Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store
• Albertsons LLC has begun providing rapid COVID-19 molecular testing at more than half of its pharmacies under a partnership with Cue Health.
• Bristol Farms has debuted its first Bristol Farms Newfound Market in Irvine, CA. The 34,000 sq. ft. store combines a food hall featuring seven of its own chef-created restaurant brands with Bristol Farm’s signature grocery market.
• GPM Investments LLC has promoted Ruth Ann Lilly to the position of Senior VP of Marketing and Merchandising.
• Krasdale Foods Inc. announced Chris Lavoy is joining the company as VP of its Bravo Florida supermarket banner.
• SpartanNash Company announced that David Sisk has been promoted to Chief Customer Officer, a newly created position.
Retail
• Allbirds has opened a new 7,100 sq. ft. flagship store in New York City, the retailer’s largest store yet.
• Amazon.com Inc. is opening its first same-day fulfillment center in Massachusetts.
• Foundation Building Materials LLC has entered into New Mexico after completing its acquisition of L&P Building Supply.
• Foot Locker Inc. has appointed Samantha Lomow to the new position of President, Global Brands.
• House-Hasson Hardware Co. Inc. has named William Hauge as Senior VP in addition to his role as CFO.
• The J. Jill Group Inc. announced it expects up to 10 net store closures in 2022.
• Macy’s Inc. will open 37 new Macy’s store-within-store Backstage locations nationwide through June 2022.
• The Neiman Marcus Group announced it has named Katie Anderson as Exec VP and CFO, effective April 4. She was previously at Guess? Inc.
• Nordstrom Inc. announced it is opening two new Nordstrom Rack locations this fall in Phoenix, AZ, and in Riverside, CA.
• Swarovski North America has signed a lease to open a flagship store in Manhattan, NY. The two-level location will be 14,000 sq. ft. and is scheduled to open in November 2023.
• Tailored Brands, Inc. reported that John Tighe, Exec VP and Chief Merchant, has been promoted to President of the company.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and VillageMD reported they will open three new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in the Southern New Hampshire area by the end of summer 2022.
• Warby Parker Inc. announced it expects to open 40 new stores in 2022.
• Weyerhaeuser Co. announced it will open a new distribution center in San Antonio, TX, in 2023.
Restaurant
• BurgerFi is testing in-car commerce that will allow customers to order from their 4-G integrated vehicles in exchange for data and tracking information from the user.
• Chick-fil-A announced that they will be turning their used cooking oil into renewable transportation fuel through a partnership with Darling Ingredients.
• Fazoli’s has signed a franchise agreement that will bring 9 new locations to Phoenix over the next 3 years.
• First Watch has raised their menu prices by 3.9% and cited inflation and rising costs as the cause. The company bucked the industry price hike trend last year by refusing to raise prices.
• Grubhub is being sued by the District of Columbia for false advertising relating to their fees and app charges.
• MooYah Burgers & Fries has hired Sarah Beddoe as VP of Marketing.
• Mountain Mike’s Pizza has opened a new location in Woodland, CA.
• Sbarro is planning to expand into convenience stores and travel centers later this year.
• Sweetgreen will be opening their first drive-thru lane called the ‘Sweetlane’ later this year. The drive-thru will be pick-up only requiring customers to place an order digitally first.