News Briefs

Sixty-plus years after setting up shop as one of the premier providers of classic Chicago-style pie, Rosati’s Pizza Enterprises is making plans for baking up its biggest order yet.

The brand — which has been voted Chi-town’s premier pie-maker and is annually ranked in Franchise Times’ Top 400 and Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 — has announced that it will be opening 11 new locations over the next 90 days.

“Opening 11 new stores in just three months is a testament to the enduring strength of our brand legacy and unit-level economics," said the chain’s owner Anthony Rosati. 

The swath of store launches highlights accelerated demand from both single-unit franchisees and existing multi-unit operators scaling their portfolios into expansion territories nationwide, according to Rosati.  

He commented that streamlined commercial real estate site selection, flexible retail footprint options, turnkey construction workflows and dedicated field operations support are enabling franchise owners to quickly expand their pie networks.

"Achieving record-setting annual store growth and our highest number of multi-unit operators in company history underscores the deep confidence our franchise partners have in Rosati’s long-term business model,” added Rosati.

Best known for its “Chicago’s Greatest Thin Crust Pizza,” Rosati’s has more than 200 shops nationwide.

Seattle has become the first city in the country to ban the use of personalized, or surveillance, pricing in the sale of groceries.

The Seattle City Council has passed the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, which prohibits large online and brick‑and‑mortar grocery retailers from using a consumer’s personal data to change the price they see for groceries and other essential items. This includes, for example, data about a consumer’s web-browsing history, their real-time location, inferences about their income, family size, health conditions and more. Prices must be clearly posted and available to all shoppers.

The bill also permits a vast array of discounting practices while requiring increased transparency around discounts and placing some limitations on how consumers can be profiled.

[READ MORE: Maryland’s surveillance pricing ban signals new era for AI-driven grocery pricing]

“Food is an essential good that’s getting more expensive all the time,” said Mayor Katie Wilson. “People have been clear: they don’t want their data fed into algorithms that decide how much they pay at the grocery store. Everyone deserves transparent pricing and equal treatment, not hidden systems that charge some shoppers more than others.”

Other states have taken action to sign bills into law to ban the practice of surveillance pricing, including New Jersey, Maryland and Connecticut.

Digital-first Set has made its Midwest store debut.

The Los Angeles-based athleisure brand has opened a store in Chicago’s West Loop, on Randolph Street. It joins the company’s two other locations, in New York City’s West Village neighborhood and West Hollywood, Calif. The company also has a pop-up in Austin, Texas.

Set, which sells bras, leggings, shorts and hoodies at affordable prices, said it designed its Chicago store as a "love letter" to the Midwest. The space is meant to feel more like the living room of a nostalgic lake house as opposed rather than a traditional retail store.  

The decor elements are designed to make the space feel distinctly Chicago and rooted in the community. They include shiplap walls, A-frame ceilings, vintage sports collectibles, founder family photos and a custom Set baseball logo wall.

[READ MORE: First Look: Gen Z fashion brand Cider expanding in brick and mortar]

The store also features an experiential dressing lounge where shoppers and their friends can grab a drink from the complimentary fridge, catch the game on TV or play a classic hook-and-ring toss while they shop.

Founded by Lindsay Carter, Set was launched by online in 2018. The brand has developed a huge social media following through its transparent behind-the-scenes content and customer involvement, with polls on Instagram and TikTok that let fans vote on upcoming colorways, themes and product drops.

Aldi is reducing prices on nearly one-third of its products in a limited-time fall promotion.

The discount grocer said the move will deliver an estimated $86 million in savings to shoppers. The price reductions, which come as consumers continue to deal with inflation, will be in effect from Sept. 23 until at least Nov. 3 at Aldi stores nationwide.

[READ MORE: Survey: Grocery prices to impact consumers’ holiday shopping]

The reductions build on hundreds of items where prices are already lower than they were in 2025, Aldi noted, spanning products such as ground and organic whole bean coffee, mixed nuts and dried fruit, everyday essentials. Honeycrisp apples are priced at $1.99 per pound, 35% lower than last year and their lowest everyday price in more than five years, while Kirkwood chicken breast family packs are $1.99 per pound, the lowest everyday price since 2022.

Earlier this week, BJ's Wholesale Club said it will offer a 42% discount on a variety of foods and other items from Sept. 24 through the end of October. The promotion is part of the company's 42nd birthday celebration.

According to the “2026 Aldi Price Leadership Report,” the grocer offers the lowest prices of any national grocery store, saving shoppers an estimated $10.2 billion. Select stores will carry the meals starting in early October, with more markets added through the fall and full national availability expected by January 2027.

Aldi recently debuted its first-ever ready-made meals line. The collection includes five single-serve meals priced under $8.

"At Aldi, value is a year-round promise, not a promotion," said Scott Patton, Aldi's chief commercial officer. "Customers trust us to help them make the most of their grocery budget, and we never stop looking for ways to run our business more efficiently so we can pass along savings. As shoppers head into fall routines and healthier habits, we're making additional investments to lower prices on our better-for-you favorites, building on the value customers already see throughout our stores."

Dollar General Corp. is expanding its options for customers seeking on-demand delivery of digital orders from local stores.

The discount giant is launching a pilot to offer delivery of its entire assortment in as little as one hour via the Instacart app and website at approximately 7,000 Dollar General and Popshelf stores in six states in the coming weeks, with plans to expand to approximately 20,000 stores across 48 states in the fall.

"At Dollar General, our mission is serving others, and we continually look for new ways to provide customers with the value and convenience they count on," said Tony Rogers, senior VP and chief marketing officer at Dollar General. "Our partnership with Instacart provides another convenient way for customers to access affordable food, household essentials and other products they need while saving them valuable time."

Dollar General has also been in a delivery partnership with DoorDash since an initial pilot in summer 2021 and delivers online orders from more than 17,000 stores in a collaboration with Uber Eats. The retailer also offers its proprietary myDG Delivery same-day delivery service via its app and website, which it expanded earlier this year to more than 17,000 stores, many located in rural communities.

[READ MORE: Dollar General takes on Amazon with same-day rural delivery]

"Dollar General's vast footprint and longstanding commitment to affordability make them an important addition to the Instacart Marketplace," said Ryan Hamburger, chief commercial officer at Instacart.

As of May 1, 2026, Dollar General Corporation operated 21,055 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and Popshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico. Instacart partners with more than 2,200 retail banners representing nearly 100,000 stores across North America.

The Canadian subsidiary of Best Buy Co Inc. is improving alignment between inventory and customer demand.

Best Buy Canada is deploying Relex Solutions technology in an effort to drive greater efficiency across its supply chain network. Specifically, the consumer electronics retailer seeks to incorporate supply chain constraints into replenishment planning, optimize inventory across channels and automate key planning processes aligned with its larger business goals.

Operating more than 300 stores supported by two distribution centers and managing approximately 2.1 million SKUs, Best Buy Canada serves millions of customers throughout the country, making inventory visibility and planning efficiency critical.

Utilizing Relex technology, Best Buy Canada intends to improve inventory visibility, automate planning processes and support omnichannel operations across its stores and distribution centers.

"Accurate planning is essential to meeting customer expectations in a competitive consumer electronics market," said Christian Trudel, VP inventory & merchandising operations at Best Buy Canada. "Relex gives us the tools to improve planning efficiency that supports delivering a better experience for our customers across Canada."

[READ MORE: Dollar General unifies inventory forecasting, replenishment with AI]

A wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co., Inc. Best Buy Canada Ltd. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and operates the Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Best Buy Express and Geek Squad brands in Canada. The company operates more 300 Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile and Best Buy Express stores across Canada as well as the BestBuy.ca e-commerce site.