Austin, Texas — Austin, Texas-based Tiff’s Treats has opened its 50th store, located in the Dallas suburb of Highland Village, Texas. A $25 million of investor funding in 2017 kicked off expansion into new markets across the U.S., including Atlanta, Nashville and, later this summer, Charlotte, N.C. “Hitting 50 stores, all company owned, is a meaningful achievement in our growth, and only the starting point of our growth to come,” says Tiff’s Treats co-founder Tiffany Chen, noting the 10 stores listed on the company’s website that will open soon and …
restaurants
San Jose, Calif. — Beginning in March, Togo’s store of the future — named Togo’s 3.0 — started gaining momentum thanks to the completion of both physical and operational renovations at its Emeryville, Fremont and San Jose, Calif., stores. The popular West Coast sandwich innovator completely remodeled one corporate and two franchise owned locations to dramatically improve the overall guest experience with faster speed of service and a more contemporary dining environment. “We wanted a store that reflected our nearly 50 years of leadership in the premium sandwich category,” says …
Atlanta — In July 2019, two-time James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson will debut By George, the flagship restaurant of The Candler Hotel (a Curio Collection by Hilton), offering an all-day menu of classic cuisine largely influenced by traditional French cooking. The name of the flagship restaurant reflects the work of the original architects of the historic Beaux Arts Candler building, circa 1906: George E. Murphy and George Stewart. Working alongside Acheson, chef de cuisine Ian Quinn will lead the kitchen and Beth Javis will head front-of-house as general …
Denver — Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a leading fast-casual Mediterranean franchise concept, has launched an aggressive franchise growth initiative to increase its presence across the U.S. Planning to add 50 new locations to the brand’s development pipeline annually, expansion will focus on territories from the Rocky Mountain states to the Midwest and down south through Texas. The concept has put itself on an impressive growth trajectory. GARBANZO recently completed two major franchising deals that stand to spark growth in key markets — a five-store deal for the Boston area, and a …
Eastvale, Calif. — Meghan McConaghy Chane of Riverside County, Calif., is the first home cook to be granted a permit to open an at-home restaurant in the United States. She is partnering with food-focused startup Foodnome to make it happen. “I was too afraid to work on a food venture before this,” says Chane. “We’d talked about a food truck, catering or a restaurant. The fear of the financial risk and the money you need up front, as well as all of the regulation and hoop jumping, felt really overwhelming.” …
Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. has successfully completed the acquisition of Elevation Burger for $10 million, which was funded through a combination of sellers’ notes and cash. With the acquisition, FAT Brands now franchises more than 400 restaurants around the world with annual system-wide sales exceeding $400 million. Elevation Burger was originally conceived in 2002 by Hans Hess as a healthier burger offering. Delivering authentic, sustainably prepared food, Elevation Burger offers grass-fed, free-range options that are better for consumers and for the environment. Elevation Burger franchises …
Frederick, Md. — Roy Rogers® Restaurants has successfully rolled out a new store design at its Westminster, Md., restaurant. The restaurant remained open throughout the renovations. Roy Rogers will next undertake updates at its test kitchen store in Frederick, Md., after which it will remodel one additional restaurant and open two new ones with the design before rolling it out systemwide. The new format features new lighting illuminating an exterior boasting a bolder logo presence, natural stone towers and new pylon and building signage. Inside, upgraded furniture, fixtures and equipment …
Greensboro, N.C. — Craig Hanson has been named vice president of operations at Biscuitville Fresh Southern®. Hanson comes to Biscuitville with more than 15 years of experience with medium- and large-sized quick-service and fast-casual brands. His experience expands to brands that include MOD Pizza, Dunkin Brands, YUM Brands, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s to name a few. What has made him so successful in helping to steer the operational aspect of these brands is his belief that success ultimately comes from its people and culture. “Craig is a veteran of …
Winston-Salem, N.C. — In early 2020, Krispy Kreme plans to open a first-of-its-kind flagship in Manhattan’s Times Square. The shop will serve more guests annually than any other Krispy Kreme location in the world. Within the shop’s 4,500-square-foot retail space, Krispy Kreme will bring its iconic doughnut theater experience to life on the world stage. From the mixing of raw ingredients to the iconic glaze waterfall, Krispy Kreme Times Square Flagship will showcase the end-to-end doughnut making process, creating a wondrously delightful customer experience. The shop will also feature the …
Seattle — LevelTen Energy has closed a three-project renewable energy portfolio purchased by Starbucks, comprising wind and solar farms in North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. The power purchase agreement portfolio will provide clean power to the electricity grids that serve more than 3,000 U.S. Starbucks stores and communities by 2021, when all three projects are online. The portfolio was purchased from developers ALLETE Clean Energy, Apex Clean Energy, BayWa r.e. and Cypress Creek Renewables. Custom-built for Starbucks using LevelTen Energy’s technology-enabled procurement platform, the portfolio aggregates three strategically-located power purchase …