Philadelphia — NEST, a national provider of integrated facilities management (IFM) solutions, has partnered with MINISO USA to serve as its facilities management partner for more than 300 MINISO stores across the United States. NEST will deliver a full-service IFM solution designed to streamline operations, reduce complexity and support store performance as the MINISO brand continues to expand in the U.S. NEST will manage a broad range of services, including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, lighting and general maintenance across MINISO stores. The partnership includes vendor management, service coordination, analytics and operational …
facilities management
A Scalable Refresh
— By Katie Lee — 2026 marks the full rollout of Gong cha 2.0, a comprehensive modernization of technology, operations and store design for the bubble tea leader. Gong cha is the world’s leading bubble tea brand with nearly 2,200 locations in 33 markets globally, including more than 240 stores in the U.S. across 23 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. But it still has plenty of room to grow — both in number of locations and in brand recognition — in the United States. With a solid foundation undergirding …
Boston — Toast, a digital technology platform built for hospitality, has launched Toast Drive-Thru, an enterprise-grade solution designed to help modern quick-service restaurants (QSR) increase throughput and order accuracy at scale while optimizing labor efficiency through a single, unified platform. There are just over 140,000 total drive-thru locations across the entire U.S. restaurant industry, according to 2026 data from Technomic Ignite. These operators must deliver fast, error-free guest service while facing increased pressure on labor efficiency. The growth of AI voice ordering solutions in drive-thru has left many brands struggling …
— By Rich Kilgannon — How retail and restaurant facility managers are leveraging tech-enabled painting partners to streamline projects and level up customer service. First impressions matter for restaurants and retail businesses. For restaurants, we know that customers eat with their eyes first. Before they ever see a plate of food, they will see the exterior of your building as they enter the restaurant. They will notice the entryway before speaking with the hostess. And they will take in the general atmosphere before they are ever seated. The same is …
Austin, Texas — Loman AI, an industry-leading Voice AI phone answering platform for restaurants, has formed a new partnership with SpotOn, a leading restaurant technology company, that enables restaurants using SpotOn POS to deploy AI-powered phone automation across their operations. This integration transforms the phone from a chronic operational bottleneck into a scalable, always-on revenue channel for SpotOn users. Through this partnership, restaurants using SpotOn can now leverage Loman’s AI voice agent to automate inbound phone calls 24/7/365. Loman answers calls instantly, takes orders, books reservations, handles payment securely, answers …
Gong Cha 2.0: Bubble-Tea Leader Rolls Out New, Innovative, Efficient Store Model
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 …
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 …