Good News! - December 2018

Here comes 2019! Are you ready for a new year of growth, domestically &/or internationally? Changes in franchising this year seemed to be turbo-charged. Mergers and acquisitions abounded in a wave of private equity-fueled investments and consolidation -- accelerating the merry-go-round of C-suite changes. It's hard keeping up with all the changes -- which is why we provide "Good News!", a monthly digest of selected news items on unit growth, investment and financial developments, international expansion, people, and milestones. This year we added a section called "Regulation, Legislation, Politics, Etc." -- and while it's not always "good" news, it's good to know. We also added a section on technology, recognizing its key role in achieving sales goals and system growth. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month!

So if you're not doing it already, send us your good news here.

New Units/Growth/Expansion

The Habit Burger Signs 20-Unit Deal for Illinois and Indiana

Fazoli's Inks 5-Unit Deal To Close Out Record Year

Chicken Salad Chick Signs Deals To Expand Beyond the Southeast

NTY's Device Pitstop Brand Announces 2 New Locations

Brightway Insurance Opens 3 New Stores (La., Mich., Texas)

Financial, M&A, Incentives

Jollibee Foods Completes Smashburger Takeover, Seeks More U.S. Brands

JPMorgan Chase Launches Franchise and Restaurant Group

PuroClean's PuroVet Progam Awards First Free Franchise to a Military Vet

Regulation, Legislation, Politics, Etc.

Minimum Wage Outlook for 2019 -- State by State Summary

House Dems Set To Push for $15 Federal Minimum Wage

How Philly's New Fair Workweek Law Will Affect Local Businesses

NYC Revises Its Fair Workweek Regulations

Ohio Bill Would Exempt Franchisors from Joint Employer Liability

Big Plans, Big Ideas, Big Picture

Yum's CEO Greg Creed Discusses Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and the Future

Jimboy's Tacos CEO Outlines 10-Year Vision for 500 Stores, $750M in Sales

Painting with a Twist on 2019 Outlook After Buying Bottle & Bottega

Carstar Unveils Aggressive Growth Plans for 2019

International

2019's Best Countries for Overseas Franchise Development

Tony Roma's Opens Its First Restaurant in Bolivia

Dickey's Hires VP of International Sales To Boost Overseas Expansion

New and Emerging Brands

One Cannabis Begins Franchising, Eyes 50 Locations in Next 30 Months

Dave & Buster's Debuts Its First T&T Tacos Fast-Casual Unit

The Lost Cajun To Open 2 New Units in North Carolina

Technology

Digital Execs from Dine and Bloomin' Brands on Technology and Change

Starbucks Announces Plans To Expand Delivery to 2,000 U.S. Stores

Getting Started with Delivery: Infographic from McCain Foodservice

Freddy's Partners with Tillster for Integrated Digital Ordering and Loyalty Program

People, Awards, Milestones

2018's Top New Franchise Executives from NRN (Slide Show)

Yum Brands Names Target CEO Brian Cornell as New Board Chair

BullsEye Telecom Names Tom Tisko CEO

Golden Corral Receives Veterans Recognitions Award from Coca-Cola

One Cannabis Names Mike Weinberger (Maui Wowi, Kahala Exec) as COO

Jim Ilaria Replaces Louie Psallidas as CEO of Uno Restaurant Holdings

Epcon Promotes Executives Paul Hanson and Tim Rini