Henderson, N.C. — Henderson, North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers has announced the first wave of reopenings for its newly obtained Big Lots locations. After Ohio-based Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2024, Variety Wholesalers acquired 219 Big Lots stores. Beginning April 10, nine stores will reopen across six states including Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The remodeled stores will feature a selection of closeout deals, new merchandise categories, apparel and electronics. Variety Wholesalers will reopen the remaining acquired locations in subsequent waves. Approximately 55 …
Company news
Santa Monica, Calif. — Prism Places has been selected to provide management services for Santa Monica Place, a 527,000-square-foot retail center in Santa Monica. Trigild was appointed the receiver of property in March 2025 after the center’s former owner, Macerich, defaulted on its $300 million loan in 2024. Originally designed by Frank Gehry, the center — which underwent a $265 million renovation in 2010 — features a variety of stores such as Free People, Tesla, Nike, Rolex and Uniqlo. Prism Places also manages Pasadena Commons, Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara …
Atlanta — HOA Restaurant Group, parent company of restaurant chain Hooters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, entering into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) that will facilitate the continued operation of the company’s restaurants under new ownership. A partnership between two existing Hooters franchises, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, reached an agreement with Hooters of America (HOA), to acquire more than 100 HOA-owned Hooters restaurants, which, when added with the franchisees’ existing holdings, will account for approximately 70 percent of Hooters’ domestic locations. Upon completion of the Chapter 11 …
Grants Pass, Ore. — A little over a month after unveiling its 1,000th retail location, drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros Inc. is expanding its operations with goals to reach 2,029 shops by 2029. Originating in 1992 as a pushcart by the railroad tracks in downtown Grants Pass, Dutch Bros opened its first franchise in 2000. Dutch Bros Coffee now has a significant presence in the Pacific Northwest and is expanding with more locations across the United States, moving eastward to Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia. Looking further out, Dutch Bros …
San Francisco — T&T Supermarket, the largest Asian grocery retailer in Canada, is expanding to San Francisco. Situated at San Francisco’s City Center shopping mall, the new store — which is scheduled to open in winter 2026 — will be the chain’s second location in the Bay Area, following an upcoming opening in San Jose, and its fourth in the U.S. Formerly occupied by Best Buy, the 50,000-square-foot store will offer customers more than 200 T&T private label brand options, street food-style meals, a bakery and a sushi counter. Founded …
Chesapeake, Va. and New York City — Dollar Tree Inc. has agreed to sell the Family Dollar business segment to Brigade Capital Management LP and Macellum Capital Management LLC for $1 billion. The sales price represents a fraction of the $8.5 billion that Dollar Tree paid for the discount brand in 2015. Family Dollar will remain headquartered in Chesapeake. Family Dollar, which caters to low-income customers with its roughly 8,000 U.S. stores, has struggled in recent years. In March 2024, Dollar Tree unveiled plans to close approximately 970 underperforming Family Dollar …
Atlanta — RCG Ventures (RCG) has acquired the first phase of a $1.8 billion multi-tenant retail portfolio from Global Net Lease, Inc (GNL). The first phase, which comprises 59 properties, was purchased for $1.1 billion. Truist Bank and Key Bank provided a new loan facility for the transaction, while Ares Management Alternative Credit, Koch Real Estate Investments and Goldman Sachs Alternatives provided equity investments. RCG expects to complete the sale of the remaining 41 properties in two additional phases by the end of the second quarter of 2025. McGuireWoods LLP …
Orlando and Tampa, Fla. — Phenix Salon Suites has opened two new facilities in Florida. The first facility, located within Orlando Square Shopping Center in Orlando, is owned and operated by Alex Bello and Miguel Guerra. The second facility, which marks Phenix’s first location in the metro Tampa area, is located within Carrollwood Center in Tampa and is owned and operated by Cynthia Foreman and Christopher Foreman. Phenix Salon Suites currently has more than 21 open locations in the Orlando and West Florida regions.
Grand Rapids, Mich. — One-stop shopping concept Meijer will open three new supercenters in Northeast Ohio. The 159,000-square-foot stores will be located in Austintown, Medina and Richmond Heights, bringing the Michigan-based retailer’s store count to 58 in the state. The supercenters will offer customers fresh produce, bakery, meat, seafood and deli departments, a garden center and home goods section, as well as a full-service pharmacy. Additionally, a Meijer Express gas station will open adjacent to the Austintown location on April 10. The new supercenter locations are scheduled to open May …
Hudson, Ohio — GA Group and A&G Real Estate Partners plan to auction 790 JOANN store leases and five distribution centers in 49 states in April. The plans follow JOANN’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in January, the second bankruptcy filing for the retailer within 12 months. GA Group was selected to monetize all of JOANN’s assets and has begun winding down ongoing operations at all the retailer’s locations. The majority of JOANN stores will stay open for going-out-of-business sales through May 2025, or until supplies run out. The leases range in size …