Convenience or C-stores offer a good business model: convenient locations, a mix of merchandise, and smart pricing. With their rise in recent years, some are beating out other retailers, according to another GlobeSt.com report. Many aren’t quite as well known as the big examples such as 7-Eleven and Circle K yet have clout in their...
Taco Bell recently unveiled a 2.0 version of its digital-forward Go Mobile restaurant, about three years after the initial concept was introduced in the throes of the pandemic. The updated asset will play a big role as the chain targets 10,000 units “in the coming years,” and will also support parent company Yum Brands’ goal...
More quick-service restaurant visits are happening at night. McDonald’s and Wendy’s reported a surge in late-night sales from the first quarter to the second. At Jack in The Box, 19.2% of second-quarter sales happened between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., compared with 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to Placer.ai. At Taco Bell, 15.2% of second-quarter...
Commercial real estate has long been a favored investment option, offering the potential for stable income streams and capital appreciation. Among the various commercial property types available, gas stations and convenience stores (c-stores) have gained prominence in recent years. One key reason for this is the significant tax advantages associated with owning such properties, particularly...
Macy’s announced the locations of four new small-format stores scheduled to open in fall 2023. These openings mark the first expansion of its small-format locations into the Northeast and Western regions of the United States, with openings in Boston, Las Vegas and San Diego. With small store opening momentum growing in the Midwest, the expansion...
There are signs of distress in CRE markets — jumps in distressed loan statuses and banks increasing CRE charge-offs — and yet the big wave of distress that everyone has been expecting doesn’t seem to have come. Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji has said that all asset classes other than office have healthy fundamentals...
QDOBA, America’s #2 fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, is planning for rapid expansion. With 750 restaurants in 45 states, the privately held company expects to double in size over the next decade, with plans to open 40 new restaurants this year, followed by 60 in 2024, and 80+ annually beginning in 2025. “QDOBA is an exceptionally...
During a conversation with Smalls Sliders CEO Maria Rivera earlier this year, she said she believes that “modular is the future.” Indeed, the reason her company is targeting ambitious growth is because it’s leveraging 800-square-foot modular shipping container units manufactured elsewhere and then shipped to their location. Once a plot is prepared, Smalls can open...
As the U.S. grocery sector consolidates, store foot-traffic data shows the different trajectories of German discounter Aldi’s and the two grocers — Winn-Dixie and Harveys — it plans to acquire. The analytics firm Placer.ai reported Aldi has benefited from strong foot-traffic growth this year. In July, visits were up 3% over July of last year...
Do you have a loan maturing with a balloon that is coming due in the next 24 months? Was your current loan generated in the past two to five years? Are you willing to invest liquid capital into your property for a refinance to meet its new loan to value ratio with an interest rate...
Dick’s Sporting Goods is starting to build out its roster of House of Sport locations, opening nine of its new hands-on stores that permit customers to try out gear on real fields and to do some rock climbing in between shopping. The Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based retailer is in a major expansion mode with House of Sport,...
Wendy’s franchisees have opened the first of the chain’s “Global Next Gen” restaurants, in Oklahoma and Kansas, The Wendy’s Co. announced on Tuesday. Meritage Hospitality Group opened a unit in Edmond, Okla., and Wenspok Companies opened one in Great Bend, Kan. The first company-owned location using the new prototype that was slated to open in...
TGI Fridays has 58 years’ worth of history, and that’s a blessing and a curse, says newly named CEO Brandon Coleman. “Depending on which point in time you last visited a Fridays, you may have a different expectation,” Coleman says. “And I think setting that expectation for the guests and making sure that we create...
There are signs of distress in CRE markets — jumps in distressed loan statuses and banks increasing CRE charge-offs — and yet the big wave of distress that everyone has been expecting doesn’t seem to have come. Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji has said that all asset classes other than office have healthy fundamentals...
Bed Bath & Beyond has selected the successful bidders for 109 of its store leases, and Burlington Stores will win the lion’s share. The off-price giant is slated to take over 50 former Bed Bath & Beyond locations for $13.53 million. Michael’s, Haverty, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble were among the other winners. Bed Bath...
How long have we been talking about a looming recession at this point? Eight months? A year? I certainly started bracing for one when banks started failing in March, but the economy actually seems to be chugging along pretty well. It’s not doing awesomely, mind you. With Q2 earnings season well underway it’s clear that...
Online sales rose nearly 2% in July. After slowing retail growth, sales got a midsummer boost amid multiple promotions by retailers, including Amazon’s Prime Day mega-event. Retail sales in July rose 1% from June, and were up 3.2% year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation, whose calculation excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to...
Coffee chains like Starbucks and Tim Hortons are witnessing a growing trend among customers, particularly from the younger generation, who are favoring cold drinks and iced coffees over traditional hot options. Cold beverages account for a significant portion of sales for these chains, with Starbucks reporting that cold drinks make up 75% of its beverage...
Planet Fitness, a major gym franchise, is facing challenges in its expansion efforts due to various factors impacting the commercial real estate landscape. While there is a growing demand for convenient and affordable gyms like Planet Fitness, the company is struggling to open new locations due to persistent inflation, limited suitable space, and high construction...
The recent decline of Boston Market, an American rotisserie chicken chain, has been attributed to a series of missteps and challenges faced by the company. After undergoing brand transformation efforts, the chain was acquired by Engage Brands in 2020, which led to a downward trajectory in its performance. The current state of Boston Market involves...
After being completely immersed in this business for numerous years, we made it a priority from the beginning when conceptualizing our business model, platform and process to make sure we listened intently to our most successful clients. Maintaining this strategy over the years, we have been able to glean complete clarity in what most of...
A rent to sales ratio is a financial metric used in commercial real estate to evaluate the relationship between a tenant’s sales revenue and the amount of rent they pay. It is calculated by dividing the annual rent by the annual sales revenue of a tenant. The occupancy costs, which include the base rent and...
Executives of major restaurant chains are hungry for location expansion as some get enough long-awaited relief from soaring food and supply costs to make up for still-elevated construction expenses. Sales for many chains rose amid resilient consumer spending in recent months, with the escalating prominence of digital sales boosting restaurant development and design plans. Those...
Tim McLaughlin wanted to streamline the customer experience at his Caboose Brewing Co. in Vienna, Virginia, and the POS system he developed also has made accounting and percentage rent a snap for tenants at food halls. The multiple-points-of-sale model has grown cumbersome for vendors and landlords, said McLaughlin. His GoTab, he said, attracts bookkeeping-averse vendors...
July was the second lowest month for rent delinquencies this year for independent restaurant operators. New data from Alignable shows that 36% of independent restaurant operators couldn’t pay their rent in July, a material improvement from 45% who reported delinquencies in June. Julye was the second lowest month for rent delinquencies in the...
From taking global culinary tours to watching TikToks about the latest foodie trends, First Watch doesn’t draw any boundaries to where it can source its inspiration from to create new dishes and stay relevant. First Watch recently introduced a new line-up of permanent specialty iced coffees—like Honey Caramel Crunch and Mint Mocha—plus a seasonal summer...
Futuro Academy is a lot like many schools. Its mission is to provide a high level of education that helps develop the leaders of tomorrow. But unlike other public schools, Futuro Academy got its start in an empty grocery store. It’s one of the U.S.’s about 8,000 public charter schools. As public schools, they’re free...
CEO Maria Rivera weighs in on how this upstart brand is leaning into efficiencies and discipline ahead of exponential growth. Smalls Sliders is only about 4 years old. The brainchild of Brandon Landry, founder of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, Smalls was spun off that Baton Rouge, La.-based sports-bar concept and is laser-focused on high-quality sliders served...
Since expanding to the U.S. in 1997, Fogo de Chão (pronounced fogo-dee-shown) has grown around the world with locations in North America, South America, the Middle East, and soon Asia. Why Fogo de Chão’s Sizzling Model is Sparking Rapid Expansion The most anticipated moment in dining—and the most fleeting—is the first bite, and one emerging...
Widespread Spending Gains, While Moderate, Highlight Shoppers’ Resilience Consecutive months of broad growth encouraging. Households increased their spending across a broad spectrum of stores in May, supporting a 0.4 percent rise in core retail sales. For the second straight month, eight categories registered sales growth, a testament to consumers’ spending power. The addition of 339,000...
Traffic at retail clinics within stores has more than doubled over the past five years, growing faster than traffic at urgent care centers, at primary care practices and at hospital emergency rooms, according to a report from health care data firm Definitive Healthcare. About 1,800 such retail clinics are in operation. Only 2% are in...
Earlier this week, local media outlets reported that the location in Silver Spring, Maryland—which opened in September 2022—would close on Thursday. In response, an IHOP representative said “After evaluating the results of our flip’d by IHOP pilot program, IHOP has decided not to continue the concept.” This is the third Flip’d location, following Lawrence, Kansas,...
U.S. shoppers are visiting malls more during the weekdays than they do on weekends, according to a study of traffic patterns. To measure how the pandemic impacted mall-going behaviors, StreetLight Data looked at the distribution of vehicle trips that ended at 13 of the top U.S. malls between 2019 and 2022. It found notable changes...