SAN DIEGO — San Diego-based Jack in the Box has announced plans to open 15 restaurants in Georgia, marking the first entry into the state for the fast-casual brand. According to a press release from the company, the new sites have not yet been selected, but plans include a focus on the Macon, Augusta and Savannah markets. A franchisee will own and operate the restaurants. Jack in the Box also recently announced a commitment to 30 new locations in Florida.
CULVER CITY, CALIF. AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema from Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League for an undisclosed price. Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 in Austin, and has grown from a single mom-and-pop location to 35 cinemas across 25 metropolitan areas. The company is the seventh-largest theater chain in North America and was one of the pioneers of the in-theater elevated food and drink concept. Alamo Drafthouse will maintain its headquarters in Austin and will continue to operate all of its locations, as well as the company’s Fantastic Fest film festival, which was included in the acquisition. Sony will manage these entities under a newly established division, Sony Pictures Experiences, led by Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann. The acquisition is groundbreaking, as it was recently made possible through the Department of Justice’s decision in 2020 to rescind the Paramount Decrees. Put into place by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, the Decrees mandated a separation between film distribution and exhibition, requiring major motion picture studios to divest of any theater holdings. “We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home …
SPRING, TEXAS — Locally based brokerage firm Newcor Commercial has arranged the sale of a one-acre hotel development site at 500 Rayford Road in the northern Houston suburb of Spring. David Alexander and Josh Cheatham of Newcor represented the buyer, an entity doing business as Shree Rang Krupa of Texas LLC, which plans to develop a 60-room Studio 6-Extended Stay hotel on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks and to be complete in early 2026. Gus Lagos of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Woodlands Warehouse LLC.
CHESAPEAKE, VA. — Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) has announced a formal review of its Family Dollar business segment, including the possibility of selling, spinning off or other disposition methods of the brand. In March, Dollar Tree announced the closure of 1,000 stores nationally, approximately 970 of which were underperforming Family Dollar Stores. Additionally, Dollar Tree has recently acquired up to 170 former 99 Cents Only stores. “Dollar Tree has been on a multi-year journey to help the company fully achieve its potential,” says Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar Tree Inc. “Our goal is to position both the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar banners to progress further and faster, and to determine whether the exclusive attention of a dedicated team will benefit both, while creating value for Dollar Tree shareholders and other stakeholders.” Family Dollar’s same-store net sales increased 0.1 percent year-over-year in fiscal first-quarter 2024, which ended May 4. (The data does not include the previously mentioned stores that Dollar Tree closed during the first quarter.) By comparison, Dollar Tree’s same-store net sales increased 1.7 percent in the same time period. Dollar Tree has retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as its financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell …
CHESAPEAKE, VA. — Dollar Tree has acquired designation rights for 170 leases of 99 Cents Only Stores across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. This deal was completed through two transactions in May that were approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As part of the transactions, Dollar Tree also purchased the intellectual property of 99 Cents Only Stores and select on-site furniture, fixtures and equipment. In April, California-based 99 Cents Only Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and initiated a process to dispose of its assets, including its inventory, owned real estate and store leases. Dollar Tree anticipates beginning to open some of the shuttered 99 Cents Only Stores under the Dollar Tree brand as early as this fall.
HOUSTON — Partners Real Estate will expand and relocate its office headquarters to a 32,286-square-foot space at San Felipe Plaza, a 1 million-square-foot building in West Houston’s Galleria District. The full-service firm currently subleases space at the nearby building at 1360 Post Oak Blvd., a deal that expires next March. Dan Boyles and Griff Bandy internally represented Partners in the lease negotiations. New York-based Sovereign Partners owns San Felipe Plaza.
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — Tangram Interiors, a Dallas-based interior design firm, has opened a new office at 6510 70th St. in Lubbock. Britni Wilkens, a sales executive with the company, will lead the Lubbock office, which is the seventh for Tangram Interiors. The company’s other five offices are located in California. Tangram Interiors is the flagship dealer for office furniture manufacturer Steelcase, which recently opened a new showroom in Dallas.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Red Lobster has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Orlando-based seafood restaurant chain plans to sell its business to an entity formed and controlled by its existing lenders. Red Lobster, which was founded in 1968 and operates some 600 restaurants across North America, has received a $100 million debtor-in-possession financing commitment from its existing lenders to facilitate this plan. The company stated that it would use the financing and bankruptcy proceedings to drive operational improvements, simplify the business through a reduction in locations and pursue a sale of substantially all its assets. Earlier this month, Red Lobster announced that it would be closing between 50 and 100 restaurants nationwide, a statement that fueled speculation on an imminent bankruptcy filing. Restaurants that were not included in this announcement from earlier in May will remain open throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, and the company says that it is continuing to work with its existing vendors to minimize operational disruption. CNN reports that, at the time of the bankruptcy filing, Red Lobster listed more than $1 billion in debt and less than $30 million in cash on hand. …
ATLANTA — Flexible workspace provider WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year, has completed its real estate restructuring in Atlanta, according to a press release from the company. The process, as in other cities, involved lease renegotiations with landlords. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that WeWork now plans to close five of its 11 Atlanta locations. In April, the company announced a new $450 million investment to support operations throughout its Chapter 11 proceedings. WeWork’s current portfolio includes more than 24 million square feet of space across 330 locations globally.
WARRENDALE, PA. — Rue21, an apparel and accessories retailer based in the Pittsburgh area, has filed for bankruptcy and will close all its stores in the coming months, according to reports from multiple news organizations such as CNN, Reuters and The Business Journals. All three of those media outlets report that this is the third bankruptcy filing in the history of Rue21, which operates about 540 stores nationwide, down from more than 1,000 at the height of its existence. Following Rue21’s 2017 bankruptcy filing, the company closed some 400 stores. The Warrendale-based retailer also shed about $700 million in debt at that time, according to Reuters. However, subsequent growth in e-commerce, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, continued to create operational struggles for the retailer. Today, Rue21 has about $200 million in outstanding debt, according to reports from the aforementioned media groups.