Long Island, N.Y. — Greek from Greece (GFG) Bakery-Café, an authentic fast-casual concept raising the bar of Greek cuisine in America, has finalized a deal that will rapidly expand its portfolio from 10 to 41 locations. Thirty of the new locations will open in Long Island, N.Y., and one will open in Stamford, Conn. The significant expansion fuels momentum for GFG Bakery-Café, which recently acquired and rebranded its biggest New York-based competitor and opened a new location in Tampa, Fla. The new GFG Bakery-Cafés will be housed in converted Dairy …
restaurants
Asheville, N.C. — Earth Fare, a privately held grocery chain that sells natural and organic products, says it will shutter all of its stores and launch a liquidation inventory sale. The grocer lists 46 stores on its website, the bulk of which are in Florida and its home state of North Carolina. Earth Fare also has five stores in the Midwest and a few others in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina. Earth Fare is also shuttering its corporate office in Asheville, N.C. The Wall Street Journal reported that …
Glenview, Ill. — ITW Food Equipment Group, a worldwide family of industry leading commercial food equipment brands, has promoted Axel Beck to lead the organization as executive vice president. Beck succeeds Lei Schlitz, who will now lead ITW’s automotive OEM segment. As head of ITW Food Equipment Group, Beck will oversee global management of the premier family of brands, including Hobart, Baxter, Vulcan, Traulsen, Bonnet, Foster and many others that support the needs of foodservice and food retail operations, from food preparation, refrigeration and cooking to ventilation, weighing, wrapping, dishwashing …
Broomfield, Colo. — Noodles & Company, known for serving classic noodle, Zoodle and Caulifloodle dishes from around the world, has refranchised nine Noodles & Company restaurants in Charlotte, N.C., and Orlando, Fla., to existing franchisee River City Restaurant Group (RCRG). In the deal that closed on January 29, 2020, RCRG laid out plans to also develop 22 new Noodles & Company units between 2021 and 2032. This year, it plans to open 10 to 15 new restaurants systemwide. RCRG, a franchise partner with Noodles & Company since 2004, led by …
Atlanta — Mamoun’s Falafel, the fastest growing Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant in North America and oldest falafel restaurant in New York City, opened its first Atlanta location on February 1, 2020. Located in the West Midtown Center, it is the first of six Mamoun’s Falafel franchise locations coming to the area. “We’re so happy to bring New York’s best falafels to Atlanta,” says franchisee Kalki Patel. “Mamoun’s serves authentic Middle Eastern food, and that’s something we’ve been missing here. The support team from Mamoun’s Falafel has given us all the …
Longmont, Colo. — Ziggi’s Coffee, with 21 café/drive-thrus across Colorado, Oklahoma and Arizona, plans to open in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Oregon and California — with 16 expected to open in 2020 — as it continues its expansion into new markets. “We’ve experienced exponential growth since we began franchising,” says the company’s co-founder, Brandon Knudsen. “My wife Camrin and I started this business as a small coffee shop on the corner of Main Street in downtown Longmont, Colo., and now we have 43 signed franchise agreements in seven states.” With 21 locations …
Frederick, Md. — Roy Rogers® Restaurants has charged into 2020 with a new strategic growth plan aimed at improving performance at existing locations, attracting more high-caliber franchisees, and opening new restaurants in both traditional and non-traditional locations. The company also plans to debut a new corporately owned and operated restaurant this year but will focus on expanding its franchise network as a primary means of system growth. Its aggressive 5-year plan calls for signing three to five new multi-unit development agreements per year. Initial recruiting efforts will target development in …
Nashville, Tenn. — Captain D’s, the nation’s leading fast-casual seafood restaurant, achieved significant growth and success in its 50th year, opening 15 new locations and signing 8 franchise development agreements with new and existing franchisees to expand its brand footprint throughout the Southeast, Midwest and Utah. “2019 marked our golden anniversary, where we celebrated 50 years of serving high-quality seafood at affordable prices,” says Phil Greifeld, president and CEO of Captain D’s. “As I reflect on the last decade that I’ve been with Captain D’s, I’m so proud of the …
Baltimore, Md. — Vulcan, a leading provider of commercial cooking equipment, and parent company ITW Food Equipment Group (ITW FEG) have named Chris Stern as its new vice president and general manager of cooking, North America, effective February 10. Mihyar Mohamed, who formerly held the position, will be transitioning to a leadership role in ITW’s Construction Products Segment. During his 23 years at Vulcan/ITW, Stern has consistently delivered strong results and developed and led high performing, collaborative teams. Stern began his career with Vulcan in marketing and was promoted through …
Downers Grove, Ill. — Sevan Multi-Site Solutions, Inc., a global leader in innovative design, program management, construction services and data analytics, recently finished refreshing its 14,000th restaurant. The 14,000th restaurant is the McDonald’s in Big Bear, Calif. Sevan’s 14,000 restaurant projects include McDonald’s flagship stores in Chicago and New York, the Century Boulevard Carl’s Jr. store in Los Angeles and the Taco Bell flagship in Chicago. For 8 years, Sevan has provided solutions for the world’s largest brands while accelerating development programs across the United States and Canada for multi-site …