In Other Business News

Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

• Couche-Tard Inc. is rebranding 12 Holiday Station stores in the Sioux Falls, SD, market to the Circle K brand.

• Delek US Holdings, Inc. announced Ezra Uzi Yemin will transition to the role of Executive Chairman. Avigal Soreq was named President and CEO.

• Enmarket Stations Inc. reported it is looking for a new President as Brett Giesick has left the company.

• Four B Corp. announced Scott Bayne has been promoted to COO. Gregg Frost has been promoted to Chief Teammate Officer. Mike Sullivan has been named VP of Operations for the Price Chopper banner. Bob Pearson has been named VP of Operations for the Hen House/Sunfresh/Payless brands. In addition, Pat Rogers has been promoted to Delicatessen Director.

• Foxtrot Ventures Inc. reported it will open four new locations in the Washington, DC, region before the end of 2022.

• GPM Investments LLC has expanded its DoorDash partnership to an additional 286 stores, expanding the service to 960 stores across 24 states.

• H&S Energy Products, LLC has acquired California Retail Management. The transaction includes 26 locations in Northern California.

• Hy-Vee Inc. announced it plans to expand into Tennessee. Plans call for an approximately 160,000 sq. ft. store to open in 2023.

• Meijer Inc. announced it plans to open two new supercenters in Brunswick and Canton, OH, on April 28.

• Minuteman Food Mart has entered into an agreement to purchase Friendly Mart Food Stores, an 18-store chain based in Mount Olive, NC.

• The Save Mart Companies has been acquired by Kingswood Capital Management LP, an “operationally minded” private equity firm based in Los Angeles.

Retail

• Academy Sports & Outdoors will open its first new store in two years this April, in Conyers, GA. The retailer plans to open 80 to 100 stores during the next five years.

• Batteries Plus Bulbs has plans to open 55 new stores across the country by year’s end. Target markets for development include the Northeast region and Southern California.

• BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. has partnered with DoorDash to offer on-demand grocery delivery from all its locations.

• CVS Health reported that Jonathan Roberts will retire as COO of in June.

• Five Below Inc. said it plans to open 375 to 400 new stores during the next two fiscal years, and 550 to 600 new stores over fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

• Glossier Inc. has opened a new store in Miami, FL.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. announced it plans to open 70 new stores this year, which includes 40 locations in international markets.

• Nike Inc. announced it will test a Jordan-only store concept in North America, starting in fiscal 2023.

• Orangetheory Fitness recently opened a new flagship location in Manhattan. The two-story, 6,800 sq. ft. space is twice the size of a typical Orangetheory studio, and the company’s largest studio in the world.

• Target Corporation is expanding its relationship with Levi Strauss & Co. The new initiative is rolling Levi’s brand out to an additional 300 stores, bringing the total to 800.

• True Religion Apparel Inc. has appointed Scott McCabe as Senior VP, E-commerce.

• Walmart Stores Inc. announced it will soon stop selling cigarettes in some of its U.S. stores. The retailer will remove cigarettes in various markets, including some in AR, CA, FL, and NM.

Restaurant

• Applebee’s franchise executive Wayne Pankratz has been fired over a leaked email that suggested higher gas prices would allow the restaurant to higher employees at a lower wage. Both Applebee’s corporate and the franchisee have denounced the email.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing RFID technology at their Chicago distribution center and surrounding restaurants.

• CKE Restaurants Inc. has hired Brandon Turner as Chief Financial Officer.

• Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is expanding into Toronto.

• Donatos Pizza has signed a franchise agreement to open 3 stores this year in Fort Myers, FL.

• Dunkin’ has collaborated with e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. to develop a new makeup collection based on popular doughnut flavors.

• Huey Magoo’s Restaurants has opened a new location in Montgomery, AL.

• Krystal will be opening their first location in Puerto Rico later this summer.

• Papa Johns is selling their interest in 90 locations to Sun Holdings LLC.

• Popeyes has re-opened their Canal Street location. The re-modeled locations features new digital options including kiosks.

• Red Lobster has hired Cijoy Olickal as Chief Information Officer.

• Shipley Do-Nuts has hired Jim Fisher as Senior VP of Supply Chain.

• Slim Chickens has opened a new location in Tuscaloosa, AL.

• Walk-On’s has hired Sam Patterson as Chief Financial Officer.

• Wendy’s has partnered with Meta’s Horizon Worlds to launch the virtual-reality Wendyverse restaurant on April 2nd. The virtual world allows users to tour a town square and a replicated Wendy’s restaurant.