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Katie Lee

franchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Beans & Brews Coffeehouse Opens First Texas Location

by Katie Lee

Salt Lake City — Beans & Brews Coffeehouse, a rapidly growing drive-thru coffee franchise, celebrated the recent opening of its newest location in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 20, 2024 — marking the first Beans & Brews in the state. “We’re excited to invite the San Antonio community to join us in celebrating the launch of our newest coffeehouse,” says Chad Gretzema, CEO of Beans & Brews Coffeehouse. Located at 6507 W. Loop 1604 N., the restaurant officially opened its doors on Dec. 16, 2023; grand opening events continued into …

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Gucci Owner Acquires Fifth Avenue Retail Property in New York City for $963 Million

by Katie Lee

New York City — Global luxury group Kering has acquired a multi-level retail property at 715-717 Fifth Ave. in New York City for $963 million. The Paris-based company manages the development of a number of major fashion houses including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.  The 115,000-square-foot space spans multiple levels at the base of the Corning Glass Building, a 28-story office tower developed in 1959. Rival fashion houses Dolce & Gabbana and Armani currently occupy the space. The Armani lease at the property is up in a few …

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franchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Canadian Pizza Franchise Freshslice Enters U.S. Market

by Katie Lee

Burnaby, B.C. (Canada) — Marking a significant 100-store milestone and entering 2024 with unprecedented momentum, Freshslice Pizza, an innovative Canadian pizza franchise, plans to expand into the United States. Known for its commitment to quality ingredients, innovation and an amazing ROI for franchise partners, Freshslice will now offer franchise opportunities to the U.S. market. “We are thrilled to bring Freshslice Pizza to the United States,” says Ray Russel, founder and CEO. “Our 3-in-1 system meets the evolving needs of our franchisee partners at a fraction of our competitors’ cost. Our …

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Newspeopleretailers

Kirkland’s Home Promotes COO to CEO

by Katie Lee

Nashville, Tenn. — Kirkland’s, Inc., a specialty retailer of home décor and furnishings, has promoted Amy Sullivan to chief executive officer, effective February 4, 2024; she will also join the company’s board of directors. She succeeds interim CEO Ann Joyce, who will remain on the board. Prior to Kirkland’s Home, Sullivan held senior-level positions for Express, Lands’ End, Kohl’s and JCPenney. Sullivan, who has been with the company for more than a decade, was promoted to president and chief operating officer in spring 2023. As a member of the executive …

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Newspeoplerestaurants

Scooter’s Coffee Hires Chief Operating Officer

by Katie Lee

Omaha, Neb. — Restaurant industry veteran John Owen joins Scooter’s Coffee as chief operating officer to help lead the successful, expanding drive-thru kiosk franchise model. “As we continue to set our sights on expanding our brand’s footprint and providing world-class coffee and customer service, we are delighted John has joined our Scooter’s Coffee family,” says Joe Thornton, CEO of Scooter’s Coffee. “I am confident John’s alignment with our core values and his extensive industry experience will allow us to build upon our brand promise to customers and help us drive …

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Tillys President & CEO Retires

by Katie Lee

Irvine, Calif. — As of Jan. 22, 2024, Ed Thomas has retired from his position as president and chief executive officer and as a director of Tilly’s, Inc., a specialty retailer with more than 250 stores. Hezy Shaked has been appointed to serve as interim president and CEO until a successor is in place. As co-founder and former president and CEO, Shaked has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of all facets of the company’s business and has developed extensive professional relationships during his over 40 years of experience in the …

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Vox AI to Debut New Conversational Voice AI for Drive-Thru Restaurants

by Katie Lee

Amsterdam — Vox AI plans to debut its advanced AI and machine learning technology designed for seamless restaurant drive-thru orders. An AI breakthrough that is efficient, conversational and speaks 35 languages, Vox AI is the perfect tool for drive-thru and QSR businesses to relieve overworked employees and boost revenues by up to 17% and increase ROI by 14 times. There are over 200,000 drive-thru restaurants in the U.S. — which represent about 70% of fast food sales. Increasing efficiency is one of the primary goals of drive-thru restaurants, but current …

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franchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Burger King Owner Agrees to Buy Largest Franchisee for $1 Billion

by Katie Lee

Toronto and Syracuse, N.Y. — Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) has agreed to acquire Syracuse, N.Y.-based Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. for $1 billion. RBI owns the Burger King, Popeyes, Firehouse Subs and Tim Hortons brands. Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the United States, operating 1,022 locations in 23 states. Burger King says the transaction is part of its “Reclaim the Flame” plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability. The transaction follows the brand’s initial $400 million investment announced in September 2022 to drive high-quality …

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Target Names New COO, Plus Several Other Leadership Transitions

by Katie Lee

Minneapolis — Target Corporation has named Michael Fiddelke, who has served as chief financial officer since Nov. 1, 2019, as its new chief operating officer, effective Feb. 4, 2024. Until his replacement is named, Fiddelke will continue to serve as chief financial officer for the company. As chief operating officer, Fiddelke will oversee the retailer’s nearly 2,000 stores, its global supply chain network, fulfillment services including same-day delivery with Shipt, network capacity planning, enterprise operations, the teams responsible for building and remodeling Target stores and other facilities, and flight services. …

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energy managementIndustry Voicessoftware/technologyvendors

Extreme Measures

by Katie Lee

— By Drew Holst — How AI and IoT can team up to help compensate for the costs of extreme weather. Multi-site retailers and restaurants require a significant amount of energy to operate, even when energy prices rise. Keeping every location at the right temperature is imperative for providing the best possible customer experience. That requires adequate heating or air conditioning, no matter what. Moreover, for restaurants, the use of energy-intensive equipment, such as refrigerators or freezers, is imperative to ensure food safety. But that has consequences: The U.S. Energy …

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