Hospitality

Denver -- Quiznos continues to expand its international development with growth into seven countries in Asia and the Middle East. This is the latest addition to an international development strategy to open more than 1,000 restaurants in more than 40 countries by 2020 and will widen the company footprint abroad through the help of international master franchisees.  

New York –- Online footwear retailer Zappos is ranked the simplest brand in the U.S. And that’s a good thing. According to the new Brand Simplicity Index ranking of U.S. brands from brand advisory firm Siegel & Gale, the top 10 list is dominated by retailers. The list includes Amazon.com at number two, Subway (#3), Pizza Hut (#4), Netflix (#5), Trader Joe’s (#6), Kroger (#7), McDonald’s (#8), Chipotle (#9) and Dunkin’ Donuts (#10).

Tampa, Fla. -- Outback Steakhouse is introducing Click Thru Seating. With Click Thru Seating, customers visit Outback.com from any connected device to view the current wait time at their local Outback restaurant and put their name on the waitlist for now or later.    Unlike a traditional reservation, late customers will not be dropped from the wait list or penalized. The service will also soon be available on the Outback mobile app.  

Beijing, China -- Alibaba Group is rebranding its Taobao Travel online travel business as an independent business and brand named “Alitrip.” Alitrip will be another marketplace platform under Alibaba Group with a new independent web domain, www.alitrip.com.   

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald’s is collaborating with mobile commerce provider Softcard. Customers will now be able to tap and pay both in-restaurant and in the drive-thru lane at all U.S. McDonald’s locations, marking the largest deployment of NFC-based mobile commerce in drive-thru.  

Dallas –- Bar Louie will open its newest location at the Shops at Park Lane in Dallas. Bar Louie will occupy the 7,332-sq.-ft. former Park Tavern space and open mid-November.   UCR’s Stan Lotridge represented the tenant, BL Restaurant Operations, and UCR’s Ashley O’Malley represented the landlord, Northwood Retail.  

New York -- Harvard Business Review released its annual list of the 100 best-performing CEOs in the world, and heading up the list is Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.