News Briefs
- 10/27/2026
Daytime dining chain First Watch cloud-enables store operations
First Watch Restaurants Group Inc. is simplifying operations and streamlining technology integrations in its corporate stores.
First Watch, which serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, is deploying the NCR Voyix Aloha Next cloud-native restaurant POS and management solution and the Voyix Kitchen applications across its nearly 600 corporate-owned restaurants in the U.S.
Aloha Next runs on the microservices-based Voyix Commerce Platform, meaning individual API-connected services can be deployed separately, which will enable First Watch to implement new capabilities more quickly across the enterprise. The retailer has signed a multi-year Voyix Commerce Platform agreement.
“As First Watch continues to grow, maintaining a consistent experience across every restaurant becomes increasingly important,” said Rob Conti, CIO of First Watch. “We are regularly introducing menu updates, operational improvements and new customer experiences, and Aloha Next will help us bring those changes rapidly and efficiently to restaurants while keeping our teams focused on delivering exceptional hospitality.”
Pizza Ranch Inc. is also implementing Aloha Next with the goal of creating a unified foundation for POS, payments and in-store capabilities; while pizza retailer Marco’s Pizza has been deploying the NCR Voyix Aloha Essentials platform architecture, featuring next-generation POS technology, hardware, software, professional services and full support desk coverage, for its new international location.
[READ MORE: Marco’s Pizza selects POS platform for international stores]
“For nearly two decades, NCR Voyix has supported First Watch's growth and evolution,” said Benny Tadele, executive VP and president, restaurants, NCR Voyix. “Aloha Next preserves the proven capabilities First Watch relies on today while creating a unified foundation for data and operations. This opens new possibilities and enables the brand to continuously enhance both customer and employee experiences.”
- 10/27/2026
Sephora deepens connection between branded card and loyalty program
Sephora is renewing its branded credit card partnership with Bread Financial.
Building on a longstanding collaboration, Sephora and Bread Financial will continue jointly offering personalization and seamless cross-channel experiences for the beauty giant’s credit and loyalty offerings. The companies intend to deliver credit card experiences that synergize with the Sephora Beauty Insider loyalty program.
"At Sephora, we’re constantly looking for ways to deepen our relationships with our community and elevate the value of being a Beauty Insider member," said Emeline Berlind, senior VP, GM, loyalty at Sephora, a subsidiary of global retail conglomerate LVMH. "Our longstanding partnership with Bread Financial has enabled us to build on the strong foundation and continue to create rewarding, personalized experiences for our clients."
In 2024, Sephora made the Paze online checkout solution available to Beauty Insider participants. Paze combines a consumer's eligible debit and credit cards in a single digital wallet that enables them to make purchases online without entering their card information, downloading an app or creating a password. The retailer has since extended Paze to all customers globally.
[READ MORE: Sephora offers loyalty members new digital payment option]
"Sephora is a meaningful partner for Bread Financial, and this renewal reflects the deeply integrated partnership that has shaped our work together," said Dennis McCarthy, executive VP and chief revenue officer, Bread Financial. "Through our combined credit and signature loyalty programs, we are excited to play a role in enabling Sephora customers to be inspired by their unique beauty. We're proud to work alongside Sephora to deliver experiences that feel personalized and rewarding in any channel customers choose to shop.”
Sephora operates more than 3,400 stores in 37 global markets.
- 10/26/2026
PopUp Bagels names new CFO
PopUp Bagels is promoting an executive to its C-suite as it continues its ongoing expansion.
The Connecticut-based bagel chain, known for its “Grip, Rip and Dip” bagels and unique weekly schmear offerings, has named Matthew Pisano as its new chief financial officer. In the new role, he will lead PopUp Bagels’ financial strategy, overseeing financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting to support the company’s growth.
Pisano has served as PopUp Bagels’ executive VP of finance and accounting since March 2025. He joined the company after more than three years at Mexican restaurant chain Pink Taco, and eight years at tax and advisory firm CohnReznick providing M&A advisory services to restaurant and consumer growth companies.
PopUp Bagels operates more than 50 locations across 15 states. Last year, the chain said its goal was to reach 100 open locations by the end of 2027.
“One of the most important partnerships a CEO can have is with their CFO,” said Tory Bartlett, CEO of PopUp Bagels, who has led the brand since 2024. “You need someone who understands the business as deeply as you do, challenges your thinking, and helps turn ambition into a plan. Matt has been that partner since day one, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him in this role for what’s next.”
[READ MORE: PopUp Bagels makes Times Square debut]
Pisano’s promotion is PopUp Bagels’ second C-suite addition of the year. In July, the company named Mike Smith as its chief operating officer. Smith spent more than four years at Mexican fast-casual chain Moe's Southwest Grill, serving as chief brand officer after previously serving as VP of operations.
- 10/26/2026
Rugs.com curates top selling items
Rugs.com is helping homeowners and decorating professionals find up-to-date information on best-selling products and current rug trends.
The online rug retailer, which offers more than 100,000 indoor and outdoor designs, now offers an enhanced Best Sellers hub. This platform curates top-performing Rugs.com styles and introduces intuitive filtering tools. Key features include:
- A list of trend updates which is refreshed each week to spotlight current favorite products and emerging fashions, based on real-time customer preferences.
- Filtering of best sellers by geographic area to surface recommendations that match local design trends and climate considerations.
- Customers can view top-rated rugs by week or month.
“Our goal is to make rug shopping effortless and truly inspiring,” said Andrew Haltom, director of customer success at Rugs.com. “By blending nationwide insights with localized trends, we’re giving shoppers a front-row seat to what’s popular in their own backyard, helping them find the right rug with absolute confidence.”
The launch of the new Best Sellers hub follows Rugs.com’s June introduction of a mobile app that includes an augmented reality-based virtual try-out feature. The app provides shoppers more than 100,000 design options, AR-supported visualization tools, and deals sent directly to user smartphones.
[READ MORE: Survey: Nearly six-in-10 consumers have purchased an item after using AR features]
Every purchase comes with free shipping and a 30-day return policy. Rugs.com is a family-owned business with more than 60 years of operation.
- 10/26/2026
Sam's Club, Affirm team on flexible payments
Sam’s Club members now have a flexible payment option to use with the holidays around the corner.
The warehouse membership retailer has tapped Affirm as its exclusive pay-over-time payment provider. Affirm will be available on SamsClub.com in the coming weeks, with Affirm planning to expand availability to Sam’s Club locations in 2027.
At checkout, Sam’s Club members will complete a quick, real-time eligibility check for that specific purchase. If approved, they can choose a monthly plan and see each payment and exactly when they’ll be done before they commit. Affirm says it never charges late fees, and interest never compounds.
[READ MORE: Walmart launches joint paid membership program with Sam’s Club]
“Making every dollar count shouldn’t stop at checkout,” said Wayne Pommen, chief revenue officer at Affirm. “When people pay over time with Affirm, they know what they’ll owe and choose a plan that fits their lives. That way, every dollar counts after checkout, too.”
Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart Inc., operates more than 600 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
- 10/22/2026
Federal government warns of major Internet security flaw
The National Security Agency (NSA) is sounding an alarm about vulnerabilities in a widely used open-source programming language.
PHP — short for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor — works on most major Internet operating systems. It runs directly on web servers and can be added into HTML to create dynamic web pages. However, the NSA has identified a set of flaws in PHP, collectively nicknamed “PHP2Shell,” which could be exploited by hackers.
[READ MORE: Comcast Business: 2,500 cybersecurity events occur every second]
According to the NSA, PHP2Shell vulnerabilities could allow attackers to take control of affected web servers without prior access or authentication and then steal sensitive data, disrupt services, or move deeper into a network.
“It will be critical in the coming weeks to maintain heightened awareness of your Internet-facing devices and services that are reliant on PHP,” the NSA said in an official advisory. “It is essential for all to prioritize incorporating vendor patches that may be explicitly tied to the PHP2Shell issues.”The non-profit PHP Foundations released an open-source patch Wed., Oct. 21 and other software vendors may also issue their own PHP patches. The NSA advises users to conduct an inventory of hardware/software services reliant on now-vulnerable PHP versions and vigilantly monitor and apply patches related to their exposed systems.
Other remedial steps recommended by the NSA include adding enhanced logging within network/operational environments and replacing end-of-life PHP services which will not be compatible with patching. If an immediate update is not feasible, the NSA recommends that organizations take any exposed systems offline until PHP vulnerabilities can be fully mitigated.
Information on the latest mitigations and patching guidance is available on the PHP.net Security Advisory page.
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