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CRISP & GREEN Opening First Arkansas Location in April

by Katie Lee

Minneapolis — On the heels of inking its largest development deal to date, STEELE BRANDS®, a Minnesota-based company that establishes and develops healthy lifestyle restaurants, will debut its CRISP & GREEN® concept in Arkansas this spring. The healthy fast-casual brand is slated to open in Bentonville in April, marking the first of five CRISP & GREEN restaurants planned for the state. The Bentonville location will catapult CRISP & GREEN into its busiest year to date, in which it is expected to more than double its restaurant count across 15 states …

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Vulcan Names Project Manager – Custom and Heavy-Duty Products

by Katie Lee

Baltimore, Md. — Vulcan, a leading provider of commercial cooking equipment, has named Alex Piñero as project manager – custom and heavy-duty products for the company. The new hire is part of Vulcan’s efforts to enhance the customer experience with a new design team. The new Vulcan design team is led by industry veteran Dan Montgomery, Vulcan’s director of consultant and design services. As the newest member of the design team, Piñero will be working with the company’s CAD/Revit Designer and will be the point of contact for the management …

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Shipley Do-Nuts Opens First Georgia Location

by Katie Lee

Houston — Shipley Do-Nuts, makers of gourmet, made-fresh-daily do-nuts for more than 85 years, is bringing its famous do-nuts to Georgia for the first time with the opening of its new location in Cumming at 3225 Keith Bridge Rd. The shop is locally owned and operated by Oziel “Ozzie” Rodriguez, who also owns Coal Mountain Package Store and Palapas Bar and Grill in Forsyth County, Ga. Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts is beloved throughout the South for its more than 60 varieties of fresh, hot do-nuts, as well as kolaches (savory breakfast …

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GPS Hospitality Announces Promotion to Region Vice President

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — GPS Hospitality, one of the nation’s fastest-growing BURGER KING®, POPEYES® Louisiana Kitchen and Pizza Hut franchisees, has promoted Nick Myhre to region vice president. In his new capacity, Myhre will oversee the operations of 41 restaurants in Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga, building on his impressive record of success within the company. Myhre joined GPS as a district leader in April 2016. Under his leadership, Myhre’s district went from last place in the company to become the top performer in 2019. He was named district leader of the year …

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Laxman Narasimhan Officially Assumes Role of CEO of Starbucks

by Katie Lee

Seattle — Incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan has assumed, officially, the role of chief executive officer of Starbucks, effective March 20. He will also join the company’s board of directors. Narasimhan was named incoming CEO on September 1, 2022, succeeding company founder and now former CEO, Howard Schultz. Following the global search for the new leader of Starbucks, Narasimhan joined the company as incoming CEO on October 1, 2022, bringing nearly 30 years of experience leading global consumer goods businesses and advising retail, grocery, restaurant and e-commerce companies. Over the past …

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Korean Street Food Concept, Jaws TPK, to Open First Location in the Eastern U.S.

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — Jaws TPK will be opening at Mall Corners in Duluth, Ga., marking the chain’s first location in the Eastern U.S. The growing international brand, which has brought its Korean street food concept to 250 locations in South Korea, has signed a 1,900-square-foot lease to open in third quarter 2023. Daniel Yi, vice president for Ackerman Retail, completed the lease on behalf of Jaws TPK. He is representing franchisor Boxete Group in finding additional locations in metro Atlanta. “This is a great location for Jaws TPK that gives the …

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Neat Burger to Open First Permanent U.S. Location in April

by Katie Lee

London — Neat Burger, a plant-based restaurant from London that aims to make the future of food sustainable and delicious, will be opening its first permanent U.S. location this April in the Nolita neighborhood of New York City. Backed by notable names such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Lewis Hamilton, Neat Burger currently has eight locations in the UK and one in Dubai. The first U.S. location comes on the heels of its successful pop-up location in New York City during summer 2022. All Neat Burger ingredients are ethically sourced; additionally, …

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Presto Collaborates with ChatGPT Creator to Enhance Drive-thru AI Voice Assistant

by Katie Lee

San Carlos, Calif. — Presto Automation Inc., the largest drive-thru automation technology provider in the hospitality industry, has formed a collaboration with OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company, to drive greater innovation around its drive-thru AI voice assistant. OpenAI’s ChatGPT API will be used to expand the feature set of the Presto’s drive-thru AI voice assistant (Presto Voice™), resulting in interactions that are more natural and human-like. Presto Voice uses advanced AI techniques including large language models (LLM) and generative AI to understand natural human language and offer logical …

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Minority-Owned RReal Tacos Eyes New Growth Across the Southeast

by Katie Lee

Atlanta — Entrepreneurs Miguel Hernandez and Damian Otero have created a marriage of the authentic flavors of Mexican street food along with the experience of a modern, high-energy taqueria at Rreal Tacos. Hernandez and Otero acquired the restaurant’s original Midtown Atlanta location in August 2021 from Adrian Villarreal, the brand’s founder and namesake. Since the purchase, they have expanded to three additional locations in West Midtown, Chamblee and Sandy Springs, growing their business with a 1,200% increase in sales, all without shouldering the burden of debt. “We’re completely debt-free. All …

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From Layout to Takeout

by Katie Lee

— By Zayn King-Dollie —   Utilizing mobile ordering and building design to capitalize on takeout trends.     Last year, The National Restaurant Association estimated that 2022 would have record-breaking sales revenue of $898 billion, a 12.4% increase from 2021 and 3.9% above pre-pandemic sales. The predictions signaled an optimistic future, but instead, many businesses now are facing additional hardships brought on by inflation. Even with higher sales, the industry profit margins are 11.5% lower than in 2019. A third of all restaurant operators expect sales revenue outcomes to …

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