether fulfilled by in-house delivery drivers or third-party service partners, through a single, intelligent system that connects every ordering channel, point-of-sale and delivery workflow into a unified operational delivery orchestration …

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Williams Sonoma Unveils Newly Renovated Test Kitchen

by Katie Lee

San Francisco —Williams Sonoma, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., has revealed its newly renovated Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen, a state-of-the-art culinary hub designed to fuel product innovation and serve as a collaborative space for the brand’s culinary team, chefs and creators. Located at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, the reimagined Test Kitchen features expanded cooking stations and premium kitchen appliances with dedicated spaces designed to help facilitate recipe development, product testing and content creation. For decades, the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen has served as a center for the …

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Fourth Appoints Veteran Product Leader as CEO

by Katie Lee

Austin, Texas — Fourth, a leading provider of workforce and inventory management solutions for the hospitality industry, has named Scott Collison as chief executive officer. A proven builder of enterprise software platforms with more than two decades of experience scaling technology companies, Collison will lead Fourth into its next phase of AI-led product innovation for restaurant operators. Most recently, he served as CEO of Personify, where he led the company through a period of strong recurring revenue growth and operational improvement, culminating in its successful sale to Momentive in late …

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Portillo’s Appoints New Chief Development Officer

by Katie Lee

Chicago — Portillo’s, the fast-casual restaurant brand known for its menu of Chicago-style favorites, has named Jennifer Pecoraro-Striepling as chief development officer. She joins Portillo’s from Miller’s Ale House. In this role, Pecoraro-Striepling will lead Portillo’s restaurant development strategy, including real estate and site selection, prototype design and construction. She will play a key role in advancing Portillo’s long term expansion as the company continues to grow its footprint while preserving the brand’s unique guest experience and operational excellence. “Jennifer brings the experience, strategic vision and people-first leadership we need …

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Names President of Stores & Customer Care

by Katie Lee

San Francisco —Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has promoted Vicki McWilliams to president of stores and customer care. McWilliams has been with the retailer for more than 19 years, most recently serving as executive vice president of stores and customer care. She leads the entire fleet of stores across the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands. Over the course of her tenure, McWilliams has delivered impactful results while strengthening the company’s retail organization, including participating in the expansion of the company’s international presence in United Kingdom and Mexico, and supporting the growth of the …

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