Skokie, Ill. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is underway on the redevelopment of the Westfield Old Orchard shopping mall in Skokie, Ill. Plans call for retail, apartments, restaurants, gourmet markets, health and wellness amenities and entertainment space. The project will also include a park and event space designed as the center’s focal point and social gathering space. The multi-phase project began in fall 2022 with the modernization of the existing shopping center, starting with enhancements to the common areas as well as the opening of new restaurants, health and wellness components and retailers …
Katie Lee
Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer, a retailer that operates one of the largest fleets in Michigan with 250 semitrucks and the first in North America to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 near-zero emissions standards in 2009, is once again leading the retail industry by deploying two of the first all-electric semitrucks outside of California. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer is also the first nationwide to track the performance of the Freightliner eCascadia semitrucks in a cold weather environment as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. …
Los Angeles — World-renowned Latin American bistro and bar brand, Negroni, will open its first West Coast restaurant just in time to ring in the New Year in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood/Beverly Grove. This expansion marks the brand’s second location in the U.S.; the first U.S. restaurant is in Miami, in addition to 20 other locations throughout Latin America. The restaurant concept originated in 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, inspired by the prominent Italian and Nikkei culinary influences in the area. The restaurant presents an amalgamation of cultures …
Bentonville, Ark. — Walmart’s new drone delivery service is expanding. In partnership with DroneUp, Walmart will offer drone delivery in six states by the end of the year, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. In total, there will be 34 stores making drone delivery available in 23 cities nationwide by year end. “Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last-minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool. Being on the forefront of that innovation at Walmart is something we’re …
Denver — Quick-service sandwich chain Quiznos has inked a new multi-unit development agreement with franchisee Sam Patel that will provide 10 new restaurants and exclusivity across Northern Georgia. The first location in this agreement is slated to open in early 2023. The new restaurants will be a mix of standalone drive-thru units and non-traditional locations built inside renewed fuel stations Patel owns along Interstate 75. The agreement follows a schedule of two units built per year for the next 5 years in Adairsville, Calhoun, Dalton, Resaca, Ringgold and Chatsworth. “Quiznos …
Jericho, N.Y. — Kimco Realty®, North America’s largest publicly traded owner and operator of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers, and a growing portfolio of mixed-use assets, has been awarded Nareit’s ‘Leader in the Light Award’ for the retail REIT sector, marking the third time the company has received this prestigious recognition for its sustainability initiatives. The Leader in the Light awards are given to REITs that have demonstrated outstanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices throughout the year, with winners selected by an interdisciplinary panel of judges. “It is an honor …
— By Kait Paradowski — The benefits of custom mosaics for F&B and retail applications. In order to stand out from the competition, restaurants and retail spaces are seeking thoughtful ways to create memorable experiences and touchpoints for patrons and shoppers to take part in and interact with while perusing store aisles or having a bite to eat. One way owners, operators and designers are helping customers immerse themselves into a brand is through art and, more specifically, custom mosaics. Thanks to modern technology, mosaic designs can be made …
Houston — Salata, a leading built-to-order salad kitchen with 90 locations, has named Briton Smetzer as vice president of information technology. With a background in a variety of industries, including fast-casual restaurants, construction, ATM and technology services, Smetzer brings his expertise to the growing concept to lead the modernization of Salata’s IT infrastructure. Smetzer most recently served as director of ATM management & software deployment at NCR, an information technology company that manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals and automated teller machines. Smetzer will be the first to hold the vice …
Tel Aviv, Israel, and Munich, Germany — Trigo, an Israel-based computer vision company that builds systems for autonomous checkout and retail analytics, has rolled out Germany’s first fully-autonomous cashierless supermarket in partnership with German grocery giant REWE Group. The new “Pick&Go” supermarket in the Bavarian capital Munich allows customers to walk in, select their items off the shelves, and leave without having to pay at checkout. Unlike self-checkout devices such as stationary or mobile scanners and digital carts, Pick&Go shoppers only scan once on their phones when they enter the …
Charlotte, N.C. — Clean Juice®, the nation’s first and only USDA-certified organic juice and food bar franchise, has hired Ashley Love to chief financial officer. Love is the first CFO for Clean Juice. In this newly created role, Love will oversee the finance, human resources, compliance and legal departments, while focusing on cost-saving efficiencies, streamlining financial operations, ensuring regulatory compliance and implementing scalable systems to support the brand’s strong growth trajectory. Love’s understanding and implementation of scalable systems and processes focus on several impactful areas important to Clean Juice’s operations, …