restaurants

Hurricane, W.Va. — On March 4, Buffalo Wild Wings GO — a fast, order-ahead destination built around the brand’s wings, sauces and shareables — opened in Hurricane, W.Va. This opening marks an exciting expansion of the brand’s footprint in West Virginia. Designed for speed, Buffalo Wild Wings GO focuses on the menu items guests crave most — traditional and boneless wings, chicken dippers, burgers, fried chicken sandwiches and wraps, cauliflower wings, fries, tater tots and desserts — all paired with 26 signature sauces and dry rubs. The Hurricane location features …

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Orlando, Fla. — Red Lobster has appointed Brad Hill as chief financial officer and executive vice president, transformation, and Kristen Briede as chief global development officer. Both executives will join the company’s executive leadership team and report to Red Lobster’s chief executive officer, Damola Adamolekun. “Red Lobster has made significant progress coming out of a challenging period, and we’re now shifting from stabilization to a disciplined, execution-led growth phase focused on optimizing the guest experience, driving operational excellence, accelerating real estate optimization and building a stronger platform for durable growth,” …

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Spartanburg, S.C. — Eggs Up Grill, a fast-growing “better breakfast” restaurant franchise, has appointed Kayla Money as chief financial officer. She brings more than a decade of financial leadership experience in the restaurant industry to the growing breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise. Money joins Eggs Up Grill from Denny’s Corporation, where she most recently served as senior director of enterprise FP&A and investor relations. Money’s appointment comes on the heels of record-setting momentum for Eggs Up Grill. In 2025, the brand opened 18 new restaurants, the most in company history, …

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Bradenton, Fla. — Mel Hope, the chief financial officer of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., has informed the company of his intent to retire later this year. The company has commenced a process to identify his successor, considering both internal and external candidates. It is expected that Hope will remain as CFO until his successor is in place to ensure a seamless transition and serve as an advisor to the company for a period thereafter. “Mel joined us with decades of experience and was invaluable in guiding our IPO process,” …

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Atlanta — Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only fast-casual chicken salad restaurant concept, is making its Nevada debut with a six-unit franchise agreement in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The deal marks the brand’s first development in Nevada and underscores continued momentum as Chicken Salad Chick strategically expands beyond the Southeast and into the growing Southwest market. Leading the development is husband-and-wife team Mark and Cayla Rubalcaba, longtime Las Vegas residents who will spearhead the rollout of six restaurants across the market. Their connection to Chicken Salad Chick began at …

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Houston — Shipley Donuts has signed four multi-unit deals to expand its national footprint, including in Las Vegas, its westernmost location, plus multiple new locations in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and New Orleans. Development plans include: • Three shops in Las Vegas, marking the brand’s first Nevada locations • Expansion of the brand’s Louisiana presence with five new shops in New Orleans • Three new Atlanta-area shops in Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs • Build-out of the brand’s Dallas-Fort Worth market with an agreement to open three additional shops throughout the area …

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San Diego — Mike’s Red Tacos, the celebrated San Diego-born beef Birria brand, is fueling rapid national growth with the launch of a dynamic franchising initiative. An accomplished team of restaurant industry leaders is spurring expansion through a strategic investment in the brand. Together with the original Mike’s Red Tacos founder, they have created remarkable momentum for the brand, securing development agreements with experienced franchisees from Dave’s Hot Chicken, Jersey Mike’s, Blaze Pizza, Dunkin’, Little Caesars, Carl’s Jr, Wetzel’s Pretzels, etc. that total more than 200 planned locations. Leading the …

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Austin, Texas — Loman AI, an industry-leading Voice AI phone answering platform for restaurants, has formed a new partnership with SpotOn, a leading restaurant technology company, that enables restaurants using SpotOn POS to deploy AI-powered phone automation across their operations. This integration transforms the phone from a chronic operational bottleneck into a scalable, always-on revenue channel for SpotOn users. Through this partnership, restaurants using SpotOn can now leverage Loman’s AI voice agent to automate inbound phone calls 24/7/365. Loman answers calls instantly, takes orders, books reservations, handles payment securely, answers …

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— By Jamie Tuinstra — Essential heating strategies for food halls and communal dining areas. Food halls and communal dining spaces have become essential gathering places, allowing patrons to enjoy great culinary variety in a lively, sociable environment. Such venues can be ideal for family outings, group meet-ups or simply for long, leisurely nights out. When winter arrives, though, these large, high-traffic environments face a significant operational challenge: maintaining a warm, comfortable atmosphere for guests without compromising safety or incurring excessive utility costs. Effective heating is not simply a matter …

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Dallas — Black Sheep Coffee, an international coffee brand with a rapidly expanding U.S. presence, has secured a 20-store multi-unit development agreement across the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex. The deal marks a significant step in the brand’s Texas growth strategy and continued expansion across the United States. The agreement will bring 20 additional locations to the DFW region over the next 5 years, with planned sites across Richland Hills, Bedford, Plano, Garland, Rowlett, Mobile City, Sunnyvale, Richardson and Sachse. The expansion builds on Black Sheep Coffee’s established footprint in North …

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