Dallas — Global sports and entertainment leader Topgolf Entertainment Group has named Genifer (Gen) Gray as the chief operating officer of U.S. venues; Geoff Cottrill will join the company as chief marketing officer; and Kristi Maynor will join as chief people officer. The three leaders bring a wealth of experience in building consumer-facing brands and will report to Artie Starrs, who came to Topgolf as chief executive officer earlier this year and continues to scale the company’s leadership team to match its rapid expansion. “The addition of Gen, Geoff and …
Katie Lee
Plano, Texas — At Home Group Inc., the home décor superstore, opened three new home décor stores in July, bringing the retailer’s store count to 231. Two of the stores are on the east coast in Princeton, N.J. and Abingdon, Md., and one store is on the west coast in Temecula, Calif. At Home Group Inc. is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and currently operates 231 stores in 40 states. Most stores average just over 100,000 square feet. For more information, visit www.investor.athome.com. SOURCE: At Home Group Inc.
Atlanta — Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only Southern-inspired, fast-casual chicken salad restaurant concept, will open its 200th location in LaGrange, Ga., on August 11. The milestone follows a robust pipeline of development, with Chicken Salad Chick already welcoming over 20 new locations in the first half of 2021 alone. Under the leadership of CEO Scott Deviney, the brand has doubled its footprint in just 3 years. Located at 1509 Lafayette Pkwy and featuring a drive-thru, the LaGrange restaurant will celebrate its grand opening on August 11 by offering free …
— By Chris Gurreri — How restaurants can rise to the raised expectations of what “clean” means in a post-pandemic world. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened everyone’s awareness of everyday actions, from breathing to touching doorknobs. One area that deeply affects the retail and restaurant industry is the general public’s increased expectation of cleanliness in public spaces. Restaurants from the fast-food industry to local cafes have put up signs demonstrating their commitment to health, detailing their mask requirements, social distancing requests and cleaning procedures. In this article, we’ll …
Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), a global customer, patient and employee experience management partner to more than 500 brands, has partnered with quick-service restaurant franchise Taco John’s. The Mexican QSR brand chose SMG for its differentiated software with a service (SwaS) offering, deep industry expertise and robust integration capabilities. Spurred by record-breaking sales and rapid growth, Taco John’s needed an enterprise experience management solution that would allow it to capture guest feedback at nearly 400 restaurants and uncover customer insights throughout the customer journey. The brand partnered …
Boston — Dune Jewelry & Co., an experiential jewelry company famous for using sand and earth elements from thousands of memorable and iconic locations around the world, opened its first-ever branded brick-and-mortar store on July 1. The boutique is located at 566 Route 28 in Harwich Port, Mass. “Our flagship store is a beautiful, clean space that is quintessential Cape Cod,” says Dune’s founder and CEO, Holly Daniels Christensen. “Kellie Quinn, my longtime best friend and co-creator, has officially rejoined our Dune team, and worked directly with designer Kirsten Meyer …
New York City — NuLeaf, an entirely plant-based fast-casual restaurant, will open in New York City on August 2. Founded by Michael Pease and Craig Cochran, formerly of the popular Terri restaurants, NuLeaf will open two locations this summer. The first, at 23 W. 23rd St., will operate in 1,750 square feet with 46 seats indoors. NuLeaf embraces the values of its founders’ first restaurant concept, Terri, by showcasing wholesome, delicious, high-quality ingredients that just so happen to be plant-based. Cochran worked alongside the culinary team to develop recipes that …
Atlanta — The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, reduced Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by more than 127,000 metric tons in 2020 — a 22% reduction in carbon intensity — while at the same time growing the business nearly 20%. The company also has a goal to reach 100% renewable electricity for its facilities by 2030. The Home Depot also joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce global emissions, committing to set goals for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2023. These updates …
Streetsense Partners with Capital One to Design its First Airport Lounges with Elevated F&B Experience
Bethesda, Md. — Streetsense has formed a partnership with McLean, Va.-based Capital One Financial Corporation to develop the company’s food and beverage program for its first airport lounges. The Capital One Lounge will open its first location at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) later this year. Capital One selected Streetsense to develop the food and beverage vision and guest experience, including regionalized menus, grab-and-go programs, retail strategy and branding. “When designing the new Capital One Lounges, we talked to customers and industry experts to understand what works and what doesn’t …
New York City — Jack Resnick & Sons has signed a lease with Mattress Firm, one of the nation’s leading specialty mattress retailers, to create a new flagship at the retail base of 200 Chambers St., a 30-story luxury condominium tower developed by Resnick in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. The new 3,437-square-foot store will be the first in the metropolitan region to feature Mattress Firm’s new interactive and digital displays tailored to customers with a personalized, complete sleep experience. The opening is anticipated for fall 2021. A full-service real …