STORE SPACES

Hartford, Conn. -- FM Facility Maintenance, a leading provider of facility management for clients with multisite restaurant and retail locations,  announced that it has acquired the assets and certain liabilities of US Signs. With this acquisition, FM Facility Maintenance strengthens its position as a service provider of facility maintenance services to customers with a national footprint.

Racine, Wis. -- Retail Maintenance Service (RMS) has changed its name to Ascential to reflect its growth and enhanced capabilities.

New York City -- Fast-casual restaurant operator Au Bon Pain is launching a major remodeling program that will transform all of its 318 cafes. The Boston-based chain also is testing iPads as an order-taking device in select stores.

Under this initiative, the company has already remodeled a majority of its cafes in the greater New York City area, one of the company's largest markets.

New York City -- Johnny Rockets debuted its updated interior design at its just-opened restaurant at South Street Seaport, in New York City.

"I've waited 10 years for this site, and we've taken great care to preserve the historical aspects of the building, while keeping to the tradition of our sleek and modern American feel," said Johnny Rockets franchise owner Bill White. "

Conshohocken, Pa. — Ikea plans to install solar photovoltaic systems on six more of its locations in the Eastern United States. Pending governmental permits, installation will begin in late spring, with completion expected this fall.

New York -- Apple on Sunday rolled out dedicated iPad stations in its stores nationwide. The iPads are positioned near products for customers to use as tools for comparision shopping and customer assistance. 

Apple's in-store iPads, which feature a special in-store app, are designed to answer questions from customers and keep them in the store. Customers can also tap a button for help and the photo of an available sales assistant pops up with a promise that he or she will be over shortly to help.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has appointed David Kelly as group VP construction, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

Kelly, who has worked in real estate and development for more than 25 years, will start work May 31 and will have overall responsibility for all store planning and construction services, in addition to having a role in various segmentation initiatives such as Wellness stores, value stores and co-branded Save-A-Lot Rite Aid stores, reporting directly SVP, CFO and chief administrative officer Frank Vitrano.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. announced Thursday that it will up its participation in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program to 400 stores by the end of 2013. Energy Star certification is awarded to buildings that rank within the top 25% of similar commercial buildings nationwide by meeting strict energy performance levels set by the EPA.

J.C. Penney has a companywide goal to reduce facility energy use 20% by 2015.