Hospitality

Seattle – Starbucks anticipates record purchases and activations of Starbucks cards on Thursday, Dec. 19. Last year, more than 2 million Starbucks cards were purchased in the U.S. and Canada on the Thursday before Christmas, representing nearly 1,500 cards purchased per minute in the U.S. and Canada.

East Rutherford, N.J. -- In partnership with travel retailer Hudson Group, leading lingerie and beauty retailer Victoria's Secret has opened a new Beauty & Accessories store in John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4. The new store will focus on a range of beauty products and accessories.

New York -- Swiss watchmaker Bovet 1822 will open a New York City flagship, just its fourth boutique in the world.

The 50 Central Park South store in the heart of midtown Manhattan is in the base of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The classic yet modern space incorporates walnut furniture lined with suede.

Algonquin, Ill. — Fuddruckers has opened a 6,600-sq.-ft. fast casual restaurant in the Algonquin Commons lifestyle center in Algonquin, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago. The new restaurant replaces a Cheeseburger in Paradise, according to Luby’s, Inc., the parent company of both brands and the owner of the site.

The Algonquin Commons restaurant will showcase Fuddruckers’ new interior scheme, which pays homage to the chains roadhouse look, while refreshing the look to cater to today’s more sophisticated tastes.

New Haven, Conn. -- Sportech Venues, owner and operator of Winners sports bars and OTB in Connecticut, will launch a major new concept in sports entertainment at the Bradley Teletheater adjacent to Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks. Construction concludes shortly, with the opening planned for early January 2014.

Los Angeles — Retail real estate showed the strongest growth in capital values and rents of all property types globally in the third quarter of 2013, according to CBRE Group, Inc.

M&M'S World Las Vegas is celebrating the recent opening of its new candy wall — the largest M&M'S candy wall in the world — with a 3-D representation of the wall designed on the sidewalk outside the store.

M&M'S World Las Vegas has partnered with the We Talk Chalk art group to create the three-dimensional chalk rendering.

The wall itself spans more than 62 ft. wide and includes 125 tubes of colorful M&M'S, offering 22 varieties and 11 flavors.

Amit Menipaz, general manager of structured data at eBay, and John Inwright, president and CEO of Quality Supply Chain Co-op, the co-op for Wendy’s, have been appointed to the GS1 U.S. board of governors.