Antioch Pizza Shop, Krispy Krunchy Chicken, KFC, Pita Pit, and ItsaCheckmate lead RestaurantNews.com’s top stories for the week ending April 14, 2024.
1) 2024 Winner of Chicago Pizza Madness Tournament Moves Forward Rapidly with New Franchise Expansion Plan
Antioch Pizza Shop, a beloved name in Antioch Illinois for 47 years, recently launched a franchise expansion plan to begin in the Midwest and East of the Mississippi. The popular pizzeria, founded in 1977, has grown under the ownership of husband-and-wife duo, Art and Karen Wicklein who took a shot on a product they loved and bought the existing brand in 2008.
2) Krispy Krunchy Chicken Announces “Core Four” Growth Strategy
Krispy Krunchy Chicken, one of the fastest-growing hot food concepts in the convenience store business with nearly 3,000 locations, recently brought together leadership, sales, and operations teams for its annual conference to discuss its “Now Is The Time: Next Generation” plan of action for the brand’s future. Some of the brand’s top operators and key suppliers were also in attendance.
3) KFC Introduces New “Taste of KFC Deals” – A Value Menu With Real Value – Starting at Just $4.99
People are fed up with spending more to get less, coupled with “value” menu items that aren’t actually good quality. Enter KFC’s Taste of KFC Deals – four hearty, quality meals for a deal – now that’s value. Taste of KFC Deals available seven days a week at KFCs across the country (also available on KFC.com and the KFC app), through the end of the year.
4) Pita Pit Unveils Fresh & Flavorful Company Rebrand, Redefines Fast-Food Dining Experience
Pita Pit, a distinguished Mediterranean fast-casual brand specializing in made-to-order pita sandwiches, announced today the rollout of its nationwide brand refresh. The aim of the refresh being to restore its former cult-following and reposition the franchise as the world’s first Mediterranean fast-food concept by introducing new features, such as a modernized restaurant design and drive-thru business model, reimagined menu, technological upgrades, and a new logo.
5) ItsaCheckmate Unveils a New Enterprise Menu Management Solution, Raising the Bar for Restaurant Control
ItsaCheckmate, a leading restaurant ordering solutions provider, announced its new enterprise-grade digital menu management solution today. This solution introduces a comprehensive suite of tools, including an advanced catalog system, customizable menu templates, and dynamic availability grids, designed to empower restaurants to manage their online presence with precision and flexibility.
6) Happy Joe’s Starts 2024 with Smiles for Miles
Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream always works to make sure guests are smiling, giving them all the pizza and ice cream needed to make happy memories. In the first quarter of 2024, the team at Happy Joe’s got to smile – thanks to industry awards, new stores, growth and expansion, partnership and innovation, industry coverage, and big plans for the rest of the year.
7) Soulman’s Bar-B-Que Opens its 20th North Texas Location
Soulman’s Bar-B-Que is open for business at its 20th North Texas location at 480 Grapevine Highway, Hurst Texas 76054. North Texas’ favorite bar-b-que is now serving up its award-winning smoked meats and sides in its second Hurst location and 20th metroplex location.
8) Tim Hortons Celebrating Official Grand Opening in Metro Atlanta on April 12 With a Chance To Win Gift Cards Plus Deals on Coffee and Timbits
Tim Hortons celebrated its official grand opening in Atlanta with two restaurant openings on April 12: one at 7940 Senoia Road in Fairburn and the second at 610 Spring St. NW in Atlanta. Tim Hortons looks forward to continuing its expansion in Georgia after opening its first restaurant in Columbus last summer.
9) WaBa Grill Proudly Opens First Nevada Location in Henderson
WaBa Grill, one of the nation’s leading healthy rice bowl chains, is excited to announce its debut in Nevada – the brand’s third state – with the opening of its Henderson location. The new restaurant is owned and operated by longtime WaBa Grill multi-unit franchisee Raj Sangha of Dhindsa Group of Companies and first-time franchisee Fernando Escobedo. Sangha and Escobedo have exclusive rights to develop WaBa Grill in Clark County and anticipate opening as many as 10 restaurants in the area.
10) America’s Best Restaurants Acquires Repeat Returns Software Company
America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently-owned restaurants, has acquired Repeat Returns, a Las Vegas-based restaurant marketing and software company.