Restaurant

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. is reportedly considering changing its policy that forbids visible tattoos on baristas. According to CNNMoney, more than 21,000 employees have signed an online petition asking Starbucks to allow baristas in its stores to display visible, non-offensive tattoos.

Seattle — Starbucks Corp. is reportedly considering changing its policy that forbids visible tattoos on baristas. According to CNNMoney, more than 21,000 employees have signed an online petition asking Starbucks to allow baristas in its stores to display visible, non-offensive tattoos.

Canton, Mass. – Baskin-Robbins is expanding its footprint in Southern California with both existing and new franchisees from San Diego to Bakersfield, California. Existing Baskin-Robbins shops also are available throughout Southern California.

New York - Online retailer Beyond the Rack has signed a long-term, 3,944-sq.-ft. lease at 561 Seventh Avenue, which will serve as the firm’s U.S. headquarters, with Handler Real Estate Organization. The tenant, relocating from the Bryant Park area, will occupy the entire third floor at 561 7th Avenue in December, pending build-out of the space.

Lakewood, Colo. -- Einstein Noah Restaurant Group announced the appointment of Frank G. Paci as president and CEO, effective Sept. 15. Paci succeeds Michael Arthur who has filled the position on an interim basis since February 2014. Arthur will continue to serve as a board director.

Atlanta - S. Truett Cathy, founder and chairman emeritus of Chick-fil-A Inc., died at the age of 93 on Sept. 8.

Cathy got his start in 1946, when he opened a diner in a suburb of Atlanta. He invented the Chick-fil-A sandwich in 1964 and opened the company's first restaurant in Atlanta in 1967. Under his leadership, the quick-serve eatery grew into one of the nation’s largest family-owned companies, with annual sales of $5 billion in 2013. Currently, there are more than 1,800 Chick-fil-A restaurants operating in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

New York -- Panera Bread would like its customers to leave their guns at home. The bakery-cafe chain joined a handful of other high-profile retailers, including Starbucks, Chipotle, and Target, to make the request.  

Starbucks will launch two new store formats in fiscal 2015, include a smaller-format concept aimed at urban commuters and a more premium store concept — Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room — dedicated to the chain’s highbrow Reserve brand of coffees.