Jackson, Miss. — Newk’s Eatery plans an 18-restaurant expansion across Texas and Oklahoma over the next few years. Openings are slated for 10 Dallas area locations, as well as eight Oklahoma locations throughout Oklahoma City, Norman, Moore and Stillwater. “We’re thrilled to continue expansion throughout Texas and Oklahoma with this exciting new development agreement,” says Chris Cheek, chief development officer at Newk’s Eatery. “The response to our Dallas locations has been wonderful and we’re looking forward to further growing our footprint with Matthew Biggers and Cuyler Esposito.” Full Belly Holdings, …
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Fort Worth, Texas — Pier 1 Imports, Inc. has appointed Douglas Diemoz — former CEO of Crate & Barrel — to the newly created role of president of Pier 1. Additionally, Robert Riesbeck has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer. Both positions are effective July 22, 2019. Riesbeck succeeds Deborah Rieger-Paganis, who has served as interim CFO since April 2019. Diemoz will be responsible for day-to-day operation and performance of Pier 1’s business. He joins Pier 1 with more than two decades of retail industry experience with …
Atlanta — Curry Up Now, a fast growing Indian fast-casual concept in the United States, will open its first franchise location on July 30, 2019 in Decatur, Ga. The new greater Atlanta area storefront is the brand’s first East Coast location and is part of a multi-unit franchise deal with experienced local franchise group Curry Up Now Atlanta. As part of this deal, four additional franchise locations are expected to open in greater Atlanta by the end of 2021, including in Madison Yards and The Interlock. “Curry Up Now has …
Oak Brook, Ill. — Let’s Pave, LLC, a leading national provider of specialized paving services and solutions, has hired veteran industry executive Jeff Lax to join the company as president and partner. Lax was most recently president and CEO of GemSeal Pavement Products, a leader in the production and distribution of high-quality pavement products. At Let’s Pave, Lax will work alongside C.B. Kuzlik, founder and CEO, to develop and execute the strategic plan for continued, aggressive growth of the company. Lax will also help lead the day-to-day activities of Let’s …
Parsippany, N.J., and San Francisco — Tru Kids Brands, the proud parent of the Toys“R”Us ® brand, and b8ta, the software-powered experiential retailer, have entered into a joint venture to bring Toys“R”Us stores back to the United States. The new store experience will be a highly immersive, smaller-format space. The first two new Toys“R”Us stores will open this holiday season, located in The Galleria in Houston, a Simon Mall, and in Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. Brand partners and experiences will be announced in the coming weeks. “We …
Romano’s Macaroni Grill Reduces Food Costs with CrunchTime! Restaurant Operations Platform
by Katie Lee
Boston — CrunchTime! Information Systems, Inc., the restaurant industry’s leading back-of-house operations platform provider, has partnered with Romano’s Macaroni Grill to implement CrunchTime’s Restaurant Management Platform across all locations, and in doing so reduced its food cost variance to below 2%. In 3 months, Macaroni Grill deployed the CrunchTime Platform with full integration to the restaurant’s POS system, vendors and accounting, trained all of its managers and staff, and quickly began to streamline the brand’s operations. Macaroni Grill began a business transformation several years ago. To ensure the brand’s continued …
Charlotte, N.C. — Take 5 Oil Change, a drive-thru quick lube franchise under the Driven Brands family, will open its 400th location in September. Last year, the brand celebrated its 300th-store milestone and has rapidly grown its footprint nationwide by opening 100 locations in only a year. Additionally, during the first half of 2019, Take 5 signed area development agreements to open 58 new franchised locations and also acquired Advance Kwik Lube, a 25-unit quick lube and automotive service chain in Texas. “2019 has proved to be the strongest year …
Emeryville, Calif. — Alloy LED, a California-based manufacturer and distributor of LED lighting, has expanded its operations to the East Coast with a new distribution center in North Carolina. The center currently serves its customers in the southeastern United States. The company plans to expand the service territory to the Northeast and Upper Midwest, as well as the eastern provinces of Canada, by the end of this year. The warehouse enhances the company’s supply chain capabilities to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-moving LED lighting sector. The company began …
Louisville, Ky. — Papa John’s International, Inc. has appointed restaurant industry veteran Jim Norberg as its chief restaurant operations officer. He will oversee the operations of Papa John’s corporate and franchise restaurants in North America. Norberg, a QSR industry veteran, spent more than 30 years of his career at McDonald’s. His most recent role was executive vice president and chief operating officer, where he managed operations for 14,000 U.S. restaurants. During his time at McDonald’s, Norberg’s leadership was instrumental in unifying company and franchise operations around the brand’s messaging and …
Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), a global customer experience management, employee experience and brand research partner to more than 500 brands, has established a new partnership with global beauty products retailer Sally Beauty. The specialty retailer chose SMG for the actionable insights delivered through its technology platform and industry-leading professional services. With more than 3,700 Sally Beauty stores and 1,300 stores in the Beauty Systems Group network, Sally Beauty services both retail consumers and salon professionals with up to 10,000 products. Seeking to better understand and act …