Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

Free Trial• H&S Energy Products, LLC launched online ordering and home delivery in partnership with Vroom Delivery.

• Harps Food Stores Inc. has appointed J. Max Van Hoose as President of the company.

• Kum & Go L.C. will open its first store in Idaho in 2023. The company plans to open 20 to 25 stores in the Boise market over the next five years.

• Pilot Flying J announced a new partnership with General Nutrition Centers, Inc. The retailer is now providing one-the-go GNC essentials at 645 Pilot stores across the country.

• Save-A-Lot has named Leon Bergmann as its next CEO, effective in March.

• Southeastern Grocers announced plans to distribute more than 2 million free N95 masks to customers.

 

Retail

• Dollar General announced Dave Fentress has been promoted to VP of finance. Adam Zager has been promoted to VP, risk management. Donna Hernandez has been promoted to divisional VP of store operations. Jennifer Fletcher was promoted to VP, internal audit.

• The Home Depot Inc. announced that Edward Decker has been named as its new CEO and President, effective March 1.

• The Home Depot Inc. said it plans to hire more than 100,000 new associates ahead of its busy spring season.

• Lowe’s and Petco are partnering on a pilot program to open in-store Petco shops inside Lowe’s locations. The first one will open at the home improvement retailer’s store in Alamo Ranch, Texas, in early February, with 14 additional locations scheduled to open in Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the end of March 2022.

• Golf & Tennis Pro Shop Inc plans to open at least eight new PGA Tour Superstore locations in 2022, with the first opening in Tampa, FL. The company plans to expand into several new markets, including Charlotte, NC, Philadelphia, PA, and Rockville, MD.

• Tractor Supply Co. announced it plans to open 75 to 80 new stores and remodel more than 150 stores in 2022.

• Vitamin Shoppe Industries is opening its first-ever franchise store, located in Greensboro, NC.

 

Restaurant

• Bojangles COO Brian Unger announced his retirement no earlier than March 31.

• Brinker International Inc. has opened an urban kitchen in Manhattan that will offer delivery-only items from Chili’s and their virtual brand It’s Just Wings.

• Chronic Tacos has opened a new location in Monrovia, CA.

• CKE Restaurants Inc. has hired Eric Wyatt as Senior VP of Hardee’s Operations.

• Friendly’s is opening a fast casual prototype in Westfield, MA. The concept will feature an ordering counter and QR codes will be used to deliver food to tables.

• Frutta Bowls Franchising LLC has opened a new franchised grocery store-within-store location in Doylestown, PA.

• Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop has opened their first drive-thru-only location in Bartow, FL.

• Kitchen United has signed a deal with Simon Property Group to bring their ghost kitchens to Simon’s malls.

• Krystal has hired musician 2 Chainz as the brand’s Head of Creative Marketing.

• Legal Sea Foods will be opening a new location in Virginia Beach, VA later this year.

• On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina will be opening a new location in Dallas, TX in the spring of this year.

• Panera Bread has launched contactless dine-in at all restaurants through the company’s app.

• Paris Baguette USA Inc. is testing climate-controlled lockers for mobile orders.

• Pokeworks has announced a partnership with DoorDash to add a delivery location within the DoorDash Kitchens suite.

• Starbucks Coffee says that inflation and the omicron variant have impacted digital sales and caused the company to raise prices in January.

• The California State Assembly has passed The Fast Food and Accountability and Standards Recovery Act. The FAST Act would make franchisors liable for franchisee labor infractions and would create a committee to pass labor standards for the fast food industry.

• Velvet Taco is opening a new location in Houston, TX.

• Zaxby’s has opened a new franchised location in Melbourne, FL.