After opening the TICO restaurant on the 14th St. corridor in Washington, DC last year, Boston Chef Michael Schlow has just opened a second casual dining restaurant in the area. Earlier in July, The Riggsby opened in the newly renovated Carlyle Hotel on New Hampshire Ave. NW in Dupont Circle. Featuring a fun yet sophisticated ambience, The Riggsby serves a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu of American dishes with European influences. The bar has an emphasis on classic, hand crafted cocktails, bar snacks and an extensive wine by the glass program. The bar and lounge area has seating for 40 guests, while the dining room seats 75 and a private dining area seats ten. In addition to the two Washington DC restaurants, Michael Schlow also operates restaurants in Boston and Wellesley in Massachusetts, Hanover in New Hampshire, Mashantucket in Connecticut  and in Los Angeles in California.  In the Fall, he will be opening a 7500 square foot Doretta Taverna & Raw Bar on the site of his former Via Matta restaurant in Boston’s Park Square. (The Riggsby - 202/234-3200 www.theriggsby.com) ….

In mid-July, take ‘n’ bake pizza franchise, Papa Murphy’s Holdings announced its 1500th opening. The location, at 2136 Wayne Memorial Dr. in Goldsboro in North Carolina, is the first Papa Murphy’s unit in the Goldsboro area owned by new franchise owner Rod Gumbish, formerly an Air Force Squadron Commander at the nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force base. The location features Papa Murphy’s CREATE store design that highlights the fresh, high-quality ingredients which are available daily on the ‘makeline’. The CREATE store format focuses on complete transparency and personalization, allowing customers to see their pizza as it is created. An open layout showcases the scratch-made dough prep area, hand-chopped vegetable toppings, and freshly-grated 100 percent whole-milk mozzarella cheese. The location features digital menu boards to enhance the customer experience and provide a resource for local messaging. (Papa Murphy’s Holdings – 877/747-7272, www.papamurphys.com)...........

Fund raising efforts are about to start for Coffee Right Meow, a new coffee shop concept where people can come to enjoy the company of cats, educate themselves on the ownership and proper cat play and behavior.  Partnering with a local volunteer based cat rescue, the café will be serving Florida-made coffee. The plans are to open the first Coffee Right Meow in the Orlando, Florida area by Spring 2016. (Coffee Right Meow – Brandy Illing (919/334-8688, coffeerightmeow@gmail.com)......

Atlanta, Georgia-based 24/7 family restaurant, the Huddle House is opening its first locations in New Jersey, reports NJ.com. Franchisees Alberto Goncalves and Dipen Desai announced that their plans are to open four restaurants over the next two years in the Newark, East Orange, Roselle, and Teterboro areas. The Huddle House has been identified as one that will be opening in the final phase of the Teterboro Landing mixed use project that will start construction in the Fall. The Huddle House features home-style, Southern-inspired recipes and presently operates more than 400 units in about 23 states. Huddle House – (770/325-1300, www.huddlehouse.com) ......

Earlier in the month, management firm PF Hospitality Group Inc. reported that it has completed its previously announced merger with Pizza Fusion Holdings Inc. Through the merger with Pizza Fusion, PF Hospitality Group has become a franchisor of pizza restaurants specializing in organic fare free of artificial additives, such as preservatives, growth hormones, pesticides, nitrates and trans fats. The Pizza Fusion brand offers health conscious alternatives and provides its customers with a 75 percent organic menu featuring an eclectic variety of gourmet sandwiches, salads, desserts, beer and wine.  Upon completion of the merger, Vaughan Dugan was appointed as the CEO of PF Hospitality Group and Randy Romano was appointed as President. David Kugelman resigned from his position as CEO and Director. Currently with 17 locations throughout the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, PF Hospitality is now testing new concepts it will develop and manage. The group has recently created Shaker & Pie, a new, interactive restaurant concept which combines wood-fired pizzas with healthy, hearty Italian-influenced street food, slated to launch in Q4 2015 out of Boca Raton, Florida. (PF Hospitality Group Inc. – 561/445-0447)…….

Texas Chicken, a sister brand to Atlanta, Georgia-based quick service Church’s Chicken, has opened its first restaurant in New Zealand, with the company planning to open multiple Texas Chicken restaurants nationwide in the next ten years. Westfield Manukau City Mall in Auckland, New Zealand is the site for the country’s first-ever Texas Chicken location. Construction is already underway o a second location, a freestanding unit that will open in November.  These are the first of what will eventually be a total of 20 Texas Chicken restaurants.(Texas Chicken/Church’s Chicken – 866/345-6788 www.churchs.com)......