Hospitality

Vancouver, Wash. – Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. is running enhanced mobile marketing campaigns using the Waterfall cloud mobile messaging platform. Papa Murphy's in-store promotions, supplemented with text alerts and calls to action that offer coupons and other incentives, are driving more in-store sales and Web traffic.

Optimizing mobile campaigns at both national and franchise levels is an integral part of the company's technology strategy to meet customer needs

Oak Brook, Ill. - McDonald’s USA has decided to give employees a break, in the form of higher pay, paid time off and educational assistance. McDonald’s is raising starting wages at company-owned restaurants in the U.S. one dollar more than the locally-mandated minimum wage, as of July 1.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Pizza and TV are a natural pairing, and Domino’s Pizza is doing its part to bring them closer together than ever before. Domino’s is now letting customers order food via their Samsung Smart TV.

Cincinnati -- Macy’s announced that Bloomingdale’s plans to open a 150,000-sq.-ft., three-level location in fall 2018 in an all-new shopping, dining and entertainment center being developed in Norwalk, Connecticut, by General Growth Properties.

“This spectacular new shopping center will be a distinctive and upscale destination for Fairfield County and surrounding areas, prominently positioned at I-95 and Highway 7,” said Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s.

Washington, D.C. - An Obama administration proposal to expand overtime and redefine what it means to be a restaurant or retail manager may harm mangers’ career paths and undermine the quality of customer service they are able to provide. According to a new survey 200 salaried retail and restaurant managers conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by GfK Research, 81% of respondents said there would be an adverse impact on customer service.

New Orleans -- Stirling Properties has completed the development financing and will soon launch construction on the Offices at Mid-City Market, a 54,000-sq.-ft., mixed-use complex in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans.

The Offices at Mid-City Market will feature approximately 31,000 sq. ft. of office space along with 9,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space. The building design will include parking, additional green space and water management. Prior to closing the construction loan, the building was nearly 50% pre-leased.

Atlanta -- GBT Realty Corporation acquired a 1.7-acre site in East Cobb County, Atlanta, at the intersection of Roswell Road and East Cobb Drive near Johnson Ferry Road. Currently the site of a 10,240-sq.-ft. building occupied by Chuck E. Cheese’s, the firm plans to redevelop the parcel with demolition slated this spring.  

GBT acquired the site from Empress Theatres for $1.65 million. No additional terms were disclosed.

San Juan -- The Mall of San Juan, the first upscale shopping center in Puerto Rico, officially opened its doors on March 26. The 650,000-sq.-ft. shopping center, developed through a partnership between Taubman and New Century Development, has a retail line-up includes the Caribbean's only Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Sixty percent of the tenants are unique to the market.