Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store
• Albertsons LLC is expanding upon its online delivery collaboration with DoorDash to introduce a new express grocery delivery service in under 30 minutes.
• Buc-ee’s Ltd. announced it will open its first store location in Tennessee. The 74,000 sq. ft. convenience store will be the company’s biggest location.
• EG America LLC will rebrand its Tom Thumb locations to its Cumberland Farms brand starting in May. The project will take two years and include 113 Tom Thumb locations and new locations across Florida and Alabama.
• Hy-Vee Inc. said it is expanding into Kentucky. Plans call for a 150,000 sq. ft. store to open in Louisville in 2023.
• Kroger has added a Kitchen United MIX ghost kitchen within a Houston location. This is the company’s second location to feature a ghost kitchen within the grocery store.
• MAPCO Express Inc. has exited the Louisville, KY, and Little Rock, AK, areas with the divestment of its convenience stores in those markets, to focus on its core markets.
• QuikTrip Corp. recently opened its newest remote travel center in Cottondale, AL. The location is the first QT store in Alabama.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. will open a 64,737 sq. ft. flagship store in San Francisco, CA, on March 10th.
Retail
• BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. has appointed Catherine Park as VP Investor Relations.
• BlueLinx Holdings Corporation has appointed Kevin Alan Henry as its new Chief People Officer.
• Dollar Tree Stores Inc. reported that Bob Sasser will retire as Executive Chairman.
• Target is upgrading their curbside service by allowing customers to receive Starbucks orders and return items through the service.
• The Sherwin-Williams Co. announced that it has appointed Heidi G. Petz as President and COO effective March 1, 2022. The retailer also announced that Justin T. Binns was named as President of the Americas Group, and Karl J. Jorgenrud was named President, Performance Coatings Group.
• Wayfair LLC announced Fiona Tan has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer, replacing Jim Miller. The company also reported Ashwin Rao was named as Chief Science Officer and Niraj Nagrani was named as VP of Global Supplier Marketplace, Pricing, Catalog and Merchandising Technologies.
Restaurant
• BurgerFi has partnered with Hughes Network Systems to upgrade and manage the company’s network infrastructure that includes digital signage and ghost kitchens.
• Church’s Chicken has promoted Claudia Lezcano to Senior VP of Marketing for the U.S.
• Fat Brands CEO Andrew Wiederhorn is under investigation by the SEC for compensation received during the company’s merger with Wiederhorn’s investment firm, Fog Further Capital Group.
• Firehouse Subs has hired Mike Hancock as COO.
• Inspire Brands has opened the first co-branded Dunkin’ and Jimmy John’s location. The store is located in the lobby of the company’s Atlanta Global Support Center and only offers digital orders.
• Juice It Up! has opened a new location in Madera, CA.
• Qdoba has signed a franchise agreement to add 30 locations to South Florida over the next 10 years.
• Slim Chickens has opened a new location in Bentonville, AR.
• Starbucks has launched three versions of their new BAYA Energy drinks that will be available in grocery stores. The drinks will be sold within Starbucks stores on March 1st.
• Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. is planning to speed up development and open five to seven restaurants a year.
• Texas Roadhouse is planning to increase their menu prices by 3% in April.
• Velvet Taco has hired Lee Evans as CFO.
• WaBa Grill has opened a new location in Calimesa, CA.
• Wendy’s will be launching breakfast at all Canadian locations in the spring.
