Phoenix — Sprouts Farmers Market has expanded its grocery pickup service to 46 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee as the grocer faces heightened demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The service allows customers to plan grocery pickup for the same day or to schedule several days in advance. Their personal shopper will bring the groceries to a designated pickup parking spot when the customer arrives and checks in. A list of specific stores offering the service was not disclosed. The Phoenix-based grocer recently expanded this …
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Dallas — Gold’s Gym, a fitness chain founded in California in 1965 and now headquartered in Dallas, has filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code as it works to restructure its debt. In a statement issued earlier this week, the company said that the financial fallout from COVID-19 has forced it to permanently close about 30 company-owned gyms. The company also said that the filing would not impact its licensing division and was not associated with any of its locally owned franchise gyms. Gold’s …
Tampa, Fla. — There is no good time for store flooding, but it’s even more difficult for facility managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for one Georgia facility manager, MaintenX was able to turn around a bad situation, quickly, professionally and — most importantly — safely. When the mobile phone store reopened, the staff faced 3 inches of standing water throughout the shop (due to a leaky toilet), and the adjacent store was also damaged. After reaching out to MaintenX, its Emergency Response crew was able to respond in less …
Lehi, Utah — On May 7, 2020, R&R BBQ appointed industry veteran Neil Harfert as president to lead the fast-growing restaurant chain in its next chapter of growth. Founders Rod and Roger Livingston, who are brothers, will be retiring to pursue other interests. “Neil is a proven and respected leader who has delivered strong operating results through a long career in the food and beverage industry, with powerhouse brands like Qdoba, Modern Market Eatery and MOD Pizza,” says Greg Warnock, a member of the R&R BBQ board of directors and …
Dallas — Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with a significant majority of its creditors to undergo a financial restructuring, substantially reducing its debt load and interest payments and supporting continued operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. To implement the RSA, the company has commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. As part of the process, Neiman Marcus Group has secured debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing of $675 million from creditors to enable …
Seattle —Nordstrom plans to permanently close 16 of its 116 full-line stores, with the company incurring the non-cash impairment charges associated with the closures. The clothing retailer hopes the closures will better position it for the long-term retail landscape at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The list of stores was not released. “We’ve been investing in our digital and physical capabilities to keep pace with rapidly changing customer expectations,” says Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom Inc. “The impact of COVID-19 is only accelerating the importance of these capabilities in …
East Rutherford, N.J. — German Doner Kebab (GDK), a fast-casual restaurant chain, plans to open 350 restaurants in the United States over the next 7 years. The first location will be within American Dream in East Rutherford, N.J. The Glasgow, Scotland-based company specializes in doner kebab, which is a slow-cooked meat often served on a flatbread. GDK operates more than 70 locations in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, Oman and Bahrain. GDK also plans to open locations in Ireland and Saudi Arabia. New York City-based JAACRES is representing GDK …
Los Angeles — Hightimes Holding Corp., the owner of High Times®, the most well-known brand in cannabis, has appointed Peter Horvath, former chief commercialization officer of American Eagle Outfitters and former chief operating officer at Victoria’s Secret, as the company’s new chief executive officer and board member. Horvath is coming onboard to spearhead the company’s retail expansion. Stormy Simon will step down as CEO. “We are pleased to welcome Peter to the High Times family, and to be able to tap into his wealth of experience capitalizing on major consumer …
New York — ShopOne Centers REIT Inc., a leading owner, operator and manager of high-quality grocery-anchored shopping centers, has promoted Bob Dake to chief operating officer and Tom Shine to senior vice president, property management. Dake previously served as ShopOne’s executive vice president of leasing, while Shine was the company’s vice president, property management. “The promotions of Bob and Tom are well deserved, as they have played critical roles in advancing the growth of our business and strengthening our relationships with flagship national and local retailers,” says John Roche, chief …
Westlake, Ohio — TravelCenters of America Inc. has commenced a company-wide reorganization, which is a key step in the company’s strategic, long term plan to improve its operational efficiency and profitability. The reorganization plan includes significant leadership changes with the addition of new senior vice presidents for a newly created hospitality department — under which the areas of restaurants, gaming and convenience stores will be consolidated — as well as in information technology. TA has also appointed a new senior vice president of corporate development, a new department initially tasked …