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Doherty Enterprises Named Applebee’s 2026 Franchisee of the Year
22/10/2026At Applebee's annual franchise conference in Austin, Texas, family-owned operator Doherty Enterprises received the chain's top individual honor for 2026. The New Jersey-based company, which operates more than 160 restaurants across seven brands in the New York and New Jersey…
True Food Kitchen Files Chapter 11 With $42 Million in Debt and 12 Locations Closed
19/10/2026True Food Kitchen, the health-focused casual dining chain founded in Phoenix in 2008 by integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil and restaurateur Sam Fox, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early October 2026. The filing came after 12 of…
Starbucks Officially Rules Out Chipotle Acquisition
16/10/2026Three weeks after the Financial Times reported that Starbucks was exploring a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the coffee chain's leadership put the speculation to rest. A company spokesperson confirmed on October 12 that no acquisition is planned, closing the…
Savory Fund Closes Oversubscribed $201.5 Million Fund III to Scale Emerging Restaurant Brands
15/10/2026Private equity firm Savory Fund has closed its third restaurant investment vehicle at $201.5 million, surpassing its stated $200 million target. The fund targets profitable, founder-led restaurant concepts at the early growth stage and has already deployed roughly 35% of…
Starbucks Eyes Chipotle: A Potential $80 Billion Deal That Could Change American Franchising
09/10/2026Starbucks has officially denied any plans to acquire Chipotle. A company spokesperson confirmed on October 12: "I can confirm for you we are not buying Chipotle." Read our follow-up article. Starbucks is reportedly exploring the acquisition of Chipotle Mexican Grill…
Casey’s Erases the CEFCO Brand as US Convenience Store Consolidation Reshapes the Market
14/09/2026Casey's General Stores is erasing the CEFCO brand from 198 convenience store locations across the southern United States, the latest chapter in a wave of consolidation that is rapidly concentrating the US c-store market in the hands of a few…
Sparkle Grooming Secures $6 Million After Selling Over 600 Franchises in Two Years
10/09/2026Dog grooming franchise Sparkle Grooming Co. has secured $6 million in financing led by Companion Fund, a venture capital vehicle managed by Digitalis Ventures in partnership with Mars Petcare. The round follows two years during which the brand sold more…
Can You Open a Suka Sushi Restaurant in the U.S. in 2026?
08/09/2026A patent-pending tube that pushes a sushi roll up bite by bite turned a small Manhattan storefront into a social video destination in late 2025. Suka Sushi now runs two takeout locations in New York City, and neither is a…
Can You Open a Walmart Store? Why Walmart Does Not Franchise
04/09/2026Walmart Inc. reported total revenues of $713.2 billion for fiscal 2026 and operates 4,611 stores across the United States. That scale draws a steady stream of searches from entrepreneurs asking how to open a Walmart. The answer set out in…
Raising Cane’s Opens 7 New Restaurants in August 2026, Its 30th Anniversary Month
04/09/2026Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers opened 7 new restaurants across six states in August 2026, its 30th anniversary month. The brand debuted near Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on August 28, 1996, and has since grown past 1,000 US units.…
