Pizza shop chain Sbarro will expand this year via more than 100 slated openings. The Columbus, Ohio based franchise will leverage key relationships in the United States and United Kingdom.
A Checkers & Rally’s franchisee, Falcons Burger, acquired 30 Rally’s restaurants in Kentucky and Indiana, making it the largest franchisee of the brand. Longtime franchisee Joe Hertzman sold the units as he makes plans to retire. Falcons Burger now has 57 locations in the United States.
Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s launched the My Rewards loyalty program. The newly-introduced My Rewards comes on the brand apps that were introduced by CKE Restaurants, the parent company.
A restaurant industry sales report indicates that sales for February 2022 at eating and drink places were up 2.5% from the prior month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The update from the National Restaurant Association also indicated January’s adjusted total sales came in at $72.1B.
Torchy’s Tacos named Mike Rypka, the taco chain’s founder, chief executive officer. Rypka had served as interim CEO since the departure of outgoing chief, GJ Hart, November 5. The move makes his appointment permanent in 2022 as the fast casual expands beyond Colorado and its Southern US markets.
Wingstop will debut in Spain with the upcoming openings of two ghost kitchens in Madrid. Two additional, delivery-only locations of the fast-casual chicken-wings chain in Spain’s capital will follow. Partnering with a logistics-kitchen provider made this market entry possible. It precedes large-scale growth in Spain, which has become a key target growth market for Wingstop.
BBQ Holdings, soon to be Famous Hospitality, Inc., agreed to acquire the Barrio Queen restaurant group through an asset purchase agreement. The $28M deal for the Mexican fine-dining chain will be funded through cash and debt. The announcement came with the release of BBQ Holdings’ earnings report for Q4 and full fiscal year 2021.
Fast-casual Erbert & Gerbert’s promoted Jeremy Burke to chief operations officer. The 15-year industry veteran previously held the role of VP, brand development and strategy. Promoting Burke will be pivotal in continuing the brand’s growth, suggested the Minneapolis, Minn.-based restaurant chain.
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR) promoted Wendy Middleton to senior director of training and Mike Davis to regional director of special brands. In addition, the multi-concept restaurant group, promoted Emily Burt to senior manager of safety and risk management and Aaron Wesley to regional director of Ocean Prime’s East Coast region.
The company behind Church’s Chicken and Texas Chicken named Bill Mitchell VP of company restaurant operations. Mitchell brings robust leadership skills from working within the QSR segment.
