Atlanta and Canton, Mass. — Inspire Brands has agreed to acquire fast-food breakfast chain Dunkin’ Brands in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Atlanta-based Inspire Brands is the
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Dallas — MUTTS Canine Cantina®, a fast-growing pet eatertainment brand that provides a unique urban oasis for dogs and their owners, has signed a multi-unit franchise deal to bring locations to El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Ariz. New franchisee April
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Seattle — Amazon.com, Inc. plans to open its first fulfillment center in Waco, Texas, which is anticipated to launch in 2021 and will create over 1,000 new full-time jobs with industry-leading pay and comprehensive benefits. “We are proud to be
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Dallas and San Francisco — PICKUP, a leading last-mile delivery service and logistics platform, has partnered with Postmates to provide retailers and brands with the ability to elegantly scale local delivery capability to meet surging demand for store-to-door delivery. PICKUP
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Chicago — Dickey’s Barbecue Pit unveiled its first virtual kitchen on Oct. 30 in Chicago. This model, which services guests solely through online ordering and third-party delivery, is the first of its kind to open for the Texas-based, family-owned franchise.
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Austin, Texas — Quality men’s apparel brand Texas Standard has opened its first-ever retail store, located in the Hyde Park area of Austin, Texas, which also contains its corporate offices. Texas Standard is a men’s premium clothing brand designed and
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Chadds Ford, Pa. — RWS Facility Services (RWS), a provider of recycling, waste and managed facilities solutions for commercial and residential businesses, has appointed Danica Sierra to the role of business development manager. Sierra brings to RWS more than 20
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Nantucket, Mass. — Oath Pizza, known for serving better-for-you craft pizza at 60 locations throughout the United States, opened its first ghost kitchen on Oct. 16. The pickup and delivery-only location is located at 1308 W. Girard Ave. in Philadelphia.
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St. Augustine, Fla. — The Spice & Tea Exchange is looking to expand its presence in New York. The gourmet spice and tea retail franchise looks to bring at least four new locations to the Empire State through franchising. The
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Canton, Mass. — Shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. rose by more than 15% on Oct. 26 as the Massachusetts-based coffee and breakfast chain moved forward with talks to be acquired by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, the parent company of chains
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Plano, Texas — Cinemark Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s largest and most influential movie theatre companies, has reopened five of its Alameda County, Calif., theatres as of Oct. 27. Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD as well as
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Newport Beach, Calif. — Year-over-year revenue for Chipotle Mexican Grill increased 14.1% to $1.6 billion for third-quarter 2020. Digital sales soared 202.5% to $776.4 million, accounting for 48.8% of sales for the period. The company’s net income was $80.2 million.
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San Francisco — Gap Inc., a longtime apparel tenant in enclosed regional malls nationwide, has announced plans to close 350 stores under its Banana Republic and Gap banners in an effort to transition focus to e-commerce and off-mall retail locations.
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New York City — Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand development, marketing and entertainment company, and AR Holdings, a leading Latin American-based brand and retail operator, have partnered to grow Forever 21 across the territory. AR Holdings will drive
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Bloomington, Ind. — Curry Up Now, an award-winning Indian fast-casual concept, has broken ground on its first Indiana location, which is slated to open in early spring 2021 in Bloomington near Indiana University. This expansion is part of a multi-unit
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Union, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has appointed Mary-Farrell Tarbox and Ann-Marie Clendenin as regional vice presidents (RVP) for the Central and East regions, respectively, effective October 26, 2020. Both will report directly to Gregg Melnick, executive vice
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San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats®, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has introduced new restaurant formats that set the stage for continued growth. QDOBA’s new concepts feature buildouts including mobile-order drive-thrus, walk-up windows, mobile-order pickup lockers,
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Plano, Texas — J.C. Penney has drafted and filed an asset purchase agreement (APA), effectively moving the Plano, Texas-based retailer one step closer to concluding negotiations for its acquisition by Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group, a $1.75 billion
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Nashville, Tenn. — Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company and one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, has opened its newest EchoPark specialty pre-owned vehicle store in Nashville, Tenn. As Sonic Automotive continues to rapidly expand its EchoPark network,
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Nashville, Tenn. — Nashville, Tenn.-based Back Yard Burgers opened its new prototype in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area in September and plans to expand with the updated building design. The new interior design brings the outdoor backyard feel indoors with
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Paris — As part of its “Better Places 2030” strategy to reduce carbon emissions 50% by the year 2030, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) now generates clean, renewable energy at seven of its Westfield shopping centers in the U.S. Westfield Valley Fair in
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Sugar Land, Texas — A development team by Houston-based Lionstone Investments will renovate Sugar Land Town Square, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use destination located on the southwestern outskirts of Houston. Lionstone is partnering with Dallas-based creative real estate firm Rebees and
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Scottsdale, Ariz. — As consumers across the country seek dining options to fit their changing habits, P.F. Chang’s is expanding its P.F. Chang’s To Go concept, which is now launching in New York. Now open as of October 19 at
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Deerfield Beach, Fla. – Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based Konover South LLC is set to begin the vertical construction of Miramar Park Place, a 56,600-square-foot upscale retail center in Miramar, Fla., on October 19, 2020. Tenants, which include Flannigan’s, World of Beer,
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Glendale, Calif. — IHOP® has expanded its franchisee portfolio with the addition of Suncakes, LLC, led by Guillermo Perales, through the acquisition of 41 IHOP restaurants. The restaurants, located in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, were previously owned
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Jersey City, N.J. and Redlands, Calif. — Imperial Dade, a leading distributor of foodservice packaging and janitorial supplies, has acquired P&R Paper Supply (P&R). The acquisition strengthens Imperial Dade’s West Coast presence while enhancing the company’s differentiated value proposition to
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Atlanta — With its retail concept a proven success in several major U.S. markets, Painted Tree Marketplace plans to accelerate expansion plans on a national basis in major suburban markets, with a focus on the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest. Painted
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