Austin, Texas — Tabulate, an all-in-one financial software, business intelligence and bookkeeping service for restaurants, has appointed Monte Beck as chief executive officer. He brings over 25 years of c-level experience to Tabulate and will lead the team as it prepares to accelerate and scale its growing business. Founded in 2014, Tabulate has built a reputation for leveling the playing field for independent bars and restaurants. The Tabulate technology was built exclusively for the needs of restaurateurs looking for financial and performance data that is accessible, affordable and useful. “The …
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New York City and London — Barnes & Noble, Inc. has been successfully acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited. Elliott’s acquisition of Barnes & Noble, the largest retail bookseller in the United States, follows its June 2018 acquisition of Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the United Kingdom. Barnes & Noble serves 627 different communities across all 50 states, where it remains the Number 1 bookseller in the United States. Elliott seeks to build upon this strong foundation as it addresses the significant challenges facing the brick-and-mortar book retail space …
New York City — Bona Design Lab, a global retail design and consulting firm based in New York City, has been recognized by the Retail Design Institute for the store design it created for ENEX, the licensee for Shell brand fuels and lubricants in Chile and operator of service stations as well as convenience stores under the Upa! and Upita! brands. The design was one of the finalists in the “Class of 2018 Winners” named by the Retail Design Institute in its 48th annual Store of the Year competition. The …
Chicago — Potbelly Corporation, a neighborhood sandwich shop concept, has signed three new franchise agreements. Over the last 6 months, the company signed franchise agreements that, when fully built out over the coming years, will nearly double its franchise footprint with multi-unit development deals for a total of 38 units spanning Las Vegas; Tampa, Florida; and the Carolinas. In addition, Potbelly has opened a number of franchise stores this year that are driving brand penetration across several areas of the country, including recently opened shops in Irvine, Calif.; Odessa, Texas; …
New York City — Luxury department store retailer Barneys New York has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection and has disclosed plans to close 15 of its 22 brick-and-mortar stores. The Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York indicated that Barneys had more than $100 million in assets and more than $100 million in debts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Barneys plans to keep five of its flagship locations open, including its famous Madison Avenue store. The retailer will also continue operating …
Calabasas Hills, Calif. — The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC) and the remaining interest in North Italia, reinforcing its leadership position in experiential dining. The transactions will be completed for $308 million. “Since making our initial minority investments in North Italia and Flower Child in 2016, we have not only helped fuel the growth of both brands, but also developed a deep relationship with Sam Fox at Fox Restaurant Concepts,” says David Overton, chairman and CEO of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated. …
Oceanside, Calif. — Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC (KBS), a leading North American provider of technology-enabled, integrated facility management services to the industrial, commercial, logistics, retail and grocery sectors, has acquired PE Facility Solutions, LLC (“Pristine”), a provider of facility management, contract cleaning and related services. KBS is a portfolio company of San Francisco-based private investment firm GI Partners. Pristine is owned by Massachusetts-based Great Elm Capital Corp. “Pristine is an outstanding asset and its integration into the KBS platform is an important step toward advancing our expansion into targeted end …
Atlanta — Ace Hardware Corporation, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the world, has selected Atlanta-based tech startup Deputy as its recommended people management and scheduling solution to its community of store owners and managers. “Not only does it take less time to make a schedule in Deputy, but after I’m done making it, there’s nothing else required from me until it’s time to make schedules again the next month,” says Bobby Heuser, owner of Heuser Ace Hardware in Bluffton, S.C. “Deputy enables my employees to do everything they need in …
Houston — The Rustic plans to bring its farm-fresh fare and Texas-sized selection of wine, spirits and beer, served alongside live music 7 days a week, to the west side of Houston. Located at 1121 Uptown Park Blvd. in Houston’s Uptown Park, the 27,000-square-foot venue broke ground on Aug. 1 and is anticipated to open in February 2020. The Rustic is the brainchild of Kyle Noonan, Josh Sepkowitz and Texas country artist Pat Green, whose love of the outdoors and live music helped bring The Rustic to life. The result …
Plano, Texas — J. C. Penney Company, Inc. has hired James (Jim) DePaul, a highly accomplished field executive with nearly 25 years of retail experience, as executive vice president of stores, effective August 5, reporting directly to CEO Jill Soltau. He joins JCPenney from Shopko. DePaul, who will oversee the company’s stores, store operations, store environment and design and asset protection teams, will be responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations. Mike Robbins, executive vice president of stores and supply chain, will be leaving the organization on August 3, 2019. …