Athens, Ga. — Zaxby’s, the premium quick-service restaurant brand founded in Athens, Ga., has hired industry franchising veteran Mike Mettler as its new chief development officer, while Mike Nettles, interim chief digital & technology officer, has been elevated to the
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Corte Madera, Calif. — RH has opened RH San Francisco, The Gallery at the Historic Bethlehem Steel Building, the crown jewel of Pier 70 and gateway to what was once one of the country’s most storied shipyards. RH San Francisco
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Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), an enterprise customer and employee experience management partner to more than 500 brands, has added a new customer experience partnership with Golden Corral. America’s largest buffet and grill restaurant brand chose SMG
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— By Meg Mason — How Lowe’s has reduced water use and its carbon footprint with smart irrigation. Lowe’s is focused on reducing its environmental impact while also increasing the efficiency of its operations. To address these goals, Lowe’s
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Phoenix — Hash Kitchen has partnered with architecture and design firm Harrison to revamp the creative brunchery’s design in preparation for its launch in Gilbert and Peoria, Ariz. Harrison will support Hash Kitchen through concept development, branding, architecture, interior design,
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Charlotte, N.C. — Clean Juice®, the first and only national USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise and quick-service restaurant, has hired Tripp Setliff to chief operating officer (COO). In the role, he will oversee all store operational initiatives including development, supply
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Norwood, Mass. — Uno Pizzeria and Grill, the inventor of deep dish pizza in Chicago in 1943, has introduced a virtual brand called Detroit Pizza Works, which features Detroit-style pizza. Detroit-style pizza has grown in popularity over the last few
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Atlanta — GPS Hospitality, one the nation’s largest franchisees of BURGER KING®, Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen and Pizza Hut®, has promoted Mike Kovac to chief operating officer for Popeyes and Pizza Hut. “Mike has been an instrumental part of GPS Hospitality’s
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Buckeye, Ariz. — Vestar, in partnership with DMB Development, has unveiled plans for Verrado Marketplace, a commercial space near Verrado, an 8,800-acre master-planned community in Buckeye. Totaling more than 500,000 square feet of space, Verrado Marketplace will feature a grocery
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Louisville, Ky. — As KFC continues to focus on building and remodeling restaurants with the customer experience front and center, the company has opened its latest next-generation restaurant concept dubbed ‘The Crystal Bucket.’ The new 40-seat, 2,542-square-foot restaurant is located
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Auburn, Ala. — Guthrie’s, the chicken-finger only restaurant pioneer, has promoted Matthew Myers to chief operating officer while adding Mike Adams as the brand’s new director of operations. Myers has spent nearly a decade with Guthrie’s. Under his leadership, Guthrie’s
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Seattle — Starbucks Corporation will make additional investments in its employees and stores for prioritized areas such as increased pay, more training and modernized collaboration, store innovation, etc. — bringing the total investments to nearly $1 billion in this fiscal
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Charlotte, N.C. — Clean Juice®, the first and only national USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise and quick-service restaurant, has signed the brand’s 200th unit in less than 7 years of franchising. The brand’s 200th store was awarded to the Shango
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Toronto — Redberry Restaurants has appointed Scott Lewis as the vice president, operations – Redberry Burger King. Redberry’s unprecedented growth called for the creation of this new role to shepherd planning and operations for the 22 new Redberry-owned Burger King
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Los Angeles — The Dolly Llama, L.A.’s waffle and artisanal ice cream destination, has signed several multi-unit franchise deals totaling 25 locations planned for California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas. The brand, which first began franchising in 2020 to expand
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Newport Beach, Calif. — OEB Breakfast Co., a popular North American breakfast concept, is opening its very first California restaurant. Located in Newport Beach at Westcliff Plaza, the newest restaurant joins 13 existing locations — one in Arizona and 12
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Moonachie, N.J. — Paris Baguette, the bakery café concept with 4,000 units across the globe, saw significant growth with its U.S.-based franchisees in 2021, signing 121 new franchise agreements among new and existing franchisees. Now, wrapping up the first quarter
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Atlanta — Jack Swaysland, chief operating officer of the international division of Papa John’s International, Inc., intends to retire. Amanda Clark was promoted to chief international and development officer and will now oversee international strategy in addition to her global
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Charlotte, N.C. — Bojangles, one of the nation’s leading franchises famous for its chicken, biscuits and tea, has achieved significant growth in the first quarter of 2022, signing agreements to add 46 new units to its growing pipeline. The development
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Wichita, Kan.— In first quarter 2022, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has signed six new multi-unit agreements that will bring a total of 64 new Freddy’s locations to new and existing markets. Most notably, existing Freddy’s franchisees of more than
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Los Angeles and Denver — Nextbite, a leader in virtual restaurants, has hired Dominic Calcagno, a supply chain leader experienced in national QSR foodservice supply chain management, as director of supply chain. Calcagno will lead Nextbite’s supply chain team focusing
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— Interview with Jeff Crivello — Famous Dave’s expands its first line-service model and even adds a drive-thru as it grows through ghost kitchens, virtual brands, dual concepts, and strategic acquisitions of complementary brands. Nearly 30 years after the
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Coral Gables, Fla. — Fogo de Chão has unveiled a new high-profile restaurant in Coral Gables, Fla. Located at 2801 Ponce de Leon Blvd., the new, two-story flagship features an expansive, 280-seat dining room and open-air churrasco bar. The design
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Charlotte, N.C. — Bojangles has named senior restaurant executive David Whitaker as its new chief operating officer. He will join Bojangles on May 2, succeeding Brian Unger, who is retiring after 3 years at Bojangles and a career in the
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— By Aliyah Kaye Crawley — How is inflation affecting the restaurant industry? Inflation impacts everyday decisions in restaurants: how they price their food, what type of service they provide, which menu items they can afford to
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Columbus, Ohio — Sunny Street Café, the Columbus-based breakfast and lunch restaurant chain, reported double-digit growth in 2021 — despite the pandemic — and is debuting an energetic new design that provides an even brighter spot for guests to dine,
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Atlanta — Church’s Chicken™, one of the largest quick-service chicken restaurant chains in the world, has hired a franchise industry veteran, Frank Costello, for the position of vice president of U.S. franchise development. Costello joins the brand with years of
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