Hospitality

For a couple years now, outlet centers have been moving from the outskirts of cities closer and closer to downtown. Howard Hughes Corp.’s Outlet Collection at Riverwalk is the first to make it all the way downtown — into the center of the newly rebuilt New Orleans.

Slated to open on Memorial Day weekend, the former 200,000-sq.-ft. Riverwalk Marketplace has expanded into a 250,000-sq.-ft. outlet center following a $70 million redevelopment.

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. has named Anthony N. (“Tony”) Thompson, 47, as president and CEO, effective June 1. Thompson joins the company from Papa John’s International Inc., where he most recently served as president and COO.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company is expanding its presence in Latin America, with plans to open locations in Colombia, Bolivia and Panama.

Starbucks said it is on track to open its first store in Colombia, in the city of Bogota, in mid-summer 2014 through a joint venture between two of its longest-term business partners in the Latin America region – Alsea and Grupo Nutresa. During the next five years, the joint venture plans to expand aggressively in Bogota and to other major cities in Colombia.

Los Angeles -- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has named Karen Cate as CFO and Jeff Schroeder as VP operations.

Cate most recently served as the VP controller of Trader Joe's Company, where she was responsible for the integrity of financial processes and reporting for the retail grocery store, warehouses, and distribution operations.

Schroeder brings more than 30 years of experience with large multi-unit operations in the restaurant industry. He most recently served as VP brewery restaurants for Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Domino’s Pizza has developed the Group Ordering Tool as an online feature that calculates an estimate of the number of pizzas needed to feed a specific amount of people. Domino's customers who use the Group Ordering Tool will also receive a discount on the menu price of their pizzas.

Purchase, N.Y. -- After several months of sluggish retail sales, consumer shopping in the U.S. rebounded in April, according to the latest MasterCard SpendingPulse report, which aggregate national retail sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check.

Chicago - The fast-casual segment continues to obtain share from full-service chains and drive limited-service growth, making up 15% of the $231 billion limited-service restaurant segment. The “Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Report” from Technomic shows that fast-casual sales increased 11% in 2013, while all limited-service chains grew by only 3.5%.

Las Vegas — Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino has begun planning efforts to convert a 60,000-sq.-ft. area on Harmon Avenue along the center’s south end into a dining and entertainment destination.