Hospitality

Milford, Conn. - The Subway restaurant chain is poised to open about 3,000 new locations worldwide this year. Subway currently has more than 41,000 stores in 105 countries worldwide.

"Location, location, location is still the mantra," said John Devine, director of Subway Real Estate. "We continue to provide our customers with convenient locations to enjoy our great menu offerings. At the same time, we continue to offer landlords and developers a proven, stable and trusted tenant for their real estate."

Kansas City, Mo. - Healthy options are becoming increasingly important to customers of quick-service restaurants (QSRs). These latest trends are detailed in a new white paper, "QSRs and America's Changing Tastes," by Sullivan Higdon & Sink (SHS) FoodThink.

Key takeaways from this white paper by SHS FoodThink that hint at a desire for more from QSRs:

• Forty-eight percent of consumers want more opportunities to customize orders.

• Fifty-one percent want QSRs to give them more options for sides.

Gainesville, Fla. — Bass Pro Shops has announced plans for a new store in Gainesville, Florida. Slated to open in 2016, the planned 80,000-sq.-ft. store will anchor Celebration Pointe, a one-million-sq.-ft. mixed-use development that will include retail, restaurants, entertainment, a hotel and residential units. The property lies in the northwest quadrant of Interstate 75 and Archer Road.

Indianapolis - Papa John’s International Inc. has promoted senior VP of global operations Steve Ritchie to the position of COO. In addition, the company’s founder, chairman and CEO John Schnatter, will assume the additional role of president, continuing to focus on all aspects of the company’s business while also acting as brand spokesperson.

Orlando, Fla. -- Darden Restaurants on Friday said it has reached an agreement to sell its struggling Red Lobster chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion.

"Red Lobster is exactly the type of company in which we seek to invest given its great brand profile and strong management team,” said Josh Olshansky, managing director at Golden Gate Capital. “We see significant opportunities for future growth by partnering with Kim Lopdrup and the management team to support the long-term success of Red Lobster."

Chicago - Easy2Find is a new online analytics tool designed to simplify food industry research and intelligence at the unit level. It is a joint service offering that joins foodservice data analytics provider CHD Expert and research and consulting firm Technomic.

Easy2Find lets chains see and understand a restaurant's footprint in any given geographic market and restaurant segment. It is designed to allow users to find where competitors are opening new unit locations and how they impact sales, helping to uncover market expansion potential.

Billund, Denmark – The Lego Group opens a new Legoland Discovery Center store at Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts, on May 23. The 44.000-sq.-ft. store will include two Lego rides, a 4-D cinema, and a large soft play area.

It will feature 11 attractions in total and be the sixth Legoland Discovery Center in the U.S. and 10th worldwide. The store is aimed at children ages 3-10, but minors must be accompanied by an adult.

Fort Worth, Texas — Rice Management Co. has selected Trademark Property Co. to oversee asset and property management, leasing and repositioning of the village Arcade in the historic Rice Village district of Houston, Texas.

The selection comes after Rice University exercised an option to acquire the leasehold interest in the two-level 195,000-sq.-ft. open-air retail center from the current owner, Weingarten. Closing is set for the third quarter of this year.