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August 11, 2021 • Issue 286
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Church's Chicken to be Acquired by Owners of Quiznos and Taco Del Mar
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San Diego — High Bluff Capital Partners, supported by various alternative investment funds managed by FS Investments, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Church’s Chicken®, one of the world’s largest quick-service chicken restaurant chains, from FFL Partners. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed during third quarter 2021. Read more.
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Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa Crosses 500-Unit Mark
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Trevose, Pa. — Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, the franchise for affordable massage and facial services, has surpassed the 500-unit mark. Since 2004, Hand & Stone has become the premier massage and facial brand in the wellness space, with locations in 34 states and Canada. In the past 12 months, the brand has signed over 50 franchise agreements, including deals for 30 new spas in the first half of 2021.
Read more.
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Emerging Franchise Happy Joe's Prepares for Expansion with Redesign by Harrison
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Bettendorf, Iowa — Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream has partnered with global design consultant firm Harrison to utilize its award-winning strategic branding, interior design and architectural expertise to create a new image and brand design for the family-centric concept, in preparation for expansion.
Read more.
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>> Cover Story: Convenience Through COVID
Farmer Boys marks its 40th anniversary with a new post-pandemic appreciation for quality and convenience. By Katie Lee
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Have you read the July issue?
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>> SLIPPERY SLOPE
The dangers of rooftop grease. By Marian Nolletti
>> COMMERCIAL CLEANING POST-COVID
Best practices and applying lessons learned during COVID-19 to commercial cleaning. By Adam D. Povlitz
>> ACTIVE AIRFLOW
How UVC light inactivates viruses and other airborne pathogens, thus improving indoor safety.
By Del Williams
>> SETTING THE STAGE
Common carpet care myths debunked. By Joe Bshero
>> EXTINGUISH THE THREAT
The importance of checking your restaurant’s fire safety. By Chad Connor
>> POST-COVID CAPITAL
The evolving restaurant facility, changing priorities in CAPEX and capital through and post-COVID.
By Carty Davis
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Batteries Plus Surpasses 50 Signed Agreements in First Half of 2021
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Hartland, Wis. — Batteries Plus, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing battery, light bulb, key fob and repair franchise, is having its best development year in the almost three decades since it began franchising with 52 new signings to date for 2021 so far. In fact, Batteries Plus exceeded 2020 total store signings by mid-April this year. With the leadership of its newly promoted vice president of franchise development and relations, Joe Malmuth, Batteries Plus is on pace to surpass 75 franchise signings by the end of the year. Read more.
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Krystal Names Vice President, IT
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Atlanta — Krystal Restaurants LLC, the original quick-service restaurant chain in the South, recently named Steve Patel its new vice president of information technology. Patel will lead information technology for the brand and its nearly 300 restaurants. He is a seasoned IT professional with more than 22 years of experience. Read more.
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RV Retailer Acquires Blue Dog RV, Adding 12 Stores in 7 New States
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Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — RV Retailer, LLC (RVR) has acquired Blue Dog RV. Blue Dog RV operates 12 stores in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, California and Pennsylvania. The acquisition is expected to close in September 2021.
Read more.
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WATCH: "Cleaning Theatre" Takes the Spotlight in Restaurant Webinar
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Pictured clockwise, from top left, are: Dean Small, Synergy Restaurant Consultants; Bob Robinson, Jr., Kaivac Cleaning Systems; Frank Bacchetta, Total Comfort Group; Hussam Chater, Mamoun’s Falafel; Peter Cancro, Jersey Mike’s; Kendra Payne, Slim Chickens; and Paul Martino, A&W Restaurants.
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Restaurants Display Heightened Cleaning Protocols During COVID
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With heightened awareness of customer comfort levels, restaurants are working hard to “meet the customers where they are.” For those comfortable with indoor dining, restaurants emphasize “showing” patrons how clean, safe and socially distanced their restaurant is. For those more comfortable with takeout, curbside pickup and drive-thru, restaurants lean in to that as well. Restaurant operators also dive into the all-important issue of HVAC health.
Click here to watch the webinar, which discusses best practices for restaurants who want to reopen — and remain open — during a global pandemic.
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Topgolf Expands & Strengthens Executive Leadership Team
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Dallas — Global sports and entertainment leader Topgolf Entertainment Group has named Genifer (Gen) Gray as the chief operating officer of U.S. venues; Geoff Cottrill will join the company as chief marketing officer; and Kristi Maynor will join as chief people officer. The three leaders bring a wealth of experience in building consumer-facing brands and will report to Artie Starrs, who came to Topgolf as chief executive officer earlier this year and continues to scale the company’s leadership team to match its rapid expansion. Read more.
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Top Story
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NYC Indoor Vaccine Mandate Requires Significant Action from Retailers
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— By Daniel Kadish and Leni Battaglia —
New York City — On August 3, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a first of its type requirement, the “Key to NYC Pass,” that requires all workers and customers at indoor dining, fitness and entertainment facilities be vaccinated for COVID-19. This requirement specifically applies to private sector businesses, who must verify that all of their employees as well as customers or other individuals coming indoors to these facilities are vaccinated.
The mandate will be implemented the week of August 16, 2021, but it will not be fully enforced until September 13, 2021. Between now and August 16, the Mayor’s office will issue a Health Commissioner’s Order and a Mayoral Executive Order setting forth the details of the mandate which, are the legal tools necessary to implement this approach. Between August 16 and September 13, the City will focus on raising awareness of the new requirements. Beginning the week of September 13, 2021, New York City will begin inspecting businesses for compliance and enforcing the mandate. Earlier in the pandemic, the City took significant action with to enforce COVID-19 requirements against businesses, frequently including bars and restaurants, that were found to be in violation of social distancing requirements or other restrictions. Penalties then included fines as well as temporary shutdowns or revocations of liquor licenses, and similar enforcement actions may be taken with respect to the new vaccination requirement.
Based on the Mayor’s announcement, all individuals in an indoor facility covered by the rule will need to show proof of receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. Permitted ways to verify vaccination status will include using a New York City application that has yet to be released, the New York State Excelsior Pass, or a copy of an individual’s CDC vaccination card. Businesses covered by the new mandate should review how they will comply, including considering posting signs for patrons, training managers and employees on how to check and use customer vaccination information, and developing a process to determine the vaccination status of their own employees if they have not done so already. Businesses should also closely review the final order once announced to make sure they understand any exceptions that it may include, such as for children or those unable to be accommodated due to medical issues or religious beliefs.
— Daniel A. Kadish represents and counsels employers facing employment disputes and has been a leader on Morgan Lewis’ COVID-19 compliance and counseling team. He can be reached at daniel.kadish@morganlewis.com. Leni D. Battaglia defends employers in courts and tribunals around the U.S. and develops litigation-avoidance strategies for clients across industries, including financial services, technology, retail & e-commerce, hospitality and entertainment. He can be reached at leni.battaglia@morganlewis.com. Morgan Lewis has one of the preeminent retail and e-commerce industry practices in the United States. Its strong multi-office, multi-specialty team innovates winning legal strategies across disciplines and across borders for more than 300 apparel, big box and online retail, restaurant, grocery, pharmacy, toy and hospitality, as well as other consumer-facing clients on both the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce sides of the retail platform.
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Vendor News
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Hy-Brid Lifts Debuts Online Ordering for Parts & Used Equipment
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Richfield, Wis. — Hy-Brid Lifts, an industry leader in high-quality, low-level access equipment, has introduced an online Parts Service Center and used equipment offering on the company’s website. The added online tools enhance the customer experience by making it easy to order parts 24/7 and provide access to high quality used equipment. Read more.
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Video: One-on-One with Michael Savitt of Excel Dryer, Inc.
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Michael Savitt, like everyone at Excel Dryer, is committed to manufacturing the most hygienic, sustainable and cost-effective hand drying solutions. During these unprecedented times, he is focused on educating the public and professionals on the efficacy and hygienic benefits of hand dryers. Savitt spoke to Retail & Restaurant Facility Business about how facility managers can create a cleaner, safer and even more touchless restroom experience — as customers during COVID-19 expect. Listen to this complimentary webinar by registering here.
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Video: One-on-One with Bill Schaphorst of MaintenX International
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Bill Schaphorst, vice president of business development at MaintenX International, spoke to Retail & Restaurant Facility Business about how facility managers are coping and adding value for their clients in the midst of an ongoing evolution in customers' approaches to retail and restaurants. Listen how MaintenX has implemented safety guidelines, updated procedures, worked with facility managers and attempted to add more value for clients in the midst of a shifting environment. Listen to this complimentary webinar by registering here.
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Upcoming Events
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| The NAFEM Show 2021
August 26-28, 2021 • Orlando
LIGHTFAIR 2021
October 25-29, 2021 • New York City
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From the Magazine
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Counter Attack
By Ara Aslanian
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How to reopen your restaurant free of cyber concerns.
Despite an apocalyptic prediction last year, only 14% of restaurants closed permanently during the pandemic. After a dark winter of to-go-only orders or limited capacity, restaurants are finally seeing the light and preparing for the coming summertime boom as the dining restrictions lift across the country. However, while restaurants are rushing back to full operation, many are doing so without running a thorough IT upgrade and cybersecurity check. The pandemic has seen a surge in different types of cyberattacks, including data breaches, ransomware attacks and more. Restaurants have been one of the primary targets for all of these attacks due to the volume of credit card and customer information they process every day — which can be huge goldmines for cybercriminals.
With the average ransomware payment jumping by 43% in first quarter 2021, restaurants that survived COVID could find themselves opening only to be sunk by a cyberattack. Therefore, it is critical that restaurants prepare themselves against the possible wave of cyberattacks as the dining industry reopens fully. There are several cybersecurity risks restaurants face, including: emerging payments security, third-party vendor vulnerability, and missing cybersecurity budgets.
Emerging Payments Security
In order to shift the operational focus to support online ordering, restaurants widely adopted contactless and digital payment during the pandemic, which have sustained to today. With both diners and restaurants veering away from cash, POS (point-of-sale) systems and digital payment become criminals’ major focus.
There are various ways POS systems can become lucrative targets for hackers, these include clerk skims, POS swaps, and malware attacks. Clerk skims happen when the clerk processes a customers’ card on a tempered device. The device makes a copy of each card via the swipe so the hackers would have all the information for malicious use. POS Swaps are hackers swapping out an existing POS terminal with a cloned device that allows hackers to remotely access the terminal. POS malware attacks happen when the POS software is remotely planted with software that gives hackers control of the device. Compared to card payments, mobile payment is less likely to be copied during the process of a physical scan, since the emerging digital wallets (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) usually hide the information of the card or bank account linked to the phone. But similar to the POS malware attacks, mobile phones can easily be spied on or breached by malware when using public WiFi or hotspots.
To increase the security of these payments, restaurants should stay vigilant and utilize point-to-point encryption (P2PE) to encrypt payment card data from point of capture, such as swiping on a POS machine or “wave-and-pay,” until it arrives at the secure endpoint. Once the information is encrypted, hackers won’t be able to read the data even if they were able to intercept the transaction process.
Read the full article.
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