Restaurant

New York -- Research released by IBISWorld showed that Father’s Day sales are forecast to total $13 billion in 2013, a 2% year-over-year increase. Results are expected to get a boost from the overall rise in consumer spending.

Special outings, such as dining out and watching sporting events, are expected to account for the largest share of Father’s Day spending this year, contributing 18.8% of total holiday sales, up 3.5% from 2012.

Atlanta -- Restaurant brands Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken has announced a new senior management team and board of directors, intended to ramp up the five-unit chains’ expansion plans.

Boneheads franchisee Ron Barber has been appointed chairman of the board, and Beef O’Brady’s and Brass Tap chief development officer James Walker has been named to the board of directors.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Training consultant Tortal said that it has forged a test agreement with Bojangles Restaurants to create a point-of-sale training program to support the new POS rollout for its company and franchise restaurants.
 
The training program, said Tortal, is intended to strengthen the restaurant chain’s existing training processes.

The launch of the new online training program is slated for summer 2013.

Starbucks Coffee Company is extending its indoor no-smoking policy to the outdoors. The company will prohibit anyone up to 25 feet from a Starbucks store from smoking, effective June 1, where permitted by its leases. 

The new rule will apply to the 7,000 shops owned and operated by Starbucks Corp., regardless of whether they have outdoor seating areas. 

New York -- When retailers discuss a social media strategy, they usually mean something involving reaching out to customers through popular social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. And while that is an important marketing technique to engage modern consumers, social media can also serve as a powerful internal communications and engagement platform. For example, quick service hamburger chain Red Robin uses the Yammer enterprise social network to directly link employees to senior management and each other in real time.

New York -- Elixir Juice Bar has leased two more stores in Manhattan, according to Winick Realty Group, which represented the brand in both of its recent New York leases.

Elixir will occupy 70 Greenwich Avenue, located between Seventh Avenue South and Sixth Avenue in the heart of the West Village. Elixir has also leased a location in the Upper East Side. The 500-sq.-ft. store is located at 1371 Third Avenue, between 78th and 79th Streets.

Foxborough, Mass. -- Ulta Beauty opened its newest location on May 24 at Patriot Place, in Foxborough, Mass. The 10,000-sq.-ft. store in Patriot Place’s South Marketplace is the beauty chain’s eighth Massachusetts location.
 

New York -- MPI has reported a significant increase in leasing volume within its core retail portfolio during the first four months of 2013 vs. the same period last year.

As of May 1, MPI has executed 23 new lease deals, many with new to the market tenants, representing a total of 113,900 sq. ft. throughout its national retail portfolio.  

On a year-over-year basis, the company has seen the number of new leases grow by 28%.