Hospitality

With plans to more than double its 200,000 global workforce in the foreseeable future, Starbucks is making a push to hire veterans and active duty spouses, much like other retailers like Walmart and Home Depot.

In addition, a store in Lakewood, Wash., and a store in San Antonio, Texas, will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with nonprofit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the United States.

Minneapolis -- Wireless Ronin Technologies has established a relationship with Denny’s Corp., and received an initial order from AAFES to install its RoninCast digital menu system at the Denny’s Fresh Express concept at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.

The  Ronin’s solution will feature digital menu and promotional screens that display a streamlined menu for both Denny’s Fresh Express and Denny’s AllNighter concepts.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with three existing franchise groups to develop 12 new restaurants in Detroit during the next several years. Existing franchise group Coffee Ventures, LLC plans to develop seven restaurants in suburban Detroit between 2014 and 2017, while existing Detroit franchisees Tarun and Falguni Raval plan to develop one restaurant in Detroit in 2014 and existing Detroit franchisees Nick and Masoud Shango plan to develop four restaurants in Detroit between 2014 and 2016.

Fort Walton Beach, Fla. -- Edwin Watts Golf Shops on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, with the intention of selling the operating assets of the business.  

The company, owned by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, listed estimated liabilities and assets of $100 million to $500 million.

Top trends include increased use of alternative energy sources and daylighting

Green building is on the rise, with half of all new U.S. retail and hotel projects expected to be green by 2015, according to recent surveys. The boom is credited to a number of factors, including higher energy efficiency standards, a move toward greater transparency, decreased operating costs, increased sustainability awareness and a more responsible use of building resources. 

Santa Clara, Calif. — Westfield Valley Fair celebrated its official grand re-opening with the debut of a multi-million dollar dining terrace and a fete for its expanded luxury collection in partnership with DuJour Magazine.

The remodeled 23,000-sq.-ft. public dining terrace caters to fast casual dining and entertainment programming. Shoppers can select from 18 eateries and enjoy comfortable lounge seating or an alfresco patio complete with fire pits and sculpture. 

LONDON — P&G Professional, a division of Procter and Gamble that supplies professional cleaning products to hotels, restaurants, care homes and other businesses, has unveiled an e-commerce site making P&G Professional's new range of specialist branded cleaning products available for online purchase.

Tucson, Ariz. — Mama’s Hawaiian Bar-B-Cue has signed a lease for a 2,000-sq.-ft. restaurant in Cortaro Plaza in Tucson, Ariz. The new location, the third for the young chain, is expected to open in mid-January 2014. The first two locations are near the University of Arizona and in Sahuarita, Ariz., a Tucson suburb.

Commercial Retail Advisors represented both the landlord, Cortaro Investments and the tenant, Mama’s Family Restaurants in the lease transaction.