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  • 1/23/2025

    Ace Hardware debuting yard care service with Groundhog Day promo

    Ace Hardware Groundhog Day

    The world's largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative is rolling out a new subscription offering, regardless of how long winter lasts.

    In an email to Chain Store Age, Ace Hardware announced it is introducing Ace YardRx, a subscription service offering personalized yard care solutions for homeowners nationwide, on Groundhog Day, Sunday, Feb. 2. 

    The retailer is launching Ace YardRx as part of a larger promotion that will see it become the "Official Yard Care Sponsor of Groundhog Day" and participate in the Instagram livestream of the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Penn.

    In addition, Ace Hardware is making "Punxsutawney Phil," the groundhog which determines whether there will be six more weeks of winter, its newest “seasonal employee” as part of the promotion. 

    The retailer will be making updates to both the upcoming launch of Ace YardRx and Punxsutawney Phil’s progress as an employee on its official Facebook and Instagram channels.

    [READ MORE: Home Depot, Ace Hardware offer October seasonal sales]

    "Be part of the magic as Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog, emerges to deliver his much-anticipated weather prediction – and catch the debut of Ace YardRx," Ace Hardware said in an emailed statement. "Whether Phil forecasts six more weeks of winter or an early spring, Ace YardRx is here to ensure homeowners are ready to achieve their best lawns all year long."

    Ace Hardware is the largest hardware cooperative in the world, serving more than 8,200 locally owned and operated stores in approximately 60 countries.  

  • 1/23/2025

    Walmart reportedly increases pay for some managers

    Walmart exterior

    Some of Walmart's top-performing managers are getting a raise.

    Top-performing market managers who oversee about 12 stores can now make between $420,000 and $620,000 per year with full bonuses, according to a Wall Street Journal report. According to the report, the managers' annual base pay is also being increased to $160,000 per year, up from $130,000. The maximum base pay they can make will stay at $260,000.

    In a statement to CNN, a Walmart spokesperson said that the market manager role “is key for our business and for serving our customers however they shop.” The spokesperson added that the increase is the “latest in a series of investments in hourly and salaried roles across Walmart US.”

    Walmart employs more than 400 market managers who oversee around a combined 4,600 stores in the United States.  

    The retail giant has been upping its investment in its employees. In January, 2024, it updated the two parts that make up the pay of its store managers: base pay and annual wages. It also redesigned its store manager bonus program.

    In September, Walmart's Sam's Club said it was raising wages of its nearly 100,000 employees, with increases ranging from 3% to 6% based on years of service. In addition, Sam’s Club is raising starting wages for entry-level workers to $16 an hour. 

  • 1/23/2025

    Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux seeks new restaurant operators for expansion

    Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux

    A Louisiana-founded sports bar chain is looking to expand its store count.

    Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux says it is seeking “skilled restaurant operators” to bring the chain to new markets nationwide, adding that it offers its operators the ability to hit the ground running in an “efficient, high-tech scratch-kitchen.”

    Conceptualized by Louisiana State University walk-on basketball players Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux opened its doors in 2003 in Baton Rouge, La. The menu features scratch-made dishes, paired with a wide selection of cocktails and beers.

    Walk-On’s currently operates nearly 80 restaurants nationwide. Co-owned by legendary NFL quarterback Drew Brees, franchisees include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, former NFL star linebacker Derrick Brooks, and accomplished Clemson University football coach Dabo Swinney.

    [READ MORE: CoStar: Service-based brands will be biggest leasers of real estate space in 2025]

    “Our operators are the head coaches in our restaurants,” said Chris Porcelli, CEO of Walk-On’s. “These strategic business leaders drive our day-to-day business and take ownership of its success, from hiring and managing an all-star dream team to greeting fans at the door by name.”

  • 1/23/2025

    Select Wendy's, McDonald's stores in Northern Illinois go solar

    Wendy's

    More than 30 quick-serve burger locations in Northern Illinois will now run on solar energy thanks to a new partnership.

    Thirty-one Wendy's and McDonald's locations across Chicago and Kankakee County have partnered with Perch Energy to enroll in community solar. The restaurants, owned by Mike Allegro of All Star Management, are estimated to save more than $20,000 annually for 20 years on their electricity costs from local community solar farms in Rockford and Pontiac, Ill. 

    In their first round of community solar subscriptions with Perch Energy, the restaurants will lock in about half a million dollars of savings from solar farms producing almost eight MW of clean electricity. As additional capacity becomes available, the stores will have the opportunity to double their initial subscription to achieve their estimated $1 million savings potential. Perch Energy says the energy produced from these solar farms is the carbon equivalent of avoiding 13,437 metric tons of CO2 emissions, or like removing 3,134 cars from the road each year. 

    Solar on Earth, a community solar customer acquisition organization, facilitated the partnership between Perch and All Star Management Solar on Earth partners with Perch in six states to help individuals and businesses access the cost-savings of clean energy.

    [READ MORE: Walmart invests in 74 community solar projects]

    “It was an easy decision," said Allegro. "A lot of our restaurants are open early and close late. And some are open 24 hours a day, so we use a lot of electricity. Everything is more expensive these days, but while the cost of everything else is going up, it’s one bill that Perch and Solar On Earth are helping to bring back down.”

    The solar farms Allegro is subscribed to are located near Rockland and Pontiac which provides those communities with the added benefit of local power generation, which increases the resiliency and reliability of the local energy grid helping the utility — ComEd — meet its renewable energy requirement

  • 1/23/2025

    7-Eleven promotes free pizza deals for Super Bowl

    7-Eleven free pizza

    A convenience giant is helping football fans celebrate Super Bowl Sunday with free pizza.

    Customers who make their first order for delivery on 7-Eleven’s 7NOW app will receive a free pizza from now until March 4. On Super Bowl Sunday itself (Feb. 9), 7NOW app users can get a buy one, get one free deal on any large pizza.

    In addition to the pizza deals, on Feb. 8 customers can get $20 off a $30 delivery order using the promo code BIGGAME. On game day, customers can get $5 off all large packs of beer through the delivery app.

    Delivery is available throughout the United States and offers real-time tracking that lets customers know when to expect their orders, typically in about 30 minutes. 

    "At 7-Eleven, we know the ‘Big Game’ is about more than just football — it's about gathering with friends, enjoying delicious food and making lasting memories," said Brandon Brown, senior VP of Fresh Foods at 7-Eleven, Inc. "Whether you're a football fanatic, a halftime show enthusiast or simply a pizza lover, we're here to support your game day experience with free pizza and other tasty deals that will make everyone feel like a winner."

    [READ MORE: 7-Eleven plans slate of new Phoenix area stores]

    Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

  • 1/23/2025

    The Fresh Market names new CEO

    Brian Johnson The Fresh Market

    The Fresh Market wasted no time in naming a new chief executive.

    The board of the specialty grocer named Brian Johnson as president and CEO, effective Feb. 3. His appointment was announced the day after Jason Potter stepped down from the role to become CEO at Grocery Outlet.

    Johnson has served as COO at The Fresh Market since 2020 and brings more than 30 years of experience to the role. During the the last five years, he has helped oversee the expansion of Fresh Market stores into new markets across the East Coast and Midwest. 

    Previously, Johnson served as division VP at Brookshire Grocery Company in Texas.

    "As a company we have a lot of momentum going into 2025, and I look forward to working alongside the team at The Fresh Market as we continue to grow, innovate, and create meaningful customer experiences,” said Johnson. “I also look forward to working with the board of directors as we chart our course to becoming America’s premiere specialty fresh food retailer - or America’s most loved brand.”

    Voted as the as the “Best Grocery Store in America” by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2021, The Fresh Market currently operates 166 stores in 22 states across the U.S. It is based in Greensboro, N.C.

    Included in the senior leadership team reporting to Johnson are Revae Embs, group VP of human resources; Emily Turner, group VP & chief marketing officer; and Marcio Ribeiro, group VP & chief information officer who have all joined the senior leadership team within the last year.

     (Photo courtesy of The Fresh Market.)

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