Quick Service Restaurant

Aliso Viejo, Calif. – Johnny Rockets is now focusing its global expansion efforts on developments in Southeast Asia. The casual dining chain is seeking area developers for expansion into Thailand and Vietnam.

Johnny Rockets currently operates Southeast Asian franchise stores in Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia through its 14 open restaurants and eight others in development.

Vancouver, Wash. – Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. is setting its sights on Jacksonville, Florida. The pizza chain is opening four new franchised stores in Jacksonville on Aug. 27.

These stores will join five other Papa Murphy’s units already located in the greater Jacksonville area.
 

Los Angeles – Fast-casual pizza chain PizzaRev is cutting into the Mexican market. PizzaRev has signed a franchise agreement with Grupo Galería to bring PizzaRev to Mexico.

The agreement calls for 20 PizzaRev restaurants to be developed throughout Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Nuevo León and Coahuila. The group is the largest Carl’s Jr. franchisee in Mexico and opened the first international store for PizzaRev parent company Buffalo Wild Wings outside of Canada.

New York -- A strong majority of Americans (72%) - crossing regional, political, generational, gender and income lines – believe the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is lower than it should be. However, while Americans clearly feel minimum wage should be higher, exactly how high remains a more contentious subject.

Emeryville, Calif. -- Jamba Juice is making it more convenient for customers to get their smoothies.

The chain announced that consumers will now be able to skip the line at over 200 stores where the retailer will be rolling out the first phase of its new mobile order-ahead app. The new smartphone tool is available on the Jamba Juice app.

New York -- Chick-fil-A is set to open its largest location to date in one of the nation’s busiest cities.

The quick-serve restaurant chain will open its first freestanding location in New York City, at the corner of West 37th Street and 6th Avenue in the Garment District, on Oct. 3. The three-story, 5,000-sq.-ft. restaurant will be Chick-fil-A's largest in the country and will be independently owned and operated by local resident Oscar Fittipaldi.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. – Count Johnny Rockets among those looking forward to starting college later this year. Johnny Rockets is launching a further expansion into college and university campuses through its Express prototype.

Johnny Rockets Express, a quick-service prototype aimed at universities, airports, malls and other entertainment destinations, offers flexible floor plans with options ranging from a 150-sq.-ft., free-standing kiosk to a 1,100-sq.-ft. restaurant.

The Department of Labor’s long-awaited proposed revisions to the “white collar” overtime exemptions are finally here – at least, in part.  On June 30, 2015, the DOL unveiled its proposed revisions to the required salary levels for many of the “white collar” exemptions to the FLSA’s overtime requirements.(The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.)

London - Two e-tailers, Amazon.com and Netflix, are the respective number one and two ranked brands in the U.S., according to the mid-year Brand Index from consumer research firm YouGov. Social video platform is the number three brand in the index, meaning the top three is made up of brands that focus on services delivered through the Internet.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. - Johnny Rockets is partnering with foodservice consulting group EMPAD to support purchasing and distribution for the brand's U.S. restaurants. As part of the relationship, EMPAD will assist Johnny Rockets with distributor pricing verification, analysis, sourcing and more to improve the supply chain process for the brand's franchise and corporate-owned restaurants.