Franklin, Tenn. — CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (CKE), parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, has appointed Matthew Walls as the company’s first chief global development officer. In this new role, Walls will be responsible for creating a Global Development
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Charlotte, N.C. — Clean Juice®, a USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise, has relocated its flagship store to Birkdale Landing in Huntersville, N.C. The move coincides with the sixth anniversary of the opening of the first Clean Juice store at Birkdale
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Greenbelt, Md. — The board of directors of ZIPS Dry Cleaners® has appointed Bob Barry as president/CEO of the network of dry-cleaning stores, effective immediately. He succeeds Drew Ritger, who held the role for the past 3.5 years and has
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Wichita, Kan. — Leading fast-casual restaurant concept Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has broken ground on a new site set to host the brand’s newest restaurant prototype. Located in Salina, Kan., this prototype marks a new chapter for the brand’s
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Broomfield, Colo. — TCBY, the world’s original frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with the brand continuing to expand rapidly and thrive as communities reopen amid the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. TCBY opened 12 new U.S. locations
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Chicago — First Watch, the award-winning brunch restaurant that made its Chicagoland debut in Oak Brook in March, continues to expand into the region with the opening of a new restaurant in the suburb of Kildeer on June 7. The
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Louisville, Ky., and Perth, Australia — Yum! Brands, Inc. and Dragontail Systems Limited, an innovative provider of technology solutions for the food industry, have entered into a binding agreement under which Yum! Brands would acquire Dragontail for A$93.5 million in
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Jericho, N.Y. — Nathan’s Famous, the American tradition serving New York favorites for more than 100 years, has added Arthur Treacher’s to the brand’s portfolio, now available as a ghost kitchen concept. Arthur Treacher’s, which was founded in 1969, offers
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Los Angeles — sweetgreen, the mission-driven restaurant brand serving healthy food at scale, introduces a new brand identity to reimagine fast food and speak to future generations about the importance of what they eat. The goal was to create a
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— Interview by Katie Lee — Burger King unveils a new visual design for a bold, modern future. When Burger King, one of the founding titans of the fast food hamburger industry since 1954, creates a completely new visual
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Chicago — Potbelly Corporation has appointed Larry Strain as its chief development officer (CDO) effective immediately. Potbelly is contracting with Restaurant Development Experts (RDE), LLC in connection with Strain’s engagement for this role and Bob Wright, president and CEO of
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Las Vegas — Celano Design Studio has two new restaurants opening this summer. Tapped by Resorts World Las Vegas, the city’s highly anticipated resort opening on June 24, Celano is the creative lead behind the design of two of the
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Denver — Sage Restaurant Concepts, a Sage Hospitality Group company, has appointed Matt Stuhl as vice president of operations. In this role, Stuhl is responsible for the overall operations of a selection of the company’s more than 30 restaurants, bars
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Jericho, N.Y. — On May 21, Wings of New York, the virtual restaurant concept created by Nathan’s Famous, opened its first physical restaurant, located inside Yankee Stadium. The Wings of New York location will offer a limited version of the
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Chicago — 86 Repairs, an innovative platform that automates equipment repair and maintenance for restaurants, has named Sean Ramsey as its new head of revenue. Previously, Ramsey served as vice president of revenue at document drafting lifecycle tech company Litera.
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St. Louis — Panera Bread has unveiled a new restaurant design featuring increased drive-thru and pickup access, technological offerings including contactless meal pickup and an updated dine-in experience in response to COVID-19. The company is the latest chain to announce
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— By Andrew Eck — From the inside looking out: 2021 foodservice industry trends. I think we all put a lot of pressure on 2021 to be a year of rebounding, the year that we return to normal. So
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Louisville, Ky. — Biscuit Belly, a chef-driven fast-casual breakfast and brunch concept specializing in gourmet biscuit sandwiches, has signed its first and second multi-unit development agreements to franchise 10 locations throughout Lexington, Ky.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Birmingham, Ala.
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Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc., parent company of Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and seven other restaurant concepts, has added additional depth to its senior management team with three new hires: Allen Sussman, general counsel; Ken Kuick, chief
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Wichita, Kan. — Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has recently signed four multi-unit agreements that will result in a total of 29 new restaurants. The expansion follows a strong 2020 in which the concept celebrated its 400th restaurant opening. The 29
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Itasca, Ill. — Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a dine-in cinema with movies, beer, food and events, has partnered with Fellowes and its air purifiers with patented technology. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alamo asked Fellowes to assess its facilities in
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Austin, Texas — Freebirds World Burrito is unveiling new interior and exterior design elements at all locations. The design refresh has begun across all major markets with the remaining locations rolling out this summer. Inside Freebirds, updated murals and colors
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San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has hired franchising veteran Shawn Caric as vice president of franchise development. In his new role, Caric will be directing the 740-unit brand’s strategic franchise
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Pittsburgh — Evergreen Grease Service, Inc. has installed The Vector System in two of its semi-trucks, reducing carbon emissions from these trucks to near-zero, with plans to convert the whole fleet by 2022. This move is a major step towards
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Brooklyn, N.Y. — Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the nationally recognized brand known for its made-from-scratch dairy and vegan ice creams, has opened its first-ever Texas store in Houston’s luxury shopping center, Rice Village. As the first of three Houston openings
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Austin, Texas — Tiff’s Treats, the Austin, Texas-based brand that pioneered the warm cookie delivery concept, will open its first Oklahoma store on May 15, 2021. It will be located in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown district. Tiff’s Treats is known for
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— By Chris Birkinshaw — Limited-service concepts, high-quality food options take pole position for QSR buildouts. The COVID-19 global pandemic changed the landscape of many businesses. As we move forward with vaccines and a stronger understanding of how the
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