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Lincolnshire, Ill. — Camping World Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest recreation dealer, has appointed several key hires to its field operations leadership team. “As we continue to capitalize on today’s dealership acquisition landscape, it’s equally important that we strengthen our field leadership bench by aggressively attracting the industry’s best talent,” says Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Camping World. “These recent strategic additions to our team bring regional expertise and national leadership skills, which we expect to help optimize and grow our presence across the country, organically and through future …

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Miami — Subway, one of the world’s largest restaurant brands, is continuing to strategically expand its international footprint and recently celebrated the signing of its 15th new master franchise agreement over the past 2 years. The brand’s latest agreements in Bahrain, Georgia, Mainland China, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Panama will add more than 4,000 future restaurants across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) within the next 20 years. Since 2021, Subway has signed 15 master franchise agreements or country development …

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Jericho, N.Y. — Kimco Realty®, North America’s largest publicly traded owner and operator of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and a growing portfolio of mixed-use assets, has published its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report. The report highlights the company’s progress in addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics, which have been a focus for Kimco and its stakeholders for over a decade. “We remain dedicated to our focus on ESG, acknowledging its inherent connection to the maximization of long term stakeholder value,” says Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco. “Our 2022 achievements reflect …

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Houston — SPB Hospitality, an industry-leading operator and franchisor of restaurants spanning a national footprint, has appointed Josh Kern as chief executive officer. He was named interim CEO in August of 2022. SPB Hospitality encompasses a wide array of brands in the casual, fast-casual, quick-service and fine dining categories, as well as bars and breweries. Kern steered the company’s merger with Krystal, the original quick-service slider concept in the South. Furthermore, he has blended the companies while streamlining costs and launched the first major refranchising effort for the Krystal brand. …

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Ankeny, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has announced its new 3-year strategic plan. Building on the last plan, this strategy leverages Casey’s resilient business model, expanding footprint, guest-centered convenience and restaurant-quality food as a road map to further differentiate Casey’s from competitors and position the company as a top retailer. “Casey’s has delivered exceptional performance over the last 3 years, growing our inside same-store sales by 6.5% this past fiscal year, and expanding our footprint by over 350 stores since 2020,” says Darren Rebelez, Casey’s president and CEO. Through …

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New York City — Atomic Wings, a 15-unit brand specializing in flavorful chicken wings, is starting off 2023 with a bang. In first quarter, the New York-based franchise experienced strong sales numbers, opened a new store in Utica, N.Y., and sold two new Area Representative agreements, in both Dallas and Northern California. The company has an additional 10 locations under construction, with plans to open throughout the year, bringing Atomic Wings to new states, including Arkansas, Nevada, Indiana and Texas. Atomic Wings also is launching its first two drive-thru locations …

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Seattle — REI Co-op has promoted two leaders within the finance and supply chain teams. Michelle Kirkpatrick has been promoted to vice president, controller, while Ruchi Christensen is now vice president of distribution and fulfillment operations. “Michelle and Ruchi are both widely trusted leaders who have been instrumental in keeping co-op growth initiatives and operations running smoothly and efficiently,” says Kelley Hall, executive vice president, chief financial officer. “Their business savvy and values-led approach will continue to have positive impact not only on their respective teams but how the co-op …

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Los Angeles — Blaze Pizza has named industry veterans Kevin Moran and Johnny Tellez to its executive leadership team. As the newly appointed chief development officer (CDO) and chief operations officer (COO), respectively, they arrive during a pivotal phase of advancement for the dynamic brand, keen to enrich the customer journey, pioneer operational initiatives and expand its domestic and global footprint. “We are pleased to announce the addition of Kevin and Johnny to our executive team at Blaze Pizza. Their outstanding qualifications and proven track record of success assure us …

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Katy, Texas — Academy Sports + Outdoors, Inc. has promoted Matt McCabe to executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, effective June 25, 2023, succeeding Steve Lawrence, who recently transitioned to chief executive officer. McCabe will report directly to Lawrence. McCabe has served as Academy’s senior vice president, general merchandise manager, footwear since September 2017. He joined the company in December 2016 as vice president, divisional merchandise manager, athletic and licensed apparel. Prior to joining Academy, he served as vice president at Golfsmith International. He has also held various merchant …

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Detroit — Michigan-based Savvy Sliders has named QSR veteran Bryon Stephens as chief development officer. Stephens brings 35 years of industry knowledge to the Savvy Sliders brand.  With 35 stores open today, and another 30 in development, Stephens will guide the 3-year-old brand to a growth trajectory of more than 500 stores over the next 48 months. “With Bryon’s leadership and knowledge, this unique partnership will lead us to explosive growth throughout the world,” says Happy Asker, founder and CEO of Savvy Sliders. While at A&W Restaurants, Stephens spearheaded the …

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