This week on Nation's Restaurant News, the top story was Au Bon Pain owner Ampex Brands acquires fast-casual Bellagreen. Ampex Brands purchased Au Bon Pain in 2021 from Panera Bread and added it to its portfolio of quick service and c-store brands that include KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and 7-Eleven. Terms of the Bellagreen deal were not disclosed but it officially closed on July 18.
In other news, Chipotle Mexican Grill on Thursday announced its first two investments through its $50 million Cultivate Next venture fund launched earlier this year. The fund is investing in Hyphen, a foodservice platform that designs automated makelines to help restaurant owners, operators and budding chefs make their kitchen operations more efficient.
Also, two recent surveys of McDonald’s Corp. franchisees found restiveness among operators of the brand. A proprietary McDonald’s Franchisee Survey by analyst Mark Kalinowski of Kalinowski Equity Research, released Tuesday, found “strained relations” between franchisees and the Chicago-based burger brand’s leadership.
See what else was trending on NRN.com this week.