Falls Church, Va. — Chicken salad restaurant concept Chicken Salad Chick has opened a new restaurant in Falls Church, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The first of eight units planned in the Northern Virginia suburbs of D.C., this marks the brand’s first entry into the market. Franchisee Devon Chamberlin will own and operate the units, with the next restaurant to be opened in Fairfax.
Austin, Texas and Orlando, Fla. — Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) has agreed to acquire Chuy’s Holdings (NASDAQ: CHUY) for $605 million in an all-cash transaction. The Tex-Mex restaurant chain — which owns and operates 101 full-service restaurants across 15 states — will join Darden’s existing restaurant portfolio, which includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, among others. Under terms of the merger agreement, Orlando-based Darden will acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s at $37.50 per share. The purchase price represents a 40 percent premium to the Austin-based company’s …
Dallas — Dallas-based food-and-beverage franchising company BRIX Holdings LLC has entered into an agreement with franchise owner Richard Stassi to open four new units in Arizona and Missouri. Stassi will open three Smoothie Factory + Kitchen and Red Mango co-branded shops within the next three years in metro Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. The first of the units is scheduled to open in early 2025. Franchisee Gary Patel signed the fourth deal with Stassi and will open a Red Mango store in Kansas City, Missouri, in early 2025, marking the first entry …
Pleasant Grove, Utah — Three new restaurant tenants have signed leases at Valley Grove, a $1.2 billion mixed-use development in Pleasant Grove. Upon full build-out, the project will comprise more than 1.5 million square feet of retail, office and hospitality space. The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, Rancherito’s and Wildside Bowls are now open at the property, occupying a total of 5,498 square feet. Cameron Simonsen of Colliers International represented Wildside Bowls in the lease negotiations. Jace Bankhead of Legend Partners represented The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, and Christopher Wilson of CRC …
Denver — Fast-casual food-and-beverage brand Smalls Sliders has signed a new, 10-unit franchise deal in Colorado, marking the concept’s first entry into the state. An entity doing business as Mountain Sliders LLC will own and operate the restaurants, which will be situated in metro Denver. Locations will include Boulder, Longmont, Greeley and Fort Collins, with the first unit scheduled to open in 2025.
San Diego — San Diego-based Jack in the Box has announced plans to open 15 restaurants in Georgia, marking the first entry into the state for the fast-casual brand. New sites have not yet been selected, but plans include a focus on the Macon, Augusta and Savannah markets. A franchisee will own and operate the restaurants. Jack in the Box also recently announced a commitment to 30 new units in Florida.
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Franklin Street: How to Navigate Current Retail Challenges and Future Opportunities
At the ICSC LAS VEGAS 2024 conference, Nelli Day of Retail Insight interviewed Monetha Cobb, chief marketing officer, and Greg Matus, senior vice president of investment sales, of Franklin Street, to discuss the prevailing challenges and future trends in the retail industry. Key Challenges in Retail The primary hurdle in the retail sector is the fluctuating market and rising interest rates, which have significantly slowed down transactions. Investors and developers are finding it tougher to secure deals as banks enforce stricter lending criteria. Despite a slight uptick in activity, …
At the ICSC LAS VEGAS 2024 conference, Nellie Day from Retail Insight spoke with Nate Tower, president and founder of Broad Reach Retail Partners, to explore the evolving landscape of retail and upcoming trends in the space. Broad Reach Retail Partners focuses on revitalizing underperforming shopping centers via a holistic, full-cycle approach that considers leasing, management, construction and acquisition. Tower emphasizes the importance of assessing a matrix of key performance indicators (KPIs) — including capital requirements, tenant mix and market demographics — to develop and execute effective business plans …
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NewMark Merrill: Harness Retail Data to Improve Customer Experience, Streamline Operations
Sandy Sigal argues that the evolving fields of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are a perfect fit for retail. “We generate the most relevant data on an everyday basis, and that data affects the outcomes and success of our centers,” explains Sigal. In a discussion on the pivotal role of technology in the retail sector, Sigal emphasizes that understanding customer behavior is paramount for shopping center owners. By leveraging technology to track customer movement and sentiment — where they come from, how long they stay, how they feel about …
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Moreno Valley: Hub for Growth and Opportunity
Located in Southern California’s Inland Empire, Moreno Valley has emerged as a significant growth center and a friendly home to retail. As highlighted by Melissa McClain, head of marketing & business attraction for the city, the area’s robust development is driven by substantial job creation and strategic planning. “Truly the catalyst for the growth in Moreno Valley has been jobs. We’ve created more than 34,000 jobs in the last eleven years. And because of that, we now have more than 7,700 single-family and multifamily residential units that are either …