Commercial Construction & Renovation

Papa John’s has sold its majority interest in 90 restaurants to multibrand franchisee Sun Holdings, a Texas-based operator that made a deal last year to develop 100 new Papa John’s units. Joint venture partner Blue and Silver Ventures will remain …

Salad chain Sweetgreen will roll out its first drive-thru location in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg within the next year as part of the brand’s plan to expand beyond its urban locations. Customers who order ahead using Sweetgreen’s website or …

Falcons Burger, an existing operator of Checkers and Rally’s restaurants, has acquired another 30 units from retiring franchisee Joe Hertzman. Restaurant Business

Smashburger opened its first restaurant with a full bar in its hometown of Denver last week, with a bartender serving beer, wine and craft cocktails like the Blackberry Smash and the Coconut Mule. Restaurant Business

When the Seattle-based Dough Zone Dumpling House first opened its doors, the original owners envisioned a small mom-and-pop restaurant that would give customers real Chinese cuisine. But what they weren’t expecting was how popular it would become. With the first …

KFC debuted its Next-Gen store design last year at a restaurant in Berea, Kentucky and the chain plans to build about 30% of its new stores in one of two Next-Gen models. The updated store designs include an inline model …

Wendy’s is crafting a new menu for its restaurants in Mexico as part of a plan aimed at growing the chain’s presence there to hundreds of locations. The company, which opened its first restaurant in Mexico three decades ago and …

Friendly’s Restaurants is expanding into fast-casual with the opening of its first Friendly’s Cafe, a 2,700 square-foot concept with 45 seats in Westfield, Massachusetts. Customers will have the option of ordering at the counter, at the table using a QR …

Shell Shack opened its first restaurant in Dallas in 2013. The casual, full-service concept offers seasonal crabs, shrimp, catfish and sandwiches, but it’s best known for its seafood boils. Now seven-units strong, with locations across Texas, it is poised for …

Chipotle Mexican Grill has begun testing Chippy, a tortilla chip-making robot from Miso Robotics, at its R&D headquarters, with plans to roll out the automated technology at a unit in Southern California later this year. The machine, from the company …