THE GALLELLI GAZETTE Retail Roundup

Issue No. 1 | May 17th, 2023

Houston-based Clutch City Cluckers to Open Ninth Unit (this one in Cypress TX)

QSR Magazine 5/11

Buffalo Wild Wings Abruptly Closes Six of their 11 Ontario Canada Units

CP24 5/10

20-Unit Fast Casual Chain Wing Snob Expands in Michigan; Has 13 More Stores About to Open

QSR Magazine 5/10

716-Unit Dutch Bros CEO: ‘Early Innings of Long-Term Plan’ That Includes Opening 150 Units

This Year and Hitting 4,000 Stores Nationally Over Next 10-15 Years

Yahoo Finance 5/10

Burger King Closing 400 Restaurants Globe Street 5/10

225-Unit Slim Chickens Opens in Clarksville TN; Has Sold Franchise Rights to As Many as 1,100 More Units

QSR Magazine 5/10

200+ Unit Chicken Salad Chick Expands to Bloomington IL

QSR Magazine 5/10

490-Unit El Pollo Loco Investing in Automation While Growing; Will Open as Many as 14 Units in 2023

QSR Magazine 5/10

75-Unit Parker’s Kitchen Opens New Restaurant in North Charleston, SC Savannah Business Journal 5/9

Shaquille O’Neal’s 18-Unit Big Chicken Signs 45 Unit Franchisee Deal; Will be in South Florida by End of Year

QSR Magazine 5/9

Wingstop Opens 2,000 Restaurant (this one in Pittsburgh PA)

QSR Magazine 5/9

SUPER CHIX Opens 25th Location (Williamsburg, VA); Will Close 2023 With 15 New Stores in Total

QSR Magazine 5/9

490-Unit El Pollo Loco Inks Deals in Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso Fast Casual 5/9

Texas Roadhouse ‘All In’ on Growing 46-Unit Bubba’s 33 Concept—Wants to Open at Least 10 Per Year

FSR 5/8

Local Market Retail News

What’s Driving Dallas Retail?

Commercial Property Executive 5/11

New Retail and Restaurant Openings in Detroit Hour Detroit 5/11

Retail Availability Near Record Lows in St. Louis

Costar 5/11

Big Leases Set to Expire at San Francisco’s Westfield Centre After Nordstrom Exit The Real Deal 5/10

Creating an Epicenter of Luxury in Washington DC: How CityCenterDC Transformed a Once Desolate Downtown Area

WWD 5/9

M&A MANIA

Vitamin Shoppe Parent Going Private in $2.6B Deal

Retail Dive 5/12

Bluestar Alliance Acquires Scotch & Soda US Assets Out of BK Footwear News 5/11

Kroger CEO Ready to Fight Hard for Merger Approval Supermarket News 5/11

Tempur Sealy to Acquire Mattress Firm in $4 Billion Deal Retail & Leisure International 5/11

Charleston C-Store Chain Refuel to Grow to 215-Units with Acquisitions in TX and SC Post & Courier 5/8

CULTURE CORNER: PAVED PARADISEHOW PARKING EXPLAINS THE WORLD

Welcome to the Culture Corner. Each week look here for something interesting, cool, thought provoking, funny, moving, culturally relevant (or not). Whether it may be a fascinating new book, some amazing music for your next dinner party or just some quirky overlooked person from history, hopefully you’ll enjoy this section of the Retail Roundup as much as I enjoy putting it together.

One would assume that a book entitled “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World,” would probably be essential reading for urban planners, developers, zoning officials and a smattering of real estate-focused professionals. But that this book would be as enjoyable as reading zoning code and would be drier than a mouthful of Saltines on a hot desert day. But Henry Grabar’s new examination of the hidden costs of parking, its history, and its impacts isn’t just critical reading for everyone in real estate… it’s just deeply enjoyable important reading for everyone that wants to better understand the hidden history of something that profoundly shapes the world we live in. From covering how the costs of “free parking” profoundly impact all commercial and residential development (and how those costs end up being passed on to businesses and consumers), to the role it has played in significantly worsening our housing affordability and homelessness problems, this is not a mind-numbingly dull industry white paper.

Instead, Grabar weaves a compelling narrative of analysis, statistics, history, culture, and fascinating anecdotes that include everything from the rise of the American Mall to the often-seedy history of the popularity of the parking business with mobsters, money launderers, fraudsters, swindlers, and now, hedge funds. It also details the role of parking (as well as NIMBYs) in paralyzing efforts to build affordable housing and its crippling impact on development, as well as inspiring road rage and violence.

Check out this clip from a recent appearance author Henry Grabar had on NPR’s Fresh Air program. Additionally, I have included some recent book reviews. This is worth a read—I couldn’t put it down. And, did I mention, it’s “just” a book about parking?!

Have a great week…

Fresh Air Podcast: ‘Paved Parking’ Examines how Parking has Changed the American Landscape

Wall Street Journal: ‘Paved Paradise’ Review; Why Downtown is All Parked Up

New York Times: America, Land of Free Parking— ‘Paved Parking’ Examines the Country’s Obsession with Parking, from its Effects on Urban Sprawl to the Violence it Sometimes Provokes

Exasperated Infrastructures: Henry Grabar’s ‘Paved Paradise’ is a Masterpiece (and Spiritual Successor to ‘The Death and Life of American Cities’ and ‘The High Cost of Free Parking’