DRG Concepts has opened Wild Salsa, a new regional Mexican restaurant that is bringing the flavors and culture of Mexico City to the heart of downtown Dallas and to the Metroplex. Wild Salsa is located at the corner of St. Paul and Main Street, on the first level of The Mercantile. What's different about Wild Salsa? […]

Margaritaville and The Flamingo Las Vegas are bringing to the city a gaming experience unlike anything else with the opening this fall of the "Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo", a new and exciting gaming space. This is the first casino gaming space to bear the well-known and respected Margaritaville name. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant has […]

DineEquity, parent company of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP Restaurants, announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Apple American Group LLC for the sale of 66 Applebee's company-operated restaurants located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and parts of New York. The agreement does not contain financing contingencies, […]

Applebee's Services, Inc. announced that it has entered into a lease agreement with EHD Holdings and will move the company's headquarters and restaurant support center to 8140 Ward Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. The move is scheduled to take place by September 30, 2011. "We've been a strong corporate partner in the metro area for […]

9990 Linn Station Road in Louisville, Kentucky, seemed like an ideal location for a T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant, and for some 30 years, it was. Linn Station Road boasts proximity to Hurstbourne Parkway, a 50,000-car-per-day road dissecting one of Louisville’s most affluent suburbs and home to a thriving retail corridor populated with a Wal-Mart, large auto […]

Q: I was able to successfully negotiate a lease for my first location. What should I expect with my second lease? There is no standard lease agreement. Whether or not you have negotiated a lease before, you have to carefully review everything and can’t assume anything. Three important things to keep in mind: all leases […]

When banks wanted a third-party guarantee who didn’t have to sell their house to repay franchisee loans, Ken Switzer, CFO of Marco’s Pizza, stepped in with an unusual idea. As a result of the frozen credit market, Switzer developed Marco’s Assurance, which offers a $50,000 guarantee on franchisees’ loans. The idea helped the company grow […]

Being in the right place at the right time is the key to success in any business. And as the nation finally begins to climb out of one of the worst recessions in U.S. history, a number of quick-service companies are advising their franchisees that, with soft real estate prices, lower construction costs, and increasing […]

In 2007, Ludo Lefebvre did what no businessman should ever do: He made an important business decision out of fear. Faced with the opportunity to use millions of dollars in investments to open a restaurant, the Los Angeles–based celebrity chef balked at committing himself to 10–15 years sweating in the same kitchen. Instead, he launched […]

The newest Nobu is being planned to open at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Nobu Restaurant and Lounge will be the centerpiece of the world’s first Nobu Hotel, an exclusive tower within Caesars Palace. The restaurant and lounge will span 9,500 square feet at the base of the Nobu tower. Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Nobu […]

New York’s Fig & Olive kitchen and tasting bar is preparing to open its first West Coast location this month. The expansive 8,000-square-foot, split-level space will be located on Melrose Place in West Hollywood, California, capable of accommodating up to 300 diners. As in New York, meals will center around the refined flavors of the […]

A franchise tool launching next week hopes to connect prospective franchisees with franchisors via an online hub that leads hopeful entrepreneurs to the business purchase process—with a little help from social networking. Tom Hochstatter, cofounder of FranchiseProcess LLC, says the online FranchiseProcess tool helps franchisee hopefuls “get to the starting line of the reward process […]

T.G.I. Friday's and Americana Group, a licensed franchisee of T.G.I. Friday's and the Kuwait-based Middle East operator of several brands in quick service, coffee, casual dining and other food-related products, today announced that they have renewed the development agreement to build the T.G.I. Friday's brand in the Middle East. The development agreement will result in […]

Radiant Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: RADS), a provider of innovative technology to the hospitality and retail industries, announces today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Hospitality EPoS Systems, a leading technology supplier to the U.K. hospitality market for more than 16 years. “The acquisition of Hospitality EPoS Systems provides Radiant a substantial […]