News Briefs

A San Diego-based beef birria taco brand has its sights set on nationwide expansion via its new franchising program. 

CIting multiple agreements with experienced franchises, Mike’s Red Tacos said it has more than 200 locations in its development pipeline. The brand has signed multi-unit deals in markets including California, Michigan, Minnesota, New England, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Indiana and Illinois, with a focus on the major cities in each state. The first franchised restaurant is set to open by the end of 2026.

Mike’s Red Tacos, which was founded in 2021 as a food truck, currently operates two locations in San Diego, with a third store coming soon. A location in Pasadena, Calif., is set to open this spring. The brand is known for its slow-cooked beef (birria) served in tacos alongside the consomé dipping broth.

[READ MORE: Done Deal: Jack in the Box sells Del Taco for $119 million]

Leading Mike’s Red Tacos’ expansion plans is newly-named company president Vincent Montanelli, a longtime restaurant industry executive. He most recently served as the COO at Wetzel's Pretzels, where he held various leadership roles for nearly 20 years. 

Bill Phelps and Andrew Feghali are backing the concept as early-stage investors and advisors. Phelps led Dave's Hot Chicken's explosive growth as CEO since 2019, following his role as co-founder and longtime leader of Wetzel's Pretzels, while Feghali’s experience includes being the first Dave's Hot Chicken franchisee, along with operating a multi-unit franchising portfolio that includes Jersey Mike's and Little Caesars.

"The strength of Mike's Red Tacos is a combination of its authentic and craveable birria, a strong business model, incredible partners and positioning to capitalize on a market demand that birria is experiencing," said Montanelli. "With a team that has a proven track record in multi-unit franchising and restaurant leadership, we are set up to scale Mike's Red Tacos and share the birria experience with communities throughout the country.”

Instacart is offering relief to eligible shoppers impacted by natural disasters such as fires, hurricanes, floods, or earthquakes.

The grocery technology company has launched the Instacart Shopper Relief Fund. The fund is designed to help ensure eligible shoppers have access to support during natural disasters, such as covering evacuation expenses, addressing immediate needs, or helping begin the process of recovery and rebuilding.

Through this program, qualifying shoppers may receive up to $2,000 in financial assistance per calendar year following a verified, disaster-related hardship.

Instacart administers the Shopper Relief Fund through a third-party partner, Canary, which will review requests and issue funds directly to approved shoppers. 

To qualify for assistance through the Shopper Relief Fund, shoppers must be an active shopper on the Instacart platform, a current Cart Star shopper at the Gold, Platinum, or Diamond level, have completed a minimum of 7,500 lifetime orders on Instacart and be personally impacted by a qualifying natural disaster, including providing verification materials, such as receipts, evacuation notices, or official disaster documentation.

[READ MORE: Instacart upgrades shopper rewards program]

Assistance must be requested within 90 days following a qualifying event.

Instacart competitor DoorDash has offered a similar program called the Dasher Relief Fund to its shoppers (known as "dashers" in DoorDash-speak) since 2024. Eligible dashers can apply for a grant for certain hardship events, such as a death in the family or the impacts of a natural disaster. If they qualify, they can receive an emergency assistance grant of up to $1,000.

Instacart partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America. 

Many health, beauty & wellness brands are focusing on the wrong channel for loyalty communications.

Among health, beauty & wellness shoppers, email is the most preferred loyalty communications channel (21.76%), ahead of other channels such as social (16.94%) and app notifications (15.71%).

However, new research from email, automation and AI marketing platform GetResponse indicates brands in the space rate social as the most effective channel for loyalty communications (20.37%), with email second (15.47%), indicating a mismatch.

[READ MORE: How retailers should rethink loyalty programs in the age of AI]

The research combines 2,400 health, beauty &wellness shoppers and 600 direct-to-consumer/e-commerce brands across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy and Romania. 

Other findings 

• Two in three consumer respondents believe brands value new customers more than existing ones — rising to roughly 70% among monthly repurchasers (the highest-value shopper cohort). However, 69% of brand respondents report their budget is evenly split 50/50 between acquisition and retention.
• Almost all (90.9%) consumer respondents value being treated as a loyal customer and 89.7% say feeling recognized/rewarded matters. More than 99% of brand respondents see customer loyalty as important but GetResponse analysis indicates uneven delivery of a customer experience that rewards loyalty.
• Only 17.96% of brand respondents compare the ROI of customer acquisition efforts to customer retention efforts. Top factors prohibiting brand respondents that don’t make this comparison include budget (28%), limited tools and technology (24.16%), and proving ROI (16.79%).

Lowe’s has launched a nationwide call for communities to nominate renovation projects that improve nonprofit, municipal and community spaces.

Through the company’s Community Impact program, Lowe's will award up to 100 large-scale renovation grants and complete more than 2,000 additional associate-led community improvement projects across the nation, bringing community "bucket list" projects to life. The initiative is part of Lowe's five-year, $100 million commitment to community revitalization.

The retailer said its call for community bucket list ideas is inspired by the iconic Lowe's blue bucket and the millions of Americans dreaming big and working every day to strengthen their hometowns;

To inspire project nominations and celebrate big community impact, the company is launching the Lowe's Community Bucket List Tour, taking oversized Lowe's blue buckets to communities from coast to coast. Tour stops include Dallas; Louisville, Ky.; Philadelphia; Tampa, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; Detroit; St. Louis; Salt Lake City; San Diego; and Phoenix.

"At Lowe's, we know strong communities don't just happen —  they're built," said Marvin Ellison, Lowe's chairman and CEO. "Every day our associates work alongside community helpers to deliver transformational impact for the places we call home. As we look ahead to 2026, we're setting ambitious goals for our work to help strengthen the communities we serve for generations to come."

Nominated ideas should benefit a nonprofit, school, city or municipality. Eligible project types include rebuilding or renovating:

•Community resources such as senior citizen centers, food pantries or youth clubs;

•Safe affordable housing including homeless shelters and transitional living facilities;

•Community spaces like parks and gardens, historical theaters, or spaces to gather;

•Veteran and military family services;

•First responder facilities, like fire departments or police stations; and

•Skilled trades education facilities.

Trader Joe’s continues to expand its footprint nationwide.

The grocer listed the locations of seven new locations that, according to its website, are “coming soon.”  In addition, Trader Joe’s recently won approval to open a store at Mount Pleasant Plaza in West Orange, N.J., reported NJBiz.com.

The locations marked as “coming soon” include:

•Tucson, Ariz. (2150 E. Broadway Blvd.);

•West Palm Beach, Fla. (8111 S. Dixie Hwy.); 

•Johns Creek, Ga.(1000 Medley Blvd.); 

•Merriam, Kan.(8700 Shawnee Mission Pkwy.);

•Mandeville, La.  (3377 U.S. Hwy. 190); 

•New Orleans (2428 Napoleon Ave.); and

•Woodinville, Wash. (14035 NE Woodinville Duvall Rd.) 

Earlier this month, Trader Joe’s opened two new stores in the Northeast, with locations in Hamden, Conn., and Miller Place, N.Y.

A massive mixed-use redevelopment project in the Nashville, Tenn. suburbs is soon to be underway.

Ohio-based real estate development firm Merus has purchased RiverGate Mall, located in Goodlettsville, Tenn., with plans to transform the enclosed mall into a 57-acre mixed‑use district. According to local outlet The Tennessean, Merus purchased the property, which opened in 1971, for $33 million from Hendon Properties. 

Planned as a multi‑phase project, the estimated $450 million redevelopment plan will transform the property into a “walkable, connected community” featuring new streets and infrastructure, housing, retail, dining and entertainment amenities, medical and office space, in addition to public green space.

At full buildout, the master plan is anticipated to include approximately 700 multi-family units, 100 townhomes and 80 independent senior housing units, along with more than 130,000 square feet of retail and dining.

Initial demolition is anticipated to begin in spring 2026, with early construction expected later in the year. Development is expected to continue in phases through the early 2030s. 

[READ MORE: Under-construction Atlanta Metro center announces retail signings]

"RiverGate has played an important role in this area for decades," said Patrick Poole, senior VP and Nashville market leader for Merus. "Our focus is honoring that significance while repositioning the site for today, creating a more walkable, connected place that delivers long‑term value for the surrounding communities."

The project will provide new residential and retail opportunities in one of the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas. Recent census data shows that the Nashville metro grew its population by 6.4% from 2020 to 2024, reaching approximately 2.15 million residents.

(Mall rendering courtesy of Merus)