Restaurant

Dallas - Village on the Parkway, a 357,731-sq.-ft. retail center situated on 31 acres in Dallas, announced that four new retailers will open at the property during the next few months. Privately held real estate firm Vestar currently handles property management, leasing and marketing at the center.

The new retailers include Soma, which will occupy 2,549 sq. ft. with a July 18 opening. Also opening on July 18 is Francesca’s, which will occupy 1,400 sq. ft.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts is making a big expansion effort in the mid-Atlantic area.

The coffee chain has signed multi-unit store development agreements with seven franchise groups to develop 51 new restaurants in Virginia and West Virginia during the next several years.

The seven franchise groups and their development plans include:

If you’ve been reading this column over the last four years, let me first say, “thank you!” It’s gratifying to think that my musings about retail and retail real estate have kept your attention and interest. In this, my 100th and final (except for an occasional contribution) Retail Rap, I wanted to tackle the big question: What’s next? Where is the retail industry — particularly brick-and-mortar — headed in the months and years ahead?

Seattle – Although coffee prices are on the wane, Starbucks Corp. is facing rising wage and rent expenses. The retailer is passing at least some of those costs along to the consumer with higher prices on some beverages.

Photo: Fernando’s owner Fernando Padilla with CityLine location general manager Omar Hernandez.

Having passed the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the top 10 most-viewed stories of the year (to date) on Chainstoreage.com.

Houston -- Houston-based Baker Katz, an X Team International partner and full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm, announced the acquisition of a 2.12-acre property with an existing 13,000-sq.-ft. office building located near the cross streets of U.S. Highway 59 N and West Little York Road in Houston.

Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Co. plans on making a connection with French consumers.

The retailer is partnering with and Casino Restauration, the restaurant subsidiary of mass merchandiser Groupe Casino, to open Starbucks stores within Géant Casino hypermarkets and Casino supermarkets across France.