Restaurant

New York -- Cohen Commercial Properties has completed an $8.65 million refinancing of Buttermilk Crossing, located in Crescent Springs, Ky. The 94%-occupied, 78,012-sq.-ft. shopping center is located immediately off of Interstate 71/75. Tenants include Staples, Outback Steakhouse, Petco and The UPS Store.   

By Bruce Leonard and John Cumbelich  

Queens, N.Y. -- Airport retail developer MarketPlace Development is opening new shops, restaurants and services as part of an overall plan to upgrade the Food & Shops program at Terminal B in LaGuardia Airport as planning continues on a new terminal.

New York -- Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s retail team has been retained by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to lead the leasing of Grand Central Terminal.   

Bethesda, Md. -- Washington Property Company (WPC) is bringing the True Food Kitchen restaurant to its latest upscale apartment development, Solaire Bethesda. Upon opening in 2016, Solaire Bethesda’s street-level retail space will be occupied by True Food Kitchen.  

Louisville, Ky. -- GBT Realty Corp., a national real estate development company based in Brentwood, Tenn., is expanding tenant lineups at two Louisville-based regional shopping centers totaling nearly 500,000-sq.-ft. to over 90% leased. Only a combined 23,500-sq.-ft. of retail space remains at Jefferson Commons and at Middletown Commons with the first tenants scheduled to be open in November. Construction is currently underway.  

Las Vegas -- Today’s convenience stores face growing pressure to evolve amid the ramped-up expectations of global consumers, according to remarks made by Joseph Bona, president of branded environments at brand agency and retail design consultancy CBX, and Dan Munford, managing firector of U.K.-based Insight, convenience and petroleum retail strategy specialists, at the National Association of Convenience Stores’ annual convention in Las Vegas.  

Seattle – Starbucks Coffee Co. is increasing the pay and relaxing the dress code of its U.S. store employees to allow for tattoos and other forms of self-expression to show.