Livonia, Mich. — TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants (TSFR) has promoted two team members to senior executive roles and hired a new vice president. John Andrews has been promoted to senior vice president of operations of the TSFR Casual Dine Division and Jeremy Braswell to senior director of operations for TSFR Applebee’s restaurants. Joining the TSFR team is Ryan Jones who will assume the role of vice president of operations for Olga’s Kitchen. “We are thrilled to recognize John and Jeremy for their growth and contributions to TSFR and to welcome …
restaurants
Nashville, Tenn. — 7-Eleven is debuting Tennessee’s first new-build store in the town of Murfreesboro, south of Nashville. The new store will be the very first to feature the convenience retailer’s two most popular restaurant concepts — the Laredo Taco Company® and Raise the Roost® Chicken and Biscuits — under one roof. Not only that, but the opening marks the expansion of the convenience retailer’s footprint in the state in a big way. The Murfreesboro location will be one of many stores opening in the greater Nashville area in 2021 …
Bradenton, Fla. — First Watch, an award-winning brunch concept, has opened the doors to its new corporate headquarters in the University Town Center area in Bradenton, Fla. The newly constructed 39,000-square-foot standalone building is located just off Cooper Creek Boulevard behind the BJ’s shopping center at 8725 Pendery Pl., a new street named for the company’s chairman emeritus and former CEO, Kenneth L. Pendery, Jr. “For decades, First Watch has had the distinct privilege and pleasure of calling the Suncoast our home. Ever since our founders made the decision to …
Wichita, Kan. — Fast-casual restaurant concept Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers® has added multiple new members to the development team, which will be led by Andrew Thengvall, who was recently promoted to chief development officer. For the last 6 years, Thengvall served as senior vice president of strategic growth & chief legal officer. Now he will oversee the company’s most recent additions including Mary Coots, director of franchise development, and Todd Phelps, director of franchise real estate. “Andrew Thengvall’s dedication to advising and strengthening the Freddy’s brand has been stellar …
Southlake, Texas — The first Toasted Yolk Café is coming to North Texas this fall. Paul Vernon at Henry S. Miller brokered the transaction. Located in Southlake’s Gateway Plaza Shopping Center, the 4,056-square-foot breakfast and lunch restaurant is slated to open late fall 2021 after renovations to the existing space and patio. Yolked LLC, a new franchisee group from Houston and Dallas, signed the lease. Ryan Patterson of Yolked LLC and his team scouted more than 50 locations across Dallas-Fort Worth and kept returning to Southlake, where they felt there …
Chicago — Chicago-based restaurant tech company 86 Repairs has closed an additional $5.3 million from investors including TDF Ventures, Gordon Food Service (GFS), MATH Venture Partners, Revolution and Cleveland Avenue. The new financing brings the company’s funding in this round to $7.3 million, and total capital raised to $8.8 million to date. Disrupting the $26 billion restaurant equipment repair and maintenance (R&M) industry, 86 Repairs automates the end-to-end repair and maintenance process for restaurants and provides actionable insights to improve back-of-house operations. The end result is significant time and cost …
Los Angeles — The Dolly Llama, the popular waffle and ice cream concept that currently dominates the Los Angeles dessert-scene with its own unique take on Hong Kong’s iconic Bubble Waffle, has inked two franchise deals for Tyler, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla. The two deals are the first for the newly franchised concept, which was founded in 2017 by French restaurateur and entrepreneur Samuel Baroux and real estate leader Eric Shomof, since partnering with DCV Franchise Group in late 2019. The Tyler, Texas, deal includes one brick-and-mortar location with locals …
Nashville, Tenn. — Carl’s Jr.® is turning 80 years old this year. Since Carl Karcher opened his first hot dog cart in Los Angeles in 1941, Carl’s Jr. has since grown into an innovative brand with an international footprint. “As a team member who has been with CKE Restaurants for more than 30 of Carl’s Jr.’s extraordinary 80-year history, I have had the honor to hold a front row seat to many iconic milestones this brand has achieved thanks to Carl Karcher’s dream,” says Ned Lyerly, CEO of CKE Restaurants …
Wichita, Kan. — JRI Hospitality, which operates four restaurant brands spread throughout the country, has opened a new 3,286-square-foot office in Wichita, Kan., to help continue its growth trajectory and added two senior-level executives who will work there. Mark Scholler has joined the company as its new chief development officer. Scholler previously served as senior vice president of franchise development for Freddy’s LLC — the parent company of the Freddy’s brand — since 2007. He has almost 50 years of restaurant experience over the course of his career. Scholler had …
San Francisco — Starbird Chicken, a super-premium fast food concept, has achieved its third year of positive same store sales growth, with 2021 YTD same store sales coming in at +75% over 2019 and +36% over 2020. The brand increased its location footprint by 28% in the first half of 2021 and is slated to enter multiple undisclosed locations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles within the next 24 months. This growth comes on the heels of a successful 2020 despite the pandemic, where Starbird Chicken reported a 36% …