Commercial Construction & Renovation

Occupancy rates at Los Angeles hotels remain at half capacity, but one local developer is counting on a comeback no matter how long that may take. Read The Real Deal online story here

Apple Singapore’s new ‘floating store’ built in the harbour in front of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort has not yet opened – but already it has taken over social media. Read the InsideRetail.Asia story here

Hilton Worldwide has 781 hotels comprising 160,556 rooms in its pipeline, with 200 openings slated for this year, an analysis of the chain’s data shows. North America and the Asian-Pacific region command top priority, led by the US and China. …

Cracker Barrel is looking to boost sales during the pandemic with such innovations as creating a catering-only kitchen at an Indianapolis restaurant. The chain will also experiment with grab-and-go stations for takeout customers, beer and wine offerings and outdoor dining …

The National Restaurant Association has issued a response to a CDC report issued that links restaurant dining with higher rates of contracting COVID-19, stressing that restaurants can significantly reduce risks by following its Restaurant Reopening Guidance. Read the Restaurant Business …

Los Angeles-based The H.Wood Group closed all 17 of its restaurants and shifted to delivery during the pandemic, and the company has pivoted by creating new virtual brands and using its digital reservation platform to create a COVID-19 testing service. …

Arkansas-based Slim Chickens will expand into Maryland, New Jersey and Washington in 2021. The 96-unit fast-casual chain, which rolled out a smaller footprint last year and began moving into nontraditional venues, is moving forward with plans to grow to 600 …

Health and convenience have drawn customers to Smoothie King during the coronavirus pandemic. Sales increased 14% in July from the same period in 2019, and the 1,200th unit opened last month. Read the QSR magazine online story here  

The Chicago-area towns of Carol Stream, Park Forest and Des Plaines will soon be getting new grocers as Jet Foods begins making an aggressive push into the area with a plan to offer discount prices and prepared meals for customer …

Stories of chains including Burger King, Taco Bell and Shake Shack rolling out restaurant redesigns for changing times caught readers’ attention this week, as did Bloomin’ Brands‘ launch of a delivery-only chicken concept. Read the SmartBrief/Food & Travel story here