In early March, Tampa, Florida restaurateurs Dave Burton and Ralph Santell have opened new Tampa Pizza Company (www.tampapizzacompany.com) locations in the former Pizza Fusion locations on ground floor of the Skypoint Condos building on N. Ashley Dr. in downtown Tampa and at the Westchase Town Center on W. Linebaugh Ave. in the Westchase area. The units are in the 2100 square foot range. Along with a choice of pizzas and toppings, the menu also includes seasonal appetizers, made-to-order sandwiches and wraps, chicken wings, etc. Takeout and delivery services are also available. The company has also introduced an expanded beverage program that includes a wine tap system. There are plans to expand the craft beer draft selection in early 2015….
The Woods Jupiter: Sports & Dining Club, the 8000 square foot full service upscale restaurant at the Harbourside Place project in Jupiter, Florida, is expected to open by May but professional golfer Tiger Woods is not able to use his full name on the banner, according to reports in Golf Magazine. Nike owns the rights to Woods’ full name. Developed by Allied Capital & Development of South Florida (561/799-0050), Harbourside Place is a major mixed use projects located on Jupiter’s Intracoastal Waterway……
Casual family dining franchise East Coast Wings & Grill (336/760-4985 www.eastcoastwingsfranchise.com) has named Stacey Kane as Vice President of Marketing. As an experienced marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience working with and building multi-unit restaurant chains, Ms. Kane will lead the marketing department and oversee the National Director of Unit Level Marketing, with immediate focus on implementing programs aimed at creating brand awareness, customer retention and new customer acquisition. “Stacey’s impressive track record in spearheading creative national campaigns as a restaurant marketer will help us continue creating awareness across the country as we further our franchise development footprint,” said CEO Sam Ballas. East Coast Wings & Grill has 82 locations currently operating or in various stages of development……….
Toronto, Ontario-based Slate Retail REIT (416/644-4264) has entered into a binding agreement to purchase City Center Plaza, a 97 percent occupied, 97,670 square foot grocery anchored shopping center in Westland, Michigan for $12.45-million. The property is anchored by Kroger. The acquisition is expected to be completed in second quarter 2015 and remains subject to customary closing conditions. Slate Retail REIT is an open-ended real estate investment trust with a growing portfolio that includes over 40 properties located primarily across the top 50 U.S. metro markets……
Super Food Truck (610/207-5993 www.jaxsuperfoodtruck.com) owners, Dale Stoudt and Richard Haugk, are in the development stages of a new ‘bricks & mortar’ restaurant concept, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. Super Food & Brew Inc. will open a 2600 square foot café concept on the ground floor of the 17-storey residential building at 11 East Forsyth St. at Main St. in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The restaurant would offer artisan coffee, pastries, locally grown produce, hormone-free meat and fresh fish along with a craft beer and wine list. Opening dates have not been confirmed….
In early March, Brian O'Connell was appointed Vice President of European Business Development at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Chanticleer Holdings Inc. (704/366-5122 www.chanticleerholdings.com), the owner and operator of multiple restaurant brands internationally and domestically. He will be responsible for pursuing opportunities to expand the company's Hooters footprint organically and through franchise development of its better-burger concept throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Chanticleer Holdings, O’Connell worked with J.P. Morgan on its Pan European sales desk in London and prior to that he worked at a number of investment firms in London including Prosdocimi, a boutique merchant bank. Chanticleer Holdings is a franchisee owner of Hooters restaurants in international markets including Australia, South Africa, and Europe and two Hooters restaurants in the United States. The company also owns and operates American Burger Co. and owns a majority interest in Just Fresh restaurants in the U.S………..
Toronto-based café concept SPoT Coffee (416/368-2220 www. spotcoffee.com) reports that the State of New York has approved its franchise registration. Effective immediately, SPoT will be offering prospective franchisees SPoT Café franchises and SPoT Express franchises throughout New York State. The company currently has a list of potential franchisees and will begin moving forward with new franchise locations forthwith. This new franchise program focuses on SPoT's regional expansion plan in the northeast United States. The company presently operates nine SPot Coffee cafes in New York State…….
Late in February, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (800/457-4779 www.krispykreme.com) opened its 1000th location in Kansas City in Kansas. Then, in early March, the company reported its financial results for its fourth quarter and year ending in early February. For its fourth quarter, revenues increased by 11.2 percent to $125.4-million for the quarter. The systemwide store count increased by 6.7 percent to end the quarter with 987 company owned and franchised locations and same-store-sales for the domestic locations was up by 3,6 percent. For the full year, revenues were $490.3-million, an increase of 6.5 percent and domestic same-store-sales increased by 3.1 percent. During the coming year, the chain anticipates adding ten to 15 net new company shops and ten to 20 net new domestic franchise locations. This is in addition to 95 to 110 net new international franchise units……...