North Las Vegas, Nev. — Diversified Restaurant Group is opening the first Taco Bell Go Mobile location on the West Coast in North Las Vegas on July 18. The unit is the first of its kind to have two drive-thru lanes, one fully dedicated for mobile orders and delivery drivers. The store is located at 2224 E. Craig Rd. In North Las Vegas. “Taco Bell is a significant part of the DRG portfolio and we are thrilled to be art of the exciting growth and evolution of the brand by …
— By Jay Fiske — Optimizing facilities in the “new normal.” Facilities managers responsible for dozens of restaurant or retail sites have always needed “multiple pairs of eyes” to ensure every location is operating optimally. Now, the need is more acute with staff shortages. When wait staff or store managers are working double duty to please every customer, it’s easy for them to forget about other tasks — from turning down the air conditioning to switching off the lights or sanitizing every surface. Those small details, over time, can …
Las Vegas — Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and Wing Zone signed 18 new franchise agreements during the second quarter which will add 62 stores — 37 Capriotti’s and 25 Wing Zones — across the country. The brands have more than 430 stores under development, with 90 set to open between the two brands by the end of 2022. New markets for Capriotti’s include Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Las Vegas, and the Inland Empire and Bay Area in California. Wing Zone will expand to Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Sacramento, Houston, …
Dallas — Smoothie King has appointed Chris Bremer as its new chief development officer. He will be responsible for implementing strategies to meet Smoothie King’s ongoing expansion plans and overseeing the franchise development, real estate, design and construction departments. He joins Smoothie King from Nothing Bundt Cakes. “We are thrilled to welcome Chris Bremer to our executive leadership team,” says Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King. “Chris is an exemplary, purposeful leader, possessing a passion for leading teams in the food & beverage and hospitality industries and will undoubtedly make …
Chicago — On July 13, McDonald’s has expanded its global senior leadership team. According to CEO Chris Kempczinski, Jill McDonald will be returning to McDonald’s as executive vice president and president, IOM, overseeing the company’s five largest wholly-owned international markets and its IOM Business Unit, consisting of its remaining wholly-owned international markets. McDonald formerly served McDonald’s as chief marketing officer for its UK business and Northern Europe, and later became the managing director for its UK business and president, Northern Europe. In her tenure, she sustained strong performance across all …
Boston — Toast, the all-in-one digital technology platform built for restaurants, has acquired Sling, a leading employee scheduling, communication and management solution. Through features including scheduling templates, in-app messaging and multi-location team management, Sling helps restaurants staff more efficiently and better manage labor costs. The addition of Sling adds to Toast’s growing suite of Toast Payroll & Team Management products, including Toast Payroll, Toast Tips Manager and Toast Pay Card & PayOut. Through its Team Management Suite, Toast can empower restaurants to simplify scheduling and communication across their team, control …
Washington, D.C. — Cracked Eggery’s newest location in Washington D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood is now open. Designed by local architecture and design firm //3877, the 1,609-square-foot space marks the second flagship location for the Cracked Eggery brand, beloved for its iconic food truck and Cleveland Park location. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Cracked Eggery features a curved ordering counter, offset by the floating, partial-height wall. A bar stool area and banquette seating sit below high ceilings scaled by shelves with pops of greenery. The retro, marquee-style lit signage …
Naples, Fla. — Beyond Juicery + Eatery is expanding beyond its Midwest roots, inking a multi-unit agreement to develop two locations in Southeast Florida. Wall Street veteran and business leader Steve LaFontaine will open the brand’s first Florida location in Naples. “Through decades of experience, I’m very familiar with the operational and brand support needed to make a business successful — and it was clear from the start Beyond Juicery + Eatery had that and more,” says LaFontaine. “Behind every growing brand is a passionate founder. Mijo was one that …
Spokane, Wash. — Wenspok Companies is a Wendy’s franchisee based in Spokane, Wash., encompassing 67 restaurants in the United States. All 67 locations are leveraging Squadle’s digital operations and food safety software, and five locations recently piloted Squadle’s Remote Temperature Monitoring (RTM) system. With so many locations, equipment breakdowns are a constant headache. Wenspok chose Squadle RTM to improve equipment health awareness, ensure 100% compliance on food safety and prevent waste. After seeing beneficial results across five locations, Wenspok quickly rolled out RTM in its remaining 62 locations to achieve …
Wilmington, N.C. — Clean Eatz, one of the nation’s leading wellness concepts in the QSR space, is on pace to achieve a rate of expansion in 2022 that will surpass any year prior for the restaurant franchise. The guiding metric for the brand’s success leading into 2023 is to establish 100 active locations by year-end. The franchise has signed 15 new agreements over the course of the past several months, bringing the total in development to over 80 headed into the third quarter. In addition, the brand has seen five …
