Nicholasville, Ky. — Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil, introduces the Badger™ UV Disinfect robot, an autonomous ultraviolet (UV) disinfecting robot designed to combat COVID-19 and high-risk pathogens commonly found in grocery, foodservice and retail environments. The latest in
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Dallas — La Madeleine French Bakery & Café will make its highly anticipated return to Addison, Texas, on Feb. 8 with a new look. The remodeled restaurant features the brand’s all-new prototype, including la Madeleine’s first-ever drive-thru and a featured
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Modesto, Calif. — FoodMaxx officially welcomed shoppers to its newly renovated Oakland, Calif., store on Feb. 3. “With shoppers facing ever-tighter budgets during the pandemic, our Number 1 goal at FoodMaxx is to provide this community with the very best
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Pasadena, Calif. —A first-of-its-kind partnership between Westfield Valley Fair, the largest retail destination in Northern California, and Kitchen United, a ghost kitchen industry leader, will bring Kitchen United’s to-go operations and MIX multi-concept ordering technology platform to the shopping center
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Auburn, Ala. — Chicken Salad Chick, a Southern-inspired, fast-casual chicken salad restaurant concept, opened 37 new restaurants in key target markets throughout 2020 — including seven in Texas, five in Georgia, three in Louisiana, two in Arkansas, as well as
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New York City — Casper Sleep Inc., the award-winning sleep company, has made several leadership appointments, including Charles Liu as chief operating officer, Dara Williams as chief people and diversity officer, and George Poulios, vice president of retail, real estate
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New York City — MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a fast-casual, “better burger” chain, opened its first restaurant in New York City on Feb. 1. The city’s first MOOYAH also marks the first MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes restaurant for
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Atlanta — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a leading national fast-casual cafe franchise, experienced another record-breaking year in 2020. Tropical Smoothie Cafe delivered its ninth consecutive year of positive same-store sales, with 2020 same-store sales coming in at +7.5%. The brand opened
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Atlanta — PGA TOUR Superstore, a leading experiential golf retailer, plans to open at least six new stores in 2021, reaching the 50-store milestone by the end of the year. The company also reported record comp store sales growth while
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Fayetteville, Ark. — Slim Chickens plans to open more than 50 restaurants this year in various states including Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As the fast-casual brand expands around the globe, Slim Chickens, which features
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San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats® (QDOBA), the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has opened its 400th franchise location (pictured). The landmark opening underscores the brand’s dynamic development strategy to expand to 2,000 units. QDOBA’s growth will
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San Francisco — Zippin, an industry leader in checkout-free technologies for brick-and-mortar retail, has hired veteran business development executive, Gary Jacobus, as senior vice president, business development. Most recently, Jacobus was with SSP America, the leading operator of food &
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League City, Texas — Muscle Maker, Inc., the parent company of Muscle Maker Grill, Healthy Joe’s and MMG Burger Bar, has added Burger Joe’s to its non-traditional portfolio. The company plans to launch four additional brands that showcase prominent menu
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Deerfield, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) has appointed Rosalind (Roz) Brewer as the company’s chief executive officer, effective March 15, 2021. Brewer will also join the WBA board of directors upon assuming the role. She succeeds Stefano Pessina
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Wichita, Kan. — Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers experienced significant development success in 2020, opening 30 new restaurants in key markets throughout the U.S., including its milestone 400th location. Despite a challenging industry landscape, Freddy’s maintained strong systemwide sales throughout
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New York City — L’Occitane, Inc., a leading U.S. retailer of beauty and well-being products rich in natural and organic ingredients that preserves and celebrates the traditions of Provence, France, has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and
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Atlanta — Cinnaholic, a gourmet vegan bakery, is set to open 20 new locations across the country this year. The brand also experienced a successful 2020: it signed agreements for new franchise locations across 20 new markets including Ann Arbor,
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Leawood, Kan. — In an effort to remain financially afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. has raised or signed commitment letters to receive $917 million of new equity and debt capital. The Leawood, Kan.-based movie theater company
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Newport Beach, Calif. — Mountain Mike’s Pizza has opened its second Oregon location, in Roseburg. The new Roseburg location is owned by franchisee and area developer, Jim Smith, who owns the Mountain Mike’s in Medford, Ore., and plans to open
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Pittsburgh — The Pittsburgh-based company’s chief financial officer, Michael Mathias, announced plans to close 200 to 225 of the company’s 880 existing American Eagle locations over the next 2 to 3 years during a virtual investor meeting held Jan. 21.
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New York City — Greek Xpress, New York’s favorite Greek quick-service restaurant, is partnering with franchise development group Fransmart to bring its authentic, delicious and healthy Greek cuisine to customers nationwide through franchising. The brand has continued to build momentum despite challenges surrounding COVID-19,
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Bloomfield Hills, Mich. — The Taubman Company LLC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Simon Leopold, will leave the company effective January 31. Taubman’s vice president, capital markets and treasurer, Benjamin Meeker, will be promoted to senior vice president,
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Knoxville, Tenn. — Pilot Company and its One9 Fuel Network have opened a new restaurant concept, Trucker Burger, located in the new Xpress Fuel travel center in Eloy, Ariz. Inspired by those who drive America and in collaboration with celebrity
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Union, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has named Mara Sirhal as senior vice president and general manager for Harmon Health and Beauty Stores, effective immediately. Sirhal will report to Joe Hartsig, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Bed
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Coral Gables, Fla. — Fogo de Chão, the internationally-renowned steakhouse, has signed a lease agreement to open an all-new restaurant experience in Coral Gables, Fla. Slated to open by the end of 2021, the restaurant will be situated within The
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Boca Raton, Fla. — ODP Corp., the parent company of Office Depot, has rejected USR Parent Inc.’s off-market transaction offer to acquire the Boca Raton, Fla.-based retailer. USR, the parent company of office products retailer Staples and affiliate of Sycamore
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Menomonee Falls, Wis. — Alto-Shaam, a global leader and innovator in the foodservice equipment solutions industry, has entered into a new partnership agreement with Chrane Foodservice Solutions as its new manufacturer representative in Texas and Oklahoma. Chrane will promote Alto-Shaam’s
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