Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Stores
• Buc-ee’s Ltd. announced it will open its first location in Colorado this month in Johnstown.
• Fareway Stores Inc. reported it plans to open its first store location in Kansas.
• Garden of Eden has opened its third grocery store, in Manhattan, NY.
• Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. plans to open up to 60 new stores in 2024.
• TravelCenters of America Inc. will open its 300th location this week in Walton, KY. The company plans to open 20 new locations this year.
• Valor Oil announced it is opening 3 new convenience stores in Indiana and Kentucky.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has hired Lanesha Minnix as its new Exec VP and Global Chief Legal Officer.
• Wawa Inc. reported it plans to open more than 70 new convenience stores in 2024, including the company’s first locations in three new states: Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.
• Weis Markets Inc. has promoted Mike Umstead to the position of VP of talent development and associate relations. He succeeds Robert Cline who is retiring.
Retail
• Boise Cascade LLC announced Mike Brown, Exec VP of Wood Products, will retire. Troy Little will be promoted as his successor. Erin Nuxoll, Senior VP of Human Resources, will also retire, and Angella Broesch will be promoted to the position.
• CVS Health has recently partnered with Grubhub as another option for delivery to customers.
• Dollar General Corp. opened its 20,000th store location this week in Alice, TX.
• House-Hasson Hardware Co. Inc. has named Wayne Walls as VP of Operations.
• Macy’s Inc. reported it will close approximately 150 underproductive Macy’s stores, including 50 by the end of the year. The retailer also plans to open 15 new Bloomingdale’s and 30 Bluemercury Inc. locations by 2026.
• The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack has named David Willetts as its new CEO. He replaces Scott Collette.
• Pet Supplies ‘Plus’ Inc. has partnered with DoorDash to offer delivery service to its customers.
• Rent the Runway has named Natalie McGrath as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
• R.P. Lumber Co. Inc. announced it is acquiring Schrock Lumber Co.
• The TJX Companies Inc. announced it plans to open 45 new Marshall’s and TJ Maxx stores, 40 new HomeGoods stores, including 17 HomeSense stores, and 26 Sierra Trading Post stores this year. The retailer plans to open 10 new stores in Canada.
• Vuori Clothing reported it plans to open 25 new store locations this year and next year.
• Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming announced it will open new store locations in two new states, Michigan and Oregon, early next year.
Restaurant
• Applebee’s is planning to launch a new prototype in 2025. There are few details on what the prototype will add, yet the company says it will streamline the guest experience.
• Del Taco is ending its use of AI voicebots in drive-thrus. The company has been using the technology since 2022 and planned to expand its use last year. The company has not commented as to the reason for this change.
• Golden Corral suffered a data breach last August and the company has revealed that sensitive information like employee names and Social Security numbers.
• Panera Bread is planning to launch a menu overhaul in April. The company will be adding nine new dishes and upgrades for twelve existing items, yet they will be eliminating existing pizza items.
• Nathan’s Famous has signed a franchise agreement to bring physical locations to Brazil by the end of 2024.
• Wendy’s has faced backlash this week after discussing the potential of their digital menu boards that have the ability to change prices on the fly. Consumers have run with the term “surge pricing” to outline how items could increase in price for lunch and dinner times. Wendy’s has stated that this was a misunderstanding and they have no plans to raise prices based on the time of day.
