Full Service

Orlando, Fla. - Olive Garden has entered into an agreement with Ziosk to begin the introduction of tabletop tablets in all of its restaurants nationwide. Olive Garden has been testing Ziosk in a select number of its restaurants since 2014, and the feedback from guests and servers has been positive.

Chicago - Potbelly Corp. has named Michael Coyne as its new CFO, effective May 1. Coyne will oversee all financial functions and will also be charged with positively impacting Potbelly's analytical, productivity, and risk assessment capabilities.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. -- Johnny Rockets recently signed the largest development deal in the brand's history, with a plan to open 100 restaurants in China, with the first scheduled to open in 2016.

Emeryville, Calif. - Jamba, Inc. has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Vitaligent LLC to refranchise 100 company-owned restaurants in the San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Jamba will receive a purchase price of $36.0 million in cash.

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. tackled a wide range of global responsibility projects in 2014, including the ongoing minimization of its environment footprint. In its annual 2014 Global Responsibility Report, the coffee giant noted that it opened its 500th LEED-certified store in 2014, and that 98% of company-operated new stores opened in the United States in 2014 were built to LEED standards. Globally, the percentage stands at 64%.

Chicago – Bigger is often said to be better, but some big restaurant chains may not agree. The 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S. accelerated their cumulative sales growth in 2014 to a 4% increase, totaling an estimated $274.4 billion, according to data released by Technomic Inc.

But some of the biggest brands among them, namely Subway and McDonald's, lost ground to focused-menu competitors and emerging fast-casual chains and reported overall sales decreases for the year.

Tampa, Fla. – The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has opened its first restaurant outside of North America in Jakarta, Indonesia. The latest opening comes on the heels of the company announcing its plans for continued international expansion.

The Melting Pot is on track to open its first restaurants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later in 2015, as well as its fourth location in Mexico City, Mexico.

Columbus, Ohio - Nationwide Realty Investors has announced that Nashville, Tennessee-based Dick’s Last Resort will open its first Ohio location in the Arena District in summer 2015. Dick’s Last Resort will occupy 7,300-sq.-ft. in the first floor of a building adjacent to Nationwide Arena and will include an outdoor patio with seating for more than 130 people

Dallas, Oregon – Pressed Coffee & Wine Bar and Taters Café is wirelessly syncing its stores’ iPad POS teminals with Serverless Sync, a new functionality from cloud-based tablet POS vendor ShopKeep. Serverless Sync allows merchants to open and close checks from multiple registers, with orders seamlessly updated across all devices in real-time with or without an internet connection.

Peoria, Ill. -- Apparel and accessories retailer Leopard Boutique will open a 1,273-sq.-ft. store at The Streets of St. Charles, in Peoria, Illinois. The trendy boutique has finalized its lease and will join the mixed-used development in May as the newest retail store in the development.

Leopard Boutique will be located in suite 150 at the ground level near the cross streets of Beale Street and Nichols Road at the base of the five-story luxury residential apartment building that is currently 85% occupied.