More than 1,500 Tim Hortons restaurants are scheduled to open in China over the next 10 years through an exclusive master franchise joint venture agreement between Oakville-based Tim Hortons and Cartesian Capital Group, L.L.C., a global private equity firm. “We have two main priorities at Tim Hortons: building and strengthening our brand in Canada and… read more
Pizza Hut really, really wants you to order its pizza while you watch sports. The No. 2 pizza chain is announcing a two-year extension of its relationship with the NCAA, after grabbing the NFL pizza partnership as soon as that league and Papa John’s severed ties. “Pizza and sports really go hand in hand,” says… read more
Oprah Winfrey is making a significant investment in True Food Kitchen and joining the board of the growing chain, which is eager to see whether the Oprah Effect translates into significant gains in the restaurant world. Winfrey was introduced to the decade-old chain by her friend, health expert Bob Greene, when Winfrey and Greene tasted… read more
With a new investor joining in and a higher purchase price, the Garces Restaurant Group late Tuesday announced the sale of almost all of its restaurants for $8 million plus assumed liabilities. The Philadelphia-based multiconcept group has been acquired by an entity called 3BM1, which is a partnership between Ballard Brands LLC — which had… read more
Centerbridge Partners and the board of managers of Wok Parent revealed Friday they have retained Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Barclays to explore a possible sale of the Chinese food chain. “Given the positive performance of P.F. Chang’s Bistro and having received multiple unsolicited indications of interest, this is an exciting time to explore a… read more
Grill Eggs Up Grill, a chain of franchised breakfast and lunch restaurants located throughout the South, has named a new chief executive officer—restaurant industry veteran Ricky Richardson—as the company embarks on an aggressive growth plan under new ownership. In March 2018 the company was acquired from Skip Corn and founder Chris Skodras by WJ Partners,… read more
CKE Restaurants Holdings, the parent company of fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, this week named Charles Jemley the company’s new CFO. Kerry Olson, meanwhile, was named chief legal officer and general counsel of the Franklin, Tenn.-based company. Both executives “bring valuable food industry experience that will help guide the growth and evolution of our… read more
Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, has named David Hoffmann CEO effective immediately, the company said. He will also serve on the company’s board of directors and remain president of Dunkin’ Donuts U.S, a role he has held since 2016, according to a news release from the Canton, Mass.-based company. Hoffmann… read more
Tender Greens has named president Denyelle Bruno, left, to the additional role of CEO, replacing co-founder Erik Oberholtzer, who was named executive chairman of the fast-casual brand. The 28-unit “slow food done fast” concept from Los Angeles said Bruno will serve in her new dual role effective immediately. The company said it was “always the… read more
John Schnatter, founder and chairman of the board of Papa John’s International, Inc., has resigned in the aftermath of reports that he made a racial slur during a meeting in May with the pizza chain’s media agency. Schnatter on Wednesday admitted to making the slur in an email to Forbes magazine. Forbes said the meeting… read more