Nashville, Tenn. — Décor and furniture retailer Ballard Designs is celebrating its new Nashville, Tenn., store location opening in the Green Hills shopping area. The new Nashville store is Ballard’s 15th location since launching its national retail expansion in 2007. Visitors to the 10,000-square-foot store, which opened in October, can get inspiration for their own design projects by seeing how the retailer’s popular catalog is brought to life in fully decorated vignettes. Design experts are available in store to offer free advice. “Ballard already has quite a devoted following in Nashville,” says Karen …
Blue Bell, Pa. — BrightView Holdings, Inc., a leading commercial landscaping services company whose clients include retail and restaurant facilities, plans to pay $6 million in one-time bonuses to frontline team members for their work during the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. More than 13,500 employees in branches across the U.S. will receive the bonus. “Very early in the pandemic, landscaping was designated an essential service by federal and state authorities, allowing us to continue to serve our clients and help assure the safety of their properties,” says Andrew Masterman, …
San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats®, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, continues to grow its non-traditional footprint across universities, airports and other venues. Since August, the brand has opened eight locations on college campuses across the country — including University of Cincinnati, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University, University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, ASU Polytechnic, North Carolina A&T University, Kentucky State University and Northern Illinois University. An additional two non-traditional locations are slated to open by the end of the year. This year’s non-traditional openings add to a collection …
Chattanooga, Tenn. and Philadelphia — Against headwinds brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, CBL & Associates Properties Inc. and Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 1. PREIT Philadelphia-based PREIT owns and operates 22.5 million square feet of retail space including 19 mall properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company has reached a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with its bank lenders, under which an additional $150 million will be committed to recapitalize the business …
— By John Goetz — Removing the fear from food: foodborne illness and prevention best practices. Foodborne illnesses can wreak havoc on the foodservice industry and its patrons. One in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food, and 420,000 people die worldwide annually as a result. Outside of the human impact, the financial cost of these incidents is also immense. According to a study by researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an outbreak at a fast food restaurant could cost between $3,968 and …
— By Steve Peldiak — Hurricane response during COVID-19. This is one of the most active seasonal forecasts that NOAA has produced in its 22-year history of hurricane outlooks,” says U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “We encourage all Americans to do their part by getting prepared, remaining vigilant and being ready to take action when necessary.” The unprecedented 2020 hurricane season coupled with COVID-19 brings unique challenges to disaster and tropical storm preparedness. How do you keep your personnel and your properties safe during a pandemic? Advanced planning …
Darien, Conn. — On November 6, Playa Bowls, the Jersey Shore’s original acai bowl shop, is opening its milestone 100th location in the United States & Puerto Rico. The 100th store, located in Darien, Conn., is Playa Bowls’ third store in the state. Over the past 6 years, Playa Bowls has grown organically with a mix of franchised and company locations, employing 2,500+ team members in 16 states and territories. In 2019 alone, Playa Bowls sold more than 6 million bowls, and was on track to sell up to 10 million in …
Wayne, Pa. — Pet Valu, Inc., a specialty retailer of pet food and supplies in the United States, plans to commence a wind down of its operations due to severe impact from COVID-19. The company expects that all of its 358 stores and warehouses in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S., as well as its corporate office in Wayne, Pa., will close by the end of the wind-down process. Pet Valu U.S. licenses its name and contracts for certain services from Pet Valu Canada, which is a separate company based in …
Wilbraham, Mass. — FIC Restaurants Inc., which operates the Friendly’s brand, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and entered in an agreement to sell all of its assets to Amici Partners Group LLC. Nearly all of Friendly’s 130 corporate-owned and franchised restaurant locations, known for burgers, sandwiches and ice cream, are expected to remain open subject to COVID-19 limitations. Friendly’s stated that it has sufficient cash on hand to continue operations, meet its obligations to employees, franchisees and vendors. Upon the sale closing, Amici expects to retain most employees at …
Charlotte, N.C. — Sonic Automotive, Inc., one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, has added two industry leaders to its growing e-commerce team. Steve Wittman has joined as the company’s first chief digital retail officer, and Stephen Conrad has joined as the new vice president of e-commerce. Additionally, Sonic has appointed Marti Eulberg as chief creative officer, previously the company’s director of brand management. Wittman most recently served as vice president of global e-commerce at Hertz. He will report to Jeff Dyke, president of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive. As …