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Philadelphia — Five Below, Inc., the extreme-value retailer for teens and pre-teens, has appointed Winnie Park as chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of its board of directors, effective Dec. 16, 2024. An accomplished retail executive with a career spanning more than three decades, Park has extensive experience in driving customer-centric business strategies, merchandising and brand building across a broad spectrum of specialty and value retail. Most recently, she was CEO at Forever 21. In her new role, she will partner closely with Kenneth Bull, who will continue as …

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Los Angeles — Dave’s Hot Chicken, a rapidly growing Nashville-style hot chicken concept, has opened its 250th restaurant — and its first in the United Kingdom. Located at 40 Shaftesbury Ave., in the heart of London, the two-floor, 90-seat venue features an extraordinary street art display, paying homage to the humble East Hollywood parking lot where Dave’s began back in 2017, and takes inspiration from the world-famous Piccadilly Circus nearby. Dave’s Hot Chicken has opened nearly 80 new stores this year, with 2025 planned to be a year of equal …

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Ontario, Calif. — Heritage Grocers Group, a leading specialty grocer focused on serving the Hispanic community, has named Suzy Monford to the role of CEO. A seasoned industry executive, Monford brings more than 25 years of experience and a proven track record of transformational leadership and innovation at industry-leading food retailers. She currently serves as CEO of Food Sport International, a global consultancy that advises retailers on financial and impact value creation. Prior to her role at Food Sport International, Monford was the CEO of PCC Community Markets, where she …

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San Diego — Jack in the Box Inc. is undergoing a strategic leadership restructure. Tony Darden, senior vice president and chief operating officer, who has been a valued member of the Jack in the Box executive team since June 2021, will depart from his role. Darden’s departure is consistent with a planned restructure that includes Ryan Ostrom, currently serving as executive vice president, chief marketing & digital officer, assuming responsibility for Jack in the Box operations in addition to his current function. Ostrom has been named chief customer & digital …

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Chicago and Vancouver, B.C. — RISE Dispensaries, a rapidly growing cannabis retail chain owned by Green Thumb Industries Inc., has opened its landmark 100th retail location, with RISE Dispensary Carson City on Nov. 23, located in Carson City, Nev. In addition, the company opened its 101st retail location with RISE Dispensary Brooklyn Park on Nov. 23 in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The two locations represent the 11th and 8th dispensaries to open in Nevada and Minnesota, respectively. “It is a historic day at Green Thumb as we open our 100th and …

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Houston — Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts, a large and fast-growing donut brand first founded in 1936, will expand its presence in Florida and Tennessee under a 22-unit franchise agreement with the hospitality arm of private investment platform Virentes Partners Group.  Virentes operates multiple franchise brands through its subsidiary, Virentes Hospitality. Its development agreement with Shipley is the brand’s largest commitment inked in 2024. “We exhaustively researched dozens of franchise concepts to expand our hospitality portfolio, and Shipley came out on top with craveable and highly differentiated products and an outstanding leadership …

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Katy, Texas — Academy Sports + Outdoors, a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer, wrapped up 2024 with five new stores in Bradenton, Fla.; Yulee, Fla.; Searcy, Ark.; Meridian, Miss.; and Corsicana, Texas. “Just in time for the holidays, Academy Sports + Outdoors is excited to provide more customers with a new destination to find a localized assortment of gifts and merchandise that help their family and friends have fun out there,” says Eric Friederich, senior vice president of retail operations at Academy Sports + Outdoors. “These new …

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Minneapolis — Alissa Partee, chief people officer (CPO) at Restaurant Technologies, has transitioned into a new role as the company’s chief operations officer (COO). In her previous role, Partee led the human resources team at Restaurant Technologies and joined the company as CPO in 2020. During her tenure, the company grew from 1,000 employees to over 1,500 nationwide. In addition to her role as CPO over the last year, Partee led the implementation of a new 9-person operations excellence team — a team that she will continue to lead in …

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Houston — On the heels of its franchise program launch in October, Taco Cabana is readying to open its second TC 3.0 restaurant prototype in Houston before year’s end. The sleek new footprint boasts a streamlined, franchise-ready design that combines modern functionality with Taco Cabana’s rich heritage to fuel the brand’s new growth-focused era. Crafted with franchising in mind, the TC 3.0 prototype is purpose-built for efficiency and adaptability, featuring: • A condensed footprint that lowers initial investment for franchise partners. TC 3.0’s 2,500-square-foot model reduces the brand’s previous footprint …

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Menomonee Falls, Wis. — Kohl’s Corporation has announced that CEO Tom Kingsbury plans to step down on Jan. 15, 2025. He will stay on in an advisory role to the new CEO and retain his position on Kohl’s board of directors  through his retirement in May 2025. The board has appointed retail veteran Ashley Buchanan as CEO, effective Jan. 15. Buchanan has been CEO of Michaels Companies since 2020 and, prior to that, has held a variety of senior executive roles at Walmart and Sam’s Club during his 13 years …

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