Dallas — Cheeseburger concept Smalls Sliders has signed an agreement with hospitality group Om Texas to open five restaurants, dubbed “Cans,” in metro Dallas. This marks the second multi-unit franchise deal in the city for the brand. Potential locations include Mesquite, Garland, Rockwall, Greenville, Murphy, Rowlett and Richardson, with the first store scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2024. Smalls Sliders opened its first Can in 2019 and currently has more than 160 restaurants open or under development.
Company news
Dallas — TGI Fridays has announced plans to close 36 restaurants in markets throughout the country. The stores were designated “underperforming” in a press release issued by the Texas-based company. “We’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations,” says Ray Risley, U.S. president and chief operating officer of TGI Fridays. Currently the brand operates more than 650 restaurants in 51 countries.
Jericho, N.Y. — Kimco Realty has closed the acquisition of RPT Realty. The acquisition includes 56 open-air shopping centers comprising 13.3 million square feet of gross leasable space, adding to Kimco’s existing portfolio of 527 properties. Kimco and RPT first entered into the agreement Aug. 28 of last year. The all-stock transaction includes the assumption of debt and preferred stock and will result in an earnings accretion of roughly $34 million, approximately 85 percent of which is expected to be realized in 2024.
Chicago — Chicago-based real estate investor and operator Northpond Partners has partnered with a Southeast U.S. pension fund to form Northpond Retail Partners, a $200 million investment vehicle. The fund will target the acquisition of unanchored neighborhood retail centers with an initial focus across the Southeast and select Sunbelt markets. As an all-cash buyer, the partnership will target properties housing convenience, necessity and service-oriented tenants. Categories typically include food and beverage, medical, fitness, and health and beauty. Northpond says the multi-tenant properties ideally contain smaller spaces ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 …
Princeton, N.J. — The Container Store Group has opened a store in Princeton, New Jersey, marking the 100th location for the brand. The store features the retailer’s small-format design, which averages 12,500 square feet and includes a full Custom Spaces Studio. The Container Store is also scheduled to open a store next spring in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Japanese fast-casual concept Pepper Lunch has signed two deals to open 20 restaurants in Florida and Hawaii. The first agreement includes plans for 10 units in Florida in the Tampa, Orlando and Gainesville markets. The Majestic Restaurant Group will operate the restaurants, with the first opening scheduled for the third quarter of 2024. In Hawaii, NiKU LLC will develop an additional 10 restaurants. The opening of the first unit is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, with initial development focused on Honolulu and the greater island of Oahu. Established …
Philadelphia — PREIT (OTCQB: PRET), a mall REIT giant based in Philadelphia, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The “prepackaged” bankruptcy was agreed to ahead of time by PREIT’s creditors, which will shorten the duration of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. PREIT expects it will be able to emerge from bankruptcy by early February 2024. PREIT owns and operates 18 malls in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolinaand South Carolina. The company has also expanded in recent years to the multifamily, hotel and healthcare sectors. According to PREIT’s third-quarter financial …
Los Angeles and New York City — Apparel retailer BOGNER has opened two stores in Los Angeles and New York City, marking the first locations in the country for the German brand. Located on Madison Avenue, the New York City store comprises 3,400 square feet, and the Los Angeles store occupies 2,500 square feet on the Sunset Strip.
New York City — An investor group comprising Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management has made a bid to buy out Macy’s (NYSE: M) for $5.8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The offer from two of the retailer’s largest shareholders would include taking the company private. Real estate investment firm Arkhouse and global asset manager Brigade submitted the acquisition proposal Dec. 1, according to the publication. Macy’s boasts a total real estate portfolio value of $8.5 billion, according to J.P. Morgan analysts cited by Reuters. Equating to $21 per share, the …
Chicago, Ill. — McDonald’s plans to expand its presence to comprise 50,000 restaurants by the end of 2027. This will mark the fastest period of growth for the brand according to the company, which announced the planned expansion in its Investor Update and a subsequent press release. Part of McDonald’s “Accelerating the Arches” strategy, the growth will include an expected 1,000 gross restaurant openings in the United States and internationally in 2027.