News Briefs

Krispy Kreme is planning to expand its store count in America’s largest metropolitan area.

The donut giant has entered into a franchise development agreement with Original Entrepreneurs LLC to open 33 Krispy Kreme locations across the New York metro area over the next five years. The new stores will be developed in New York City and the surrounding region, including Long Island and New Jersey.

“We're pleased to continue growing with Original Entrepreneurs,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth. “This development agreement reflects our focus on capital-light franchise growth and enables us to expand with an operator that has deep expertise building and operating Krispy Kreme shops in a competitive market.”

Original Entrepreneurs is a long-time Krispy Kreme franchisee and currently operates 12 shops.

[READ MORE: Krispy Kreme names new commercial, people chiefs]

“We're proud of our long-standing relationship with Krispy Kreme and confident in the strength of the brand,” said Original Entrepreneurs. “We look forward to building on that relationship and continuing to expand Krispy Kreme’s presence across the New York metro area.”

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme operates more than 1,600 locations worldwide, with approximately 360 stores in the United States.

Krispy Kreme is continuing to grow its footprint both at home and abroad. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to open at least 100 shops globally and enter three to four new international markets this year. Last year, Krispy Kreme made its debut in Spain, Brazil and Uzbekistan.

Walmart Inc. is providing several new care options to U.S. associates.

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Walmart is rolling out two key enhancements to its benefits package for U.S. associates:

Zero dollar prescriptions

A new zero dollar prescription tier will prioritize medications at lower costs, with more than 250 generic, brand-name and specialty medications, including some insulin and inhalers, available.

Rare Conditions Center of Excellence

Available under most medical plans, the Walmart Centers of Excellence (COE) program provides benefit support and coverage for certain conditions and family planning and fertility needs in partnership with healthcare providers and facilities around the country.

[READ MORE: Walmart provides employees access to fertility care]

The retailer will expand the program with a new Rare Conditions COE, providing associates with no-cost access to specialists for multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in collaboration with facilities like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

Associates and dependents enrolled in most Walmart medical plans who are either being evaluated or have been diagnosed will be able to connect in-person with a specialist for an evaluation and treatment review at no cost. As with all COEs, travel is also covered for the patient and an adult caregiver.

In addition, Walmart will offer the following associate benefit beginning Nov. 17:

Paid Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) leave

Walmart is establishing a dedicated, paid NICU leave which will provide a maximum of 12 weeks of paid NICU leave for eligible associates with children who are admitted to a NICU during the first 28 days after birth and actively receiving inpatient care.

 This stackable benefit can be combined with other time off and leave benefits, including maternity and parental paid leaves. When combined, frontline associates can receive up to 28 weeks of paid leave when their birth journey includes NICU admission.

Target Corp. said it is not working with federal immigration authorities in response to criticism following the shooting of a man by an ICE agent down the street from one of its stores in New York City.

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and local immigration rights activists accused Target of letting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement use the store's two-level parking lot as a staging area for operations in the area. The store is located in the Shops at Marble Hill shopping center on West 225th Street, near the border of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The other tenants include Foot Locker, Marshalls, Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy.

"Target has no cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency,” a Target spokesperson said in emailed comments to Chain Store Age.

Kingsbridge Associates, an affiliate of Washington Square Partners, owns and operates The Shops at Marble Hill center. The week before the shooting occurred, city officials sent a letter to Kingsbridge asking that it terminate any agreements with ICE to use the center’s parking lot, reported The New York Times. Kingsbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the report said.

The shooting occurred as ICE officers tried to arrest Dominican immigrant Oscar Belgal while he was in a car with his 5-year-old son. At least one agent shot seven rounds at the car, Belgal was hit in the neck.

“We call on Kingsbridge Associates LLC and other private landlords to stop collaborating with ICE by allowing their parking lots to be used as staging grounds,” the Interfaith Center of New York said in a statement following the shooting.

A network security incident has caused Ahold Delhaize USA to take all five of its U.S. grocery banner e-commerce sites offline.

In a brief announcement on its main website, Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, said that it is “experiencing a security issue” within its network and is taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue, including taking some systems offline. At this time, the company’s brick-and-mortar stores are open and serving customers.

“Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority,” Ahold Delhaize USA said in the statement. “We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners.”

As of Monday, Oct. 12, the company’s individual e-commerce sites for its Food Lion, The Giant Company, Giant Food, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop banners all had a notice on the homepage stating they were temporarily down due to a technical issue. Since fall 2025, all five sites have been running on the same proprietary e-commerce platform.

[READ MORE: Ahold Delhaize USA rolls out digital platform across banners]

Developed and managed by in-house technology teams, the platform serves as the foundation of Ahold Delhaize USA’s ecosystem, supporting e-commerce, digital engagement and personalized customer experiences for each brand. Stop & Shop was the first banner to launch the platform, in 2020.

In November 2024, a ransomware attack on Ahold Delhaize USA exposed the personal data of more than 2 million employees, including names, Social Security numbers, financial account information, health information, government-issued ID numbers such as passports and driver’s licenses, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.

This is a developing story and Chain Store Age will continue to provide updates.

Casual daytime restaurant chain Eggs Up Grill is highlighting its expansion momentum.

The company signed 11 new restaurant commitments across four franchise groups in the third quarter of 2026, including for both existing and new markets, such as Kansas. Together, the agreements bring Eggs Up Grill to more than 90 units in development nationwide.

"When experienced operators diversify their portfolios with Eggs Up Grill, and existing franchise partners continue to grow with the brand, it validates the trust they have in our model and our ability to scale," said Ricky Richardson, CEO of Eggs Up Grill, which offers customers breakfast, brunch and lunch options. "We're increasingly attracting sophisticated multi-unit, multi-brand operators who recognize the opportunity within the daytime category.”

Eggs Up Grill opened three restaurants during the quarter, in Bonaire, Ga., Spears Creek, S.C., and Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The company added that the third quarter extended its positive same-restaurant sales growth streak to 23 consecutive quarters.

[READ MORE: Placer.ai: Fitness, service tenants drive visits, dwell times at shopping centers]

“Eggs Up Grill has tremendous momentum heading into the final quarter of the year, and our focus remains on finding the right partners who can grow with us for the long term,” added Richardson.

Founded in Pawleys, Island, S.C., Eggs Up Grill operates more than 110 locations nationwide.

[READ MORE: Consumers to use AI tools for holiday product discovery, information]