St. Louis — Confluent Development has completed its redevelopment of the historic Southwest Bank property in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. The project features retailers BMO Harris Bank, which remained operational throughout the redevelopment process, and Walgreens, which recently celebrated its grand opening. Confluent Development, a Denver-based real estate investment and development firm, serves as the project’s developer and owner. The infill project represents the first development of its kind in St. Louis by preserving the historical façade along the Kingshighway Boulevard portion of the project while redeveloping the remainder …
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Ankeny, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has hired Tom Brennan as chief merchandising officer, reporting to CEO Darren Rebelez. Brennan will lead the development and implementation of the company’s overall merchandising and prepared foods strategy. He joins Casey’s from CKE Restaurants Holdings, where he oversaw operations. “Tom is a tremendous leader with deep experience across the convenience and quick-service restaurant industries that will benefit Casey’s already popular, fresh food program and enhance our merchandising strategy,” says Rebelez. Previously, Brennan was chief operating officer at CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., the …
East Rutherford, N.J. — Hudson Group, a Dufry company and leader in North American travel retail, has signed an agreement to acquire assets related to the operation of Brookstone stores in U.S. airports from Apex Digital, Inc. Hudson has also obtained the right to be the exclusive airport retailer to operate Brookstone stores through a license agreement with Bluestar Alliance, LLC, owner of the Brookstone brand and trademarks. Brookstone is an established American brand well known for its unique selection of innovative products in the travel, wellness, home and entertainment …
Minneapolis — Restaurant Technologies, a leading provider of cooking oil management and automated exhaust cleaning solutions, has recruited Tim Curran as senior vice president of operations. He joins the company from Binswanger Glass, where he served as CEO. In this new role, Curran will oversee Restaurant Technologies’ operations team and help lead the expansion of the company’s nationwide service and distribution network, which consists of 41 depots and more than 1,100 employees. “Tim Curran is a strong and innovative leader who will help Restaurant Technologies continue to expand our nationwide …
Jacksonville, Fla. — Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. has acquired Maple Street Biscuit Co. for $36 million in an all-cash deal. Maple Street’s portfolio comprised 28 company-owned and five franchise-owned restaurants in seven states at the time of sale. The company plans to convert its Holler & Dash Biscuit House into Maple Street Biscuit locations. Scott Moore and Gus Johnson founded Maple Street in Jacksonville in 2012. Moore will stay on as CEO and will report to Sandra Cochran, president and CEO of Cracker Barrel.
Atlanta — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a leading national fast-casual cafe concept, has awarded 64 franchise agreements in the third quarter. The brand plans to sign 200 franchise agreements, open 130 cafes and grow same-store sales by 5 percent in 2019. Year-to-date, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has opened 90 cafes and awarded 179 franchise agreements. Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchisees have signed multi-unit agreements for a number of markets across the country, including Chicago; Tampa, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Cleveland, Ohio; and New Haven, Conn. “Our focus on operational execution and delivering a remarkable …
Minneapolis — Target Corporation has named Michael Fiddelke as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective November 1, 2019. He will be responsible for financial planning and analysis, financial operations, internal audit, accounting, investor relations, treasury, tax and risk. He will also oversee Target’s Financial and Retail Services, which includes guest relations and management of its financial products, including Target RedCard. In more than 15 years at Target, Fiddelke has served in a variety of roles across finance, merchandising, human resources and operations. Most recently he served as senior …
Union, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has appointed Mark J. Tritton as president and chief executive officer and as a member of its board of directors, effective November 4, 2019. He succeeds Mary A. Winston, interim CEO. Tritton has over 30 years of experience in the retail industry, including most recently as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Target Corporation, where he was instrumental in transforming the omnichannel shopping experience. He has end-to-end retail industry experience in merchandising, design, manufacturing, marketing and distribution at some of …
Chicago — Potbelly Sandwich Shop, the iconic neighborhood sandwich shop, has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to open shops in Macy’s department stores, adding to the fast-casual brand’s significant multi-unit franchise growth in 2019. “This franchise agreement marks a major milestone in our multi-unit franchise growth,” says Peter Ortiz, vice president of franchise development at Potbelly. “A development deal with one of the nation’s premier retailers is a testament to our focus and prioritization of our franchising initiative. We’re thrilled for what’s in store for the future with Macy’s.” The …
Canton, Mass. — Destination XL Group, Inc., the world’s leading omni-channel specialty retailer of big-and-tall clothing and shoes, has just converted and rebranded its Casual Male XL store at Keystone Place in Erie, Pa., into a DXL Men’s Big + Tall store. This new conversion from Casual Male XL to DXL Big + Tall offers customers a brand new shopping experience that includes a more spacious environment, elevated visual merchandising, easy-to-shop departments, superior service, expanded brands and styles and more. Destination XL Group, Inc. is the largest retailer of men’s …