restaurants

Phoenix — Peter Piper, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CEC Entertainment, LLC, which also owns Chuck E. Cheese and Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings, signed an agreement to acquire nine Tucson and one Phoenix-area Peter Piper Pizza restaurants owned by franchisee Southwest Pizza, Inc. Local Tucson family-owned Southwest Pizza, Inc., which has been a Peter Piper Pizza franchisee for nearly 40 years, decided to sell all its locations earlier this year. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Peter Piper, LLC, will take over the operations of these locations …

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New York City — Time Out Market, the world’s first food and cultural market rooted in editorial curation, has hired Jay Coldren as chief operating officer of the Americas. In this newly created role, he will report to CEO Didier Souillat and will be instrumental in expanding the footprint, driving efficiency and increasing profitability of the Time Out Market brand across the Americas. Coldren brings more than 30 years of hospitality experience spanning the restaurant, boutique hotel and gourmet retail segments. Most recently, he served as the executive director of …

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Alexandria, Va. — Fransmart, a global franchise development company, is expanding its leadership team with the appointment of seasoned food industry executive Don Baruch as vice president of franchise support operations. Baruch brings more than 25 years of franchise development and operations experience to the position. Most recently, he was vice president of development for BurgerBusters, a more than 150-unit franchisee of Yum! Brands with Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, as well as several other national brands. “An experienced franchisee, franchisor and franchise owner, Don brings a unique …

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San Diego — Jack in the Box, Inc. has named Doug Cook as senior vice president and chief technology officer after an interim stint in the same position. Cook brings more than 20 years of industry experience to Jack in the Box. Before joining Jack in the Box, he was with Pizza Hut and Sonic. Cook most recently served as interim chief technology officer of Jack in the Box, effectively leading the technology team and strategy during his interim period. Prior to that, Cook served as chief information officer at …

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— By Eric Symon — Keeping restaurants connected to enhance the customer experience.     One of the biggest challenges that restaurant owners face is implementing technological advancements to stay current with customer demands. According to a recent survey conducted by Panasonic, 100% of foodservice operators found that the COVID-19 pandemic intensified their sense of urgency to adopt transformational technology. As the industry experiences challenges with labor and an increase in customer preferences for touchless options, adopting such technologies is even more important. Additionally, today’s customer has new priorities whether …

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Atlanta — Papa John’s International, Inc. has promoted Max Wetzel to executive vice president, chief commercial officer. Wetzel joined Papa John’s in November 2019 as its chief commercial and marketing officer; in his new, expanded role, he will add North America restaurant operations, technology and insights to his responsibilities. “Over the past 2 years, Papa John’s has fully transformed itself from a turnaround story to an innovation-driven growth business with enormous development whitespace,” says Papa John’s president and CEO, Rob Lynch. “Over the same period, the pandemic also accelerated changes …

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Franklin, Tenn. — CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (CKE), owner, operator and franchisor of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, recently announced a new operating structure that combines restaurant operations and supply chain under John Dunion, a 25-year company veteran (pictured). The new structure drives focus on brand operations, accountability, ownership and execution across the U.S. business. “John is an excellent leader with a penchant for team building and moxie for driving successful business outcomes,” says CEO Ned Lyerly. “John knows our business inside and out, has an excellent rapport with our franchisees …

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Chicago — McHugh Construction has begun the highly anticipated historic renovation of Chicago’s Ramova Theater, a 36,000-square-foot project that includes restoring the theater and building out adjacent space for a new brewery and restaurant on Halsted Street. Originally built in 1929, the Ramova Theater has been vacant since 1985. In August, McHugh began selective demolition and investigation of existing conditions in the building, which will once again be a community anchor for the Bridgeport neighborhood following completion of construction in late 2022. “We’re honored that the public-private partnership of the …

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Minneapolis — Caribou Coffee®, a national premium coffeehouse and Panera Brands portfolio concept, has launched its domestic franchise program. Since its inception in 1992, Caribou Coffee has grown to more than 718 locations systemwide including 314 company-owned coffeehouses primarily across the Midwest. Caribou Coffee’s domestic franchise launch marks the first time interested candidates in the U.S. have an opportunity to own and operate coffeehouses which were previously only available internationally, through non-traditional or licensing. Industry-leading innovations in restaurant design have further positioned Caribou Coffee for nationwide expansion, including the 2019 …

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Mt. Prospect, Ill. — AllPoints, a global foodservice parts and supplies provider, recently hired Jim Nelson as senior vice president of sales. In his new role, Nelson will be responsible for leading the AllPoints sales team in driving new market penetration and for spearheading customer relationships. Nelson has over 20 years of experience driving company revenue and improving sales and operational performance. In his most recent role, Nelson was responsible for all brand sales in both retail and commercial channels and led his team to significantly increase both sales and …

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