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Atlanta — Gala Capital Partners (GCP), an investment firm focused on emerging restaurant franchise brands, has reached an agreement to purchase Rusty Taco from Atlanta-based Inspire Brands. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Rusty Taco leadership team has co-invested in the acquisition and will remain in place to guide this new phase of the brand’s evolution. Inspire Brands acquired a majority interest in the Rusty Taco brand along with its purchase of Buffalo Wild Wings in 2018. Inspire successfully reinvigorated the brand, clarifying its positioning and rebranding …

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Seattle — Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom, Inc. plans to open a new Nordstrom Rack in Aurora, Colo. The 30,000-square-foot store will be located in Southlands, a popular shopping center that includes Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bath & Body Works and H&M. The new store is scheduled to open in fall 2023. “We look forward to opening this new Nordstrom Rack location in Aurora, strengthening our network of stores and introducing new customers to Nordstrom Rack’s unique product offering,” says Carl Jenkins, senior vice president of Nordstrom Rack Stores. “In addition to shopping the brands they love at a great …

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Houston — In 2022, Daddy’s Chicken Shack opened a flagship restaurant in Houston Heights (Houston), as well as signed eight franchise agreements across California, Oregon, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia and Florida. The brand now has 120 units in development nationwide. During 2022, the emerging chicken brand also hosted its first-ever regional developer conference, a rare achievement after launching its franchise opportunity only in 2021. The brand’s first conference was hosted by founders Pace Webb and Chris Georgalas, as well as Dave Liniger, former CEO and co-founder of RE/MAX realty, who …

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Newport Beach, Calif. — Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the largest provider of the cleanest fuel for the transportation market, has opened another renewable natural gas (RNG) fueling station that will provide an anticipated 1.4 million gallons of the clean fuel annually for Amazon and other truck fleets in the greater Chicago area. “The addition of the Romeoville station to our fueling network represents another step in the pathway for Amazon to realize significant carbon reduction for its transportation fleets,” says Chad Lindholm, senior vice president, Clean Energy. “Trucks that operate …

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Skokie, Ill. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is underway on the redevelopment of the Westfield Old Orchard shopping mall in Skokie, Ill. Plans call for retail, apartments, restaurants, gourmet markets, health and wellness amenities and entertainment space. The project will also include a park and event space designed as the center’s focal point and social gathering space. The multi-phase project began in fall 2022 with the modernization of the existing shopping center, starting with enhancements to the common areas as well as the opening of new restaurants, health and wellness components and retailers …

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Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer, a retailer that operates one of the largest fleets in Michigan with 250 semitrucks and the first in North America to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 near-zero emissions standards in 2009, is once again leading the retail industry by deploying two of the first all-electric semitrucks outside of California. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer is also the first nationwide to track the performance of the Freightliner eCascadia semitrucks in a cold weather environment as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. …

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Los Angeles — World-renowned Latin American bistro and bar brand, Negroni, will open its first West Coast restaurant just in time to ring in the New Year in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood/Beverly Grove. This expansion marks the brand’s second location in the U.S.; the first U.S. restaurant is in Miami, in addition to 20 other locations throughout Latin America. The restaurant concept originated in 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, inspired by the prominent Italian and Nikkei culinary influences in the area. The restaurant presents an amalgamation of cultures …

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Bentonville, Ark. — Walmart’s new drone delivery service is expanding. In partnership with DroneUp, Walmart will offer drone delivery in six states by the end of the year, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. In total, there will be 34 stores making drone delivery available in 23 cities nationwide by year end. “Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last-minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool. Being on the forefront of that innovation at Walmart is something we’re …

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Denver — Quick-service sandwich chain Quiznos has inked a new multi-unit development agreement with franchisee Sam Patel that will provide 10 new restaurants and exclusivity across Northern Georgia. The first location in this agreement is slated to open in early 2023. The new restaurants will be a mix of standalone drive-thru units and non-traditional locations built inside renewed fuel stations Patel owns along Interstate 75. The agreement follows a schedule of two units built per year for the next 5 years in Adairsville, Calhoun, Dalton, Resaca, Ringgold and Chatsworth. “Quiznos …

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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 been awarded Nareit’s ‘Leader in the Light Award’ for the retail REIT sector, marking the third time the company has received this prestigious recognition for its sustainability initiatives. The Leader in the Light awards are given to REITs that have demonstrated outstanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices throughout the year, with winners selected by an interdisciplinary panel of judges. “It is an honor …

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