Hospitality

Seattle – Starbucks reportedly plans to expand a pilot of an evening alcohol and “light bites” menu that includes wine to thousands of stores nationwide. According to Bloomberg, Starbucks executives said the evening food and drink offerings, currently provided in about 40 test stores, will be rolled out during the next several years.

Waban, Mass. -- Chick-fil-A and Sonic Drive-In deliver the best customer experience in the fast food industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Miami – Burger King Worldwide Inc. is reportedly planning to introduce a mobile payment app. According to the Wall Street Journal, Burger King will launch the smartphone app in select markets starting in April 2014 and will offer it in all 7,000 U.S. stores within a few months of initial rollout.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Donuts has signed an agreement with OLH Group to begin developing Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the Brasilia and Goias regions of Brazil. The agreement calls for the development of 65 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the Brasilia and Goias areas during the next several years.

San Jose, Calif. -- VeriFone Systems, Inc. is partnering with Xpient Solutions to provide payment-as-a-service (PaaS) solution for quick service restaurant (QSR) and fast-casual dining markets. The solution enhances security through payment system isolation and end-to-end encryption while providing a pathway to EMV and NFC payment acceptance at the point-of-sale (POS).
 

New York — Choza Taqueria, a Manhattan-based Mexican restaurant, has signed a lease for its third location at 100 Park Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets. The new location will reach a lunchtime crowd from the area’s many Class A offices and the business commuters and visitors passing through Grand Central Station.

Winick Realty Group represented Choza, which currently operates storefronts on Madison Avenue and 27th Street and Macdougal Street and Bleecker Street.

Bloomington, Minn. -- Mall of America has launched a $325 million expansion project in cooperation with Mortenson, a U.S.-based construction and development services company, Hotel Development LLC, an enterprise of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the city of Bloomington, Minn.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Banana Republic will become a new retailer at the Ridge Hill shopping center in Yonkers, N.Y. Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the developer and owner of Ridge Hill, said the Banana Republic location will open beneath the center's Uniqlo store.