Boston — Gong cha, a leading worldwide bubble tea brand, has unveiled its global Gong cha 2.0 initiative: a comprehensive digital, operational and design refresh to optimize profitability, efficiency and scalability for franchisees — as well as improve the guest experience. This global rollout combines two key technologies — Super Wu beverage automation and self-order kiosks — with a modernized store design to streamline operations, reduce labor demands and improve throughput without compromising quality or hospitality. “Gong cha 2.0 is engineered for today’s operators,” says Geoff Henry, president of Gong …
facilities management
PAR Technology to Strengthen Operations Across 3,200 Papa Johns Restaurants in the U.S.
New Hartford, N.Y. — Papa Johns has selected PAR POS™ and PAR OPS™ from PAR Technology Corporation to anchor its next-generation U.S. in-restaurant technology stack. The strategic partnership is a major milestone in Papa Johns’ multi-year effort to build a faster, more intelligent and connected restaurant and digital ordering experience for guests, operators and franchisees. “At Papa Johns, one of our strategic priorities is investing in and optimizing our technology to deliver a better experience,” says Kevin Vasconi, chief digital and technology officer, Papa Johns. “A key element of that …
Disaster Preparedness, Future-Proofing Systems: Facility Maintenance Strategies for Severe Weather
For retail and restaurant operators, severe weather is a recurring operational risk. Hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat and high-wind events are happening more frequently and with greater intensity. As a result, disaster preparedness in the retail and restaurant industry has shifted to a proactive facility maintenance discipline focused on resilience, continuity and speed of recovery. From a facility maintenance perspective, preparedness today means having a current, practiced and flexible plan. Plans must be testable and able to be executed quickly when conditions deteriorate. As Thomas Navarro, vice president of business development …
— By Chuck Stamm — Pavement thickness is the foundation of a long-lasting investment. For commercial property managers and facility directors, few investments impact curb appeal, safety and long term costs as much as your pavement. From parking lots to access roads, asphalt is the first impression your property makes — and one of the most expensive assets to repair or replace. One of the most important factors determining whether that investment lasts 5 years or 20 is pavement thickness. It’s not just a technical detail — it’s the foundation …
Groenlo, The Netherlands — Nedap, a global leader in item-level inventory visibility, has teamed up with Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a leading global omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel and accessories based in New Albany, Ohio. The retailer will see Nedap’s iD Cloud platform implemented across numerous Abercrombie & Fitch stores in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). Following a successful 15-store pilot, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F Co.) began deploying Nedap’s iD Cloud Store solution in June 2025, with full implementation scheduled …
Taco John’s Boosts Franchisee Relations with Bikky
New York City — Bikky, a customer data platform built exclusively for multi-unit restaurants, has partnered with Taco John’s®, one of the largest QSR Mexican restaurant brands in the country. The brand started out in the mid-1960s as a small Cheyenne, Wyo., taco stand. Two local businessmen wanted to share the taco stand’s unique flavors with the world and bought the franchise rights in 1969. From there, Taco John’s restaurants began popping up in the Midwest. “We have franchisees that have been with us for 50 years and they know …
Red Bank, N.J. — SMG Holdings recently kicked off its annual Season of Giving campaign with a Thanksgiving Food Drive to help local families in need. Partnering with Fulfill of Monmouth & Ocean Counties, SMG is collecting meal kits to ensure that everyone in the community can enjoy a warm and plentiful holiday season. Fulfill of Monmouth & Ocean Counties is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. This initiative marks the first event for 2025 in SMG’s annual Season of Giving, a series of community outreach efforts designed to share love, gratitude …
— By Etrit Demaj — Smart tech rewrites the retail maintenance playbook. Retail and restaurant operators have long accepted reactive maintenance as the cost of doing business. When equipment breaks, facility teams respond, often at high cost and with little warning. But this break-fix cycle no longer works in today’s environment of shrinking margins, energy mandates and rising customer expectations. A growing number of multi-site operators are shifting to a proactive, tech-enabled maintenance model that prevents problems, instead of waiting for them to arise. This approach turns building systems into …
Proactive Maintenance: The Key to Avoiding Costly Restaurant Downtime
For restaurants, few things are more disruptive or expensive than an equipment failure during working hours. Whether it’s a failed refrigerator, a backed-up drain or an HVAC unit that quits in the height of summer, a single breakdown can halt operations, spoil inventory, drive away customers and result in lost revenue and trust. Yet most of these expensive emergencies can be prevented through proactive maintenance. “Regular inspections and cleaning schedules are the simplest way for restaurants to safeguard uptime and extend the lives of their critical systems,” says Bill Schaphorst, …
Planon Appoints Chief Revenue Officer for Facilities and Field Services
Nijmegen, the Netherlands — Planon, a leading global provider of smart sustainable building management software, has appointed Sylvain Lamy as chief revenue officer (CRO) for facilities and field services, joining the company’s executive management team. In this position, Lamy will lead Planon’s global commercial organization for the facilities and field services business lines, driving sales, services and partner growth worldwide. “Sylvain brings a strong track record in scaling enterprise software businesses and leading high-performing international teams,” says Peter Ankerstjerne, CEO of Planon. “His commercial acumen and customer-centric mindset will be …