New York City — Bareburger, an award-winning restaurant specializing in clean comfort food, is celebrating its first decade in business. The restaurant is marking this milestone with the introduction of a location reflecting a refreshed design in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea. The new Chelsea location at 184 8th Ave. has been added to a growing list of more than 44 Bareburger locations around the world. The grand opening was December 4, 2019. The new Bareburger location is stylish and environmentally responsible, with its interior doors and walls …
construction and design
Lexington, Ky. — As A&W celebrates its centennial, the company is preparing for its next century with the recent opening of a new national learning center and prototype restaurant in Richmond, Ky. A&W, which was acquired by its franchisees from YUM! Brands in 2011, has welcomed more than 70 U.S. locations under the new leadership; a dozen more are in various stages of development. Located less than a half-hour from A&W’s headquarters, the Richmond restaurant is the first freestanding “Gen19” prototype that takes a holistic approach to guest engagement. The …
Raleigh, N.C. — Golden Corral, the nation’s largest grill-buffet chain, has launched an incentive for franchisees to remodel their current restaurants to the Golden Corral brand’s new Gateway design package. The comprehensive incentive program will support franchise owners with a reinvestment credit, a local marketing credit, and a people hiring and training credit. Currently, the company plans to remodel 60 franchise restaurants in 2020. Golden Corral first introduced the new Gateway restaurant design in December 2017, featuring a contemporary appearance with oversized windows, stacked stone fireplaces, redesigned buffet service areas, …
Miramar, Fla. — Konover South LLC, in partnership with Master Development Partners of Dania Beach, Fla., will break ground on its upscale 56,600-square-foot Miramar Park Place retail center in Miramar, Fla., west of Hollywood, in the first quarter of 2020. The center is slated to include a Flanigan’s Restaurant and Liquors, Pediatric Associates, a national coffee chain, plus neighborhood services when opened in the second quarter of 2021. “Konover South is excited to bring Miramar Park Place to this thriving community in partnership with Robert Shapiro and Terry Salzman of …
Dallas — MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes plans to provide its guests and franchise owners with a fresh and elevated dining experience. The “better burger” fast-casual franchise plans an interior and logo refresh that will roll out beginning in the first quarter of 2020. MOOYAH plans to open 14 new locations with the refreshed look next year; all existing locations will remodel by the end of 2024. The new prototype and design come at a critical point for the brand, as the company is actively ramping up franchising efforts in …
Cincinnati — International retail design firm FRCH NELSON has partnered with KFC SOPAC to design an innovative, pilot project in Newcastle, Australia, opening to the public this week. With a growing number of consumers ordering through online channels, the goal of the new concept was to develop a more efficient operating model that celebrated this change in consumer behavior. The new concept includes five drive-thru lanes that allow customers to order and pay for a meal through the brand’s app or website, including designated lanes for more traditional, on-the-spot orders. …
Orlando, Fla. — Orlando, Fla.-based Williams Company Southeast has started seven more Target store remodels in Florida and Texas for a total of 15 Target stores in 2019. The newest work in Florida involves stores in Brandon, Deerfield Beach, Ft. Myers, Ocala and St. Petersburg, while the Texas stores include Houston and Pearland. The scope of work includes exteriors and interiors and follows Target’s next-gen store design to further enhance the guest shopping experience. Since 1990, Williams has constructed over 100 new Target stores plus more than 200 Target store …
FRCH NELSON Teams Up with American Girl to Design In-Store Experiences for the Holidays
by Katie Lee
Cincinnati — American Girl unveiled two new in-store experiences this month in its New York City flagship store on Rockefeller Plaza. Award-winning retail design firm FRCH NELSON partnered with the brand to envision both experiences that will be open throughout the holiday season. Girls can now experience a day in the life of one of American Girl’s most popular dolls, Julie. The pop-up called “Julie’s Groovy World” immerses guests in her 1970s world. The in-store activation encourages interactive play between girl and doll and brings Julie’s message of girl empowerment …
Krystal to Sell 100-150 Corporate Restaurants to Franchisees as Part of Brand Revitalization
by Katie Lee
Atlanta — The Krystal Company plans to refranchise approximately 100-150 company-owned restaurants to well-capitalized multi-unit operators as part of its ongoing business and fleet revitalization. To that end, Krystal has engaged The Cypress Group, a specialized investment banking firm, to manage the refranchising initiative. Restaurants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee will be refranchised. “We’re ready for the next step in the brand transformation that began when I came on board in 2018,” says Paul Macaluso, Krystal’s president and CEO. “We’ve seen great success with the new restaurant prototype, remodels and …
Littleton, Colo. – Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh has debuted its fresh new prototype in the southwest Denver suburb of Littleton. The restaurant is the first new ground-up buildout of a GARBANZO restaurant to open in the Denver metro area since 2014, and it’s the company’s first new prototype in Denver. The new GARBANZO restaurant exudes a bright, open and fresh aesthetic for the brand. It features a stand-alone bakery area where guests will be able to see their pitas being kneaded, placed in the oven and puffed to perfection right before …