Irvine, Calif. — On April 14, 2021, Taco Bell® opened a new Cantina in the heart of Times Square. Built with the energy and on-the-go vibrance of the city in mind, the newest restaurant embraces technology in a whole new way to serve the demands of New Yorkers. Features of the new space include: Digital-only ordering with prominent menu kiosks inside the restaurant. The restaurant’s 10 kiosks replace traditional analog menu boards. Order ahead pickup cubbies, located in a separate double-door entrance, allow customers to skip the traditional restaurant experience …
construction and design
Irving, Texas — 7-Eleven, Inc. has opened its newest Evolution Store — which features tacos on handmade tortillas, frozen margaritas on tap, a stocked wine cellar and beer cooler, fresh-baked croissants and cookies, customized espresso drinks, artisan craft sodas, premium cigars in a cedar-lined humidor and more — in Prosper, Texas. This location marks the first Evolution Store for 7-Eleven and Laredo Taco Company®, the convenience retailer’s taqueria, in the North Texas area outside of Dallas County. This is 7-Eleven’s fourth Evolution Store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and seventh …
Famous Dave’s to Debut Drive-Thru and New Quick ‘Que Models in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas
Minnetonka, Minn. — Famous Dave’s, the fast-growing barbeque franchise with 134 restaurants across the country, is bringing its counter and line-serve “Quick ‘Que” prototypes to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. The Las Vegas location — a line-serve model — will open on Paradise Road, just a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, in early June. The Salt Lake City restaurant — a counter-serve model with a drive-thru — will open on South State Street in June. Both restaurant models boast small footprints with the goal of a quicker …
Pittsburgh, Pa. — DICK’S Sporting Goods opened its first-ever DICK’S House of Sport, a new concept store, in Victor, N.Y., on April 9. This month, the retailer will also debut nine newly redesigned Golf Galaxy locations and expanded technology offerings in 62 additional Golf Galaxy locations in select cities across the country. DICK’S House of Sport explores the future of retail through multi-sport experiences inside and outside the store, broad integration with the community, elevated customer service and enhanced technology. The store features a 17,000-square-foot outdoor turf field and running …
North Charleston, S.C. — Jamestown, an Atlanta-based developer and owner of adaptive mixed-use developments around the world, has partnered with Southeast real estate developers William Cogswell and Jay Weaver to redevelop the 45-acre North Charleston Navy Yard. Decommissioned in 1996 but still home to dozens of companies, the waterfront campus will be reimagined into a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use neighborhood called Navy Yard Charleston. The project will add new office space, residences, shopping and dining to the nearby Park Circle neighborhood, as well as new green spaces, a concert hall and …
Canton, Mass. — In 2018, Dunkin’s first Next Generation restaurant opened in Quincy, Mass., featuring a new design with a modern atmosphere and innovative features. Now, just 3 years later, Dunkin’ is opening its 1,000th Next Gen restaurant in Woodstock, Ga. On March 26, it hosted a small grand opening ceremony outside the new restaurant to mark the milestone. The openness, colors and materials used in the new design help create an approachable, positive and energetic environment. A front-facing bakery case is one example of the eye-catching design elements that …
Rockville, Md. — Silver Diner plans to open its first Silver Diner restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 2022. The 8,000-square-foot, two-story space is located next to Nationals Park. This new two-story concept will feature an updated Silver Diner restaurant on the first floor and a bar, Bar Silver, on the second floor. The 300-seat layout includes an outdoor terrace overlooking Nationals Park. Bar Silver will provide drinks and small plates while downstairs will offer dining with a menu featuring the most popular items served at Silver Diner restaurants. “This location …
Just in time for its 50th anniversary, Schlotzsky’s rolls out two new prototypes with plans to build on lessons learned during COVID-19. — By Katie Lee — At Schlotzsky’s, the drive-thru has always been a driving force of its business. Eighty-five percent of its 339 locations already had a drive-thru — often with double lanes — and this positioned the sandwich chain well when COVID-19 changed the world in early 2020. Schlotzsky’s already understood customers’ evolving needs — and the pandemic accelerated that evolution. Several years prior to the …
Chesterfield, Mo. — NewGround, a St. Louis-based innovative architecture, design and project management firm, has promoted Eric Preuss to director of construction. In his new position, Preuss will be relocating to Hawaii to manage headquarters projects for HFS Federal Credit Union and Maui County Federal Credit Union. The move will allow Preuss to provide local leadership in the Hawaii market, and expand opportunities in NewGround’s commitment to drive new design and build business within the Hawaiian Islands. NewGround has a Honolulu regional office and utilizes on-island staff to manage each …
Irving, Texas — Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, a Texas-based Baja-style restaurant group, has launched a new concept, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Taqueria. The Taqueria encompasses everything fans have come to love about the brand with the same recipes, but will offer a slightly reduced menu in a smaller, to-go focused footprint. Fuzzy’s Taqueria will open its first location in Minneapolis, a new market for the brand which has nearly 150 franchise- and corporate-owned locations in 16 states (17, when Minnesota opens). Plans for the new footprint began prior to the pandemic, as …