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Moe’s Southwest Grill Marks 25th Anniversary with 4 Straight Years of Growth

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — This May, Moe’s Southwest Grill®, one of the seven brands within the GoTo Foods platform company, unveils a record-breaking average unit volume (AUV) of $1,235,422 in 2024, showcasing 4 consecutive years of growth. It is also the brand’s 25th anniversary. Under the recent leadership of its chief brand officer, Mike Smith, who was appointed in October 2024, Moe’s continues to revolutionize the fast-casual Mexican dining space. Key Initiatives Driving Significant Brand Evolution: • Strengthening Franchise Development: Over the past year, Moe’s opened 15 new locations across the country. …

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construction and designNewsretailers

Bob’s Discount Furniture to Open 20 New Stores in 2025, Including Debuts in Vermont and North Carolina

by Katie Lee

Manchester, Conn. — Bob’s Discount Furniture plans to open 20 new stores in 2025, further expanding its presence in the U.S. The new locations will include Bob’s first-ever stores in Vermont and North Carolina. Among the 20 stores, six will be located in North Carolina, marking Bob’s entry into the Southeast. Its Vermont location in Williston will be Bob’s first in the state, reinforcing the company’s strong ties to the Northeast, where it was founded in 1991. “We’re excited to bring our on-trend assortment of furniture, mattresses and home accents …

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franchise developmentNewspeoplerestaurantssoftware/technology

FAT Brands Names Chief Information Officer

by Katie Lee

Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. has hired Drew Martin as chief information officer. Martin joins FAT Brands with over 35 years of IT experience and will be focused on delivering scalable technological solutions to progress the growth of FAT Brands. Martin’s diverse background includes serving as senior vice president and CIO for Jack in the Box and senior vice president and CIO for Sony Electronics. Other previous ventures include PepsiCo, leading the digital transformation/supporting the sale of Jenny Craig, and serving as executive vice president and …

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Lowe’s Deploys First At-Scale AI Assistant for Retail Associates

by Katie Lee

Charlotte, N.C. — Lowe’s has launched Mylow Companion, an AI tool aimed at improving customer service and speeding associate onboarding. Purpose-built for associate sales floor devices, the app provides fast access to product details, project advice and inventory information. The launch to all associates across Lowe’s more than 1,700 stores marks the first time a retailer has successfully implemented this kind of technology at scale. Associate expertise is uniquely valuable for home improvement retailers, as customers ask daily about a variety of complex projects and thousands of different products. Mylow …

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construction and designNewspeoplerestaurants

Local Kitchens Names New CEO; Plans to Open First L.A. Location in June

by Katie Lee

San Francisco — Local Kitchens, a category-defining restaurant brand known for its menu collaborations with award-winning chefs, has appointed Jay Gentile as its new chief executive officer. This leadership transition comes as its co-founders, Andrew Munday and Jon Goldsmith, step away from day-to-day operations, with Goldsmith continuing as chairman of the board. Gentile brings a wealth of experience in scaling and evolving restaurant brands, most recently leading Veggie Grill and its family of concepts. With a deep background in operations and market expansion, he successfully introduced and grew Caffè Nero …

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Toast Launches AI-Powered Intelligence for Restaurants

by Katie Lee

Boston — Toast has introduced ToastIQ, an intelligence engine delivering timely prompts, personalized recommendations and automated workflows designed to transform daily restaurant operations. Built natively into Toast’s end-to-end platform, ToastIQ draws on insights from millions of transactions and interactions across 130,000+ locations and fuses Toast’s deep hospitality expertise and integrated platform with AI, historical patterns and proprietary insights. As it evolves, ToastIQ will enable every role — from server to general manager to chef — to operate faster, smarter and more efficiently. Key features include: For servers: • Menu Upsells: …

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construction and designNewsretailerssoftware/technologyvendors

Walmart, Alquist 3D Complete Second 3D-Concrete Build in Alabama

by Katie Lee

Huntsville, Ala. — Walmart Inc. and Alquist 3D LLC, in partnership with FMGI, Inc., have completed the team’s second groundbreaking 3D concrete printing (3DCP) build that sets a new industry record for speed of commercial construction. The walls of the 5,000-square-foot expansion at Walmart Supercenter #5197 outside Huntsville, Ala., were “printed” in just 75 hours, significantly faster than traditional CMU (cement masonry unit) building methods. “In a commercial construction world that pays so much attention to project timelines and costs, our work with Walmart shows that 3D printing isn’t just …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Chicken Salad Chick Opening 300th Restaurant

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only fast-casual chicken salad restaurant concept, will open its 300th restaurant nationwide, located at 1301 S. Babcock St. in Melbourne, Fla., on May 7. This milestone follows a robust pipeline of development, with Chicken Salad Chick welcoming 37 new locations in 2024, followed by 21 in the first half of 2025 alone. “Chicken Salad Chick is a unique, one-of-a-kind restaurant concept we truly believe in,” says Allison Gibson, franchise owner, Chicken Salad Chick of Melbourne. “We love the soul behind this brand, and …

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Kohl’s Terminates Chief Executive Officer, Names Interim CEO

by Katie Lee

Menomonee Falls, Wis. — Kohl’s Corporation’s board of directors has appointed Michael Bender as interim chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately. Bender has served as a director of the board since July 2019 and was appointed board chair in May 2024. The board will initiate a search to identify a permanent CEO and retain a leading search firm to assist with this process. Bender’s appointment follows the board’s decision to terminate Ashley Buchanan for cause. An investigation conducted by outside counsel and overseen by the audit committee of the board …

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construction and designfranchise developmentNewsrestaurants

Gong cha Plans Significant Western U.S. Expansion; Aims to Reach 500+ U.S. Stores

by Katie Lee

Boston — Gong cha, the world’s premier bubble tea brand with nearly 2,200 stores in 29 international markets, is accelerating its U.S. growth with major expansion plans across the Western United States. With more than 200 of its 240 U.S. stores currently located east of the Rockies, the brand is now entering new markets including Arizona, the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, as well as ramping up development in California. “With more than 200 stores east of the Rockies, we’ve laid a strong foundation — and now we’re building on that …

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