Hospitality

Tempe, Ariz. -- Togo's Eateries has opened its first restaurant in Tempe, Ariz., owned by current Togo's franchisees, Monty and Diana Coury, who opened the first Togo's restaurant in Gilbert, Ariz., last year.

"Since opening our first restaurant in Gilbert, we've seen a tremendous amount of support from the community and there is still a huge potential for growth in the market,” said Monty Coury.

Montclair, Calif. — Gold’s Gym has announced the opening of a location in the newly remodeled Montclair Plaza in Montclair, Calif. The new location will join 11 existing Gold’s Gym Southern California franchise locations. Slated to open April 1, 2014, the 40,000-sq.-ft. facility will feature GGX group exercise offerings, cardio equipment with iPod docking stations, a steam room, Cardio Cinema, towel service, an indoor pool, Jacuzzi and more.

Other recent arrivals at Montclair Plaza include Mina Shoes, Fly and Xtreme.

Kansas City – Applebee’s will roll out 100,000 E la Carte Presto tablets, powered by Intel, on every table and multiple bar positions at more than 1,800 Applebee’s restaurants in the U.S. by the end of 2014. DineEquity, franchisor of Applebee’s and IHOP restaurants, will also consider the tablets, which enable guests to add to their orders, pay and play games from their seats, will also be considered for introduction at IHOP locations.

Seattle – Starbucks has priced an underwritten public offering of senior notes. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering of $400 million of 0.875% senior notes due 2016 and $350 million of 2.000% senior notes due 2018 to fund a portion of the payment required by the previously announced arbitration award in the Kraft litigation matter.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Domino’s is running a special global Facebook promotion giving customers in 42 countries a 50% discount on menu-priced pizza ordered online. Through Dec. 8, customers can visit their country’s Domino’s Facebook page to see if they can redeem the offer.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s is reportedly making its free “McD” mobile app available to customers in the New England/Albany, N.Y. market. According to the Boston Globe, New England/Albany is the third market where McDonald’s has released the McD app, which is available for both iPhones and Android smartphones.

New technology makes paying the bill easier than ever for customers

Logic dictates that the easier it is for customers to pay for goods, the more likely they are to purchase them. Long lines, fumbling for cash or a payment card, and even the simple act of waiting for an associate to ring up a sale at a traditional fixed POS terminal are all impediments to converting sales from busy and distracted consumers.

Location: Cincinnati

Size: 1.1 million sq. ft.

Developer: Co-developed by Steiner + Associates and Bucksbaum Retail Properties
Major tenants: Dillard’s Department Store, CineBistro, a 135-room hotel, 220 luxury residential units and 100,000 sq. ft. of office space.

Status: Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2014 with the opening scheduled for summer 2015.