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Veeve and Albertsons Partner to Expand AI-Powered Shopping Carts

by Katie Lee

Seattle — Veeve Inc., a leading retail technology startup, has formed an agreement with Albertsons Companies that will make Veeve Smart Carts available to customers at a few dozen stores across the country. Once launched later this year, consumers will be able to use the smart carts to skip the checkout line with a fast, convenient and contactless way to shop. Veeve Smart Carts feature a touch screen that provides a running total for in-cart items and a built-in scale for easy produce purchase. The tech-enhanced carts will also integrate …

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franchise developmentNewspeoplerestaurantssoftware/technology

Zaxby’s Hires CDO and Elevates Interim Chief Digital & Technology Officer

by Katie Lee

Athens, Ga. — Zaxby’s, the premium quick-service restaurant brand founded in Athens, Ga., has hired industry franchising veteran Mike Mettler as its new chief development officer, while Mike Nettles, interim chief digital & technology officer, has been elevated to the position long term. “Franchising growth requires four things. A strong business model, a solid culture, passionate franchise owners and strategic areas to develop — Zaxby’s has them all,” says Mettler. Adds Nettles: “Zaxby’s has had a great ride thus far, but digital accessibility will be our ‘secret sauce’ for the …

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Golden Corral Partners with SMG

by Katie Lee

Kansas City, Mo. — Service Management Group (SMG), an enterprise customer and employee experience management partner to more than 500 brands, has added a new customer experience partnership with Golden Corral. America’s largest buffet and grill restaurant brand chose SMG for its dedicated professional services, restaurant industry expertise and robust technology platform. “As our brand builds upon our comeback, and creates the strategic building blocks of our future growth, it will be critical to maintain a pulse on how our guests feel about their Golden Corral dine-in and off-premise experiences,” …

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Industry Voicesretailerssoftware/technology

Are You Experienced?

by Katie Lee

— By Charlie Meyer — How brick-and-mortar retailers can leverage in-store technologies to beat the online competition.   The last 2 years have been absolutely awful for owners of physical stores. Online competition has been around for decades, of course, but during the pandemic things have gotten even worse for independent stores, franchises and chains. Thanks to an ever-shifting world of lockdowns, social distancing requirements, mask mandates and constant battles between government agencies and health departments at the federal, state and local level, merchants have been at a disadvantage against …

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Power…Full

by Katie Lee

— By David Sansenbach — Efficient energy management requires high-quality power, not just high-quality equipment.   For businesses in an industry that operates on tight margins, restaurants have incredibly intensive energy demands that continuously increase costs and challenge the bottom line. Estimates from the last decade show restaurant spaces require an average of 38 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power per square foot of space, with quick-serve restaurants in particular surging to even steeper costs of 81 kWh per square foot. A fair share of this energy is consumed by critical electronic …

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C-Store Chain Adopts Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Self-Checkout in 50 Stores

by Katie Lee

Greensboro, N.C. — Pete’s of Erie Inc., a convenience store retailer with 50 stores across Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, has selected Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Passport® Express Lane™ self-checkout system to elevate the overall customer experience and store efficiency. The brand will install Express Lane in all 50 stores along with the CPI Paypod cash recyclers to ensure all forms of payment including cash, card and contactless options are available to customers. “Busy stores create new challenges in the shopping experience and we’re no different,” says Doug Mercer, information technology director. “Self-checkout allows us to maintain the …

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Immersive Entertainment 2.0

by Katie Lee

— By Chris Roy — The next level of tech experiences for retail and restaurant venues.   Before the pandemic, immersive entertainment was an emerging trend in the retail sector. After a year and a half of reduced experiences, consumers’ appetite for this type of entertainment is stronger than ever. To slake this appetite, retail entertainment stakeholders are seeking increasingly tech-oriented features at their properties. In fact, there is a call for technology that enables all-encompassing immersion with more nuance. We live in an increasingly digital world, and people expect …

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Newspeoplerestaurantssoftware/technology

FAT Brands Names Chief Information Officer

by Katie Lee

Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. has hired its first chief information officer, Michael G. Chachula. Chachula joins FAT Brands with over 25 years of senior management experience in business and technology and will be focused on delivering scalable, sustainable and efficient technology platforms across the portfolio and franchise system to aid in the growth of the company. A seasoned executive with experience across the financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and hospitality industries, Chachula has a track-record of identifying and implementing innovative technological solutions that drive further …

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SWIPEBY’s Restaurant-Centric Technology to be Deployed for First Time at C-Stores

by Katie Lee

Winston-Salem, N.C. — SWIPEBY, a holistic off-premises platform for curbside, pickup and delivery, has launched an initiative to start deploying its technology platform at convenience stores for ordering and in-store pickup as c-stores work to take back ownership of off-premise purchasing using the ordering platform that has been proven in the restaurant space. The effort is underscored by a deployment of the platform at Quality Marts in Winston-Salem, N.C., this month and other c-store chains in New England and the West Coast over the next few months. This is the …

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Paytronix Platform Deployed Across All Aloha Poke Co. Locations

by Katie Lee

Newton, Mass. — Paytronix Systems, Inc., an advanced digital guest experience platform, has teamed up with Aloha Poke Co., a premier fast-casual poke restaurant concept. Aloha Poke Co. has deployed the full Paytronix platform, including loyalty, order and delivery, and a white-labeled mobile app, to both its company-owned restaurants as well as a growing number of franchise locations. The points-based Aloha Rewards program encourages guests to spend and earn rewards that can be redeemed for bowls. “Aloha Poke Co. selected Paytronix because it is an all-in-one system that includes loyalty, order and delivery …

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