Mexican casual food chain On The Border filed for Chapter 11 and closed 40 restaurants

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina closed 40 of its restaurants and filed for Chapter 11, the latest casual restaurant chain to file for reorganization as the shift has turned from casual to fast casual restaurants.

TGI Fridays, Denny's, Ruby Tuesday, Rubio's Coastal Grill and Red Lobster have filed for protection in bankruptcy court during the past year, with Hooters of America potentially joining the list.

Argonne Capital Group, a closely-held private investment firm that owns On The Border has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on behalf of the popular Tex-Mex chain in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia this week.

Read more: Popular Tex-Mex restaurant chain files for bankruptcy (New York Post)

Nordstrom is still aggressively expanding discount concept Rack

The most promising aspect of the marriage between Nordstrom and Mexican department store chain El Puerto de Liverpool is likely to result in a considerable market-driven expansion of Nordstrom Rack, a formidable competitor to discount fashion apparel chain TJMaxx.

The partnership that will take Nordstrom private won’t close until sometime late spring or early summer 2025 but the Nordstrom family-run chain has been aggressively opening Rack stores as the discount sector continues to experience demand while department stores in the U.S. continue to struggle.

Nordstrom opened 23 Nordstrom Rack stores in fiscal year 2024 and plans to open an additional 21 locations in 2025. Will we see an accelerated expansion of the Rack chain in 2026? I think so.

According to the latest reports, Nordstrom operates 277 Nordstrom Rack stores. For comparison, The TJX Companies, Inc. operates 1,333 TJMaxx locations and 1,230 MARSHALLS LLC locations in the U.S. alone.

Read more: Nordstrom doubles down on expansion of discount brand for future growth

Global retail chains continue to expand in the U.S.

When leasing to retailers, think globally.

Nearly 19,000 stores opened in the U.S. between 2018 and 2023 and about 28% of those were foreign-owned retailers, according to GlobalData

Global retail chains, such as Ireland’s Primark, Spain-based MANGO, Canadian retailer Aritzia and Japan-based UNIQLO have been recently adding new stores across the U.S. — and pushing into regions where they haven’t gone before, outside of coastal cities like New York City or Los Angeles.

Twenty most influential retailers for the past 100 years

Chain Store Age, which is celebrating 100 years publishing news about chain stores has identified 20 visionary retailers who, over the course of the past 100 years, have altered the retail landscape and transformed the way people shop.

Among them are Walmart’s Sam Walton, Build-A-Bear Workshop’s Maxine Clark, Gap Inc.’s Don Fisher, McDonald's Ray Kroc, Whole Foods Market’s John Mackey, L Brands’s Les Wexner, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, The Home Depot’s Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank and other brilliant retailers. Thank you, Marianne Wilson for this inspiring restrospective on the retail industry.

Read more: Retail Pioneers: 20 leaders that shaped the industry

Which global fast food chain has more locations?

Which would you say is the largest fast food chain in the world by number of locations?

(a) McDonald's
(b) Starbucks
(c) Subway
(d) Mixue Ice Cream & Tea

If you guessed McDonald’s, you’re not correct. Subway? Guess again. OK, how about Starbucks? Not exactly.

China’s Mixue is indeed the world’s largest chain, ending last year with 45,000 stores across Asia and Australia, and opportunities for expansion is everywhere you look.

The menu is short and very sweet. It includes the signature ice-cream cone, variations on bubble tea and a lemonade that has made Mixue, China’s biggest purchaser of lemons.

Its full name Mìxuě Bīngchéng (蜜雪冰城 ) can be loosely translated into "honey snow ice city.” The stores are adorned with its Snow King mascot, and at every store you visit, you’ll hear its jingle on a loop making you hum the song in your head for hours afterwards.

Mixue Ice Cream and Tea, pronounced ME-schway, became the world’s biggest food-and-beverage chain by number of locations in 2024, topping McDonald’s and Starbucks.

The company raised more than $400 million in an IPO of its shares in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2025. The shares rose nearly 30% in early trading, giving Mixue a valuation of more than $10 billion. Mixue generates most of its revenue from selling supplies to its franchisees.

Now that Mixue is a public company with substantial access to capital, will the chain expand to the U. S. and Europe? Time will tell. In its IPO filing, Mixue suggested that it intended to become more global, but didn’t mention plans to enter the U.S. Roughly 90% of its locations are in China, with the rest in 10 other Asian countries and Australia.

Read more: Forget McDonald’s. This Chinese Fast-Food Chain Is Now the World’s Biggest.

Red Robin joins other casual restaurant chains closing dozens of restaurants

Red Robin will shutter 70 underperforming locations over the next five years as it tries to find its way back to profitability.

The restaurant chain reported a net loss of $77.5 million in 2024 but the company-owned units targeted for closure were calculated to have caused a cash burn of only about $9.5 million.

Red Robin closed nine restaurants in 2024, eight of which were company-owned. Ten to 15 restaurants are expected to close in 2025. The chain finished the year with 498 units systemwide; 407 corporate units in 39 states and 91 franchises in 13 states. Over the past six fiscal years, the brand has opened only five restaurants per year.

Red Robin is among other casual restaurant chains that have been closing dozens of restaurants as the popularity has shifted from casual to fast-casual restaurants.

Fast casual restaurants typically offer a balance of fast service and higher quality food than fast food or quick service restaurants, also known as QSRs. Fast casual restaurants fall between fast food and casual dining. The meal is typically more expensive than fast food but less expensive than casual and fine dining.

One element of fast food and fast-casual dining that is different from casual and fine dining is the counter service where patrons go to the counter, order food and either pick up their meals from the counter or they are delivered to the table. The fast casual format saves on wait staff, also known as servers, and the tables usually turn much faster. Casual restaurants still rely on costly wait staff responsible for providing customer service, food and drink orders.

Some casual dining chains have had to reorganize under chapter 11 over the past year in order to stay afloat, such as TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Buca di Beppo, Rubio's Coastal Grill and the entity that previously owned BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., more commonly known as simply Red Robin, was founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington.

Read more: Red Robin to Close 70 Underperforming Restaurants (FSR Magazine)

Despite pressure from civic groups, Saks Global will shutter Neiman Marcus Dallas downtown flagship store

Retail is a supply and demand business. That is the concept behind why good malls lease to a critical mass of powerful retail tenants, which in turn attract customers to the mall.

Most downtown central businesses districts in the United States lost that critical mass of retailers in the 20th century, and that includes Downtown Dallas where civic and political leaders have been pressing Saks Global to keep the storied Neiman Marcus Group flagship store open just because that’s the way things have been for 111 years.

Well, guess what! The Times, They Are A-Changin'. Downtown retail has been on the decline in most American cities since the 1960s when Bob Dylan sang “Don't criticize what you can't understand.” And with that, retailers followed customers to the suburbs throughout the second half of the 20th century.

Why would anyone think it’s a surprise that Neiman’s would want to shutter its downtown Dallas store and transfer its declining sales to NorthPark Center, located just 7 miles north, when everyone knows the luxury customer doesn’t want to go downtown to shop?

Saks Global and presumably, NorthPark’s landlord, are together investing $100 million to renovate the Neiman Marcus store at NorthPark. They must know something the Dallas civic leaders don’t understand.

The Neiman NorthPark store will much better serve the luxury customer that also wants to shop at NorthPark’s other luxury retail tenants, such as BREITLING, Burberry, FERRAGAMO, GIVENCHY, Golden Goose, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Nordstrom, Prada Group, Saint Laurent, TAG Heuer, Tiffany & Co. and Versace.

Even if civic leaders could force Saks to keep the Neiman store open downtown, there is still no luxury co-tenancy there to draw customers like there is at NorthPark Center. I say, let it be.

Read more: Despite pleas of Dallas officials, Saks says it's moving to close Neiman Marcus flagship (CoStar News)

Revolve Group will convert its temporary REVOLVE shop at The Grove LA into a permanent store

REVOLVE, a publicly-traded fashion apparel brand that caters to Gen Z and millennials through mostly DTC online exposure opened a temporary store in November at The Grove LA for the 2024 holiday season.

The pop-up store in a dynamic location like The Grove attracted significant foot traffic and high-profile celebrities including Megan Fox, Cardi B, Shay Mitchell, Nicole Richie, Dwyane Wade and other famous Hollywood stars.

The temp location was such a hit with customers that the brand has signed a long-term lease with Caruso to open a permanent store location starting in the fall 2025. The 8,450-square-foot two-level space will feature curated collections from REVOLVE brands, including FWRD Renew.

REVOLVE has been doing pop-up stores for years including in Aspen, according to Michael Mente, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Revolve Group Inc., which has given the brand an ability to test customer reaction in a brick-and-mortar presence.

Former Phillips Edison & Company Exec Eric Richter Joins Woodcliff Realty Advisors

Eric Richter, currently a partner of EXFLEX Property Services, based in Clearwater, Fla., will provide property management services for Woodcliff Realty clients. He will maintain his individual practice in addition to serving Woodcliff Realty clients.

Prior to cofounding EXFLEX, Richter was senior vice president of property management for Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., where for over two decades he rose through the ranks to lead property management for nearly 300 properties in 31 states comprising more than 33 million square feet of leasable area.

Richter brings property management and facilities expertise to Woodcliff clients, whether a retailer responsible for maintaining its exterior site or a landlord of retail properties that prefers to use third-party property management services.

It is this kind of property management expertise that Richter can offer Woodcliff Realty clients, things like rent collection, lease administration, managing budgets, landlord-tenant interaction and facilities management, according to Rudy Milian, CRRP, president and CEO of Woodcliff Realty Advisors, LLC. In managing properties for landlords, it’s important to engage and manage third-party contractors, such as janitorial, snow removal, parking lot sweeping, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping, roof repairs, waste hauling and security services, according to Richter.

Read more: Eric Richter joins Woodcliff Realty Advisors as property management expert (ROI-NJ)

White space analysis helps Kendra Scott identify 20 untapped markets to open new stores

In 2025, Kendra Scott will open 20 new stores, adding to its current network of 151 locations in the United States.

"To identify successful locations and demographics, we monitor store growth data and evaluate historical sales and growth patterns from existing stores," Tom Nolan, CEO of Kendra Scott told Retail TouchPoints. "Finally, we conduct white space analysis studies to help identify untapped markets."

A white space analysis is a method that more sophisticated retail chains use to identify gaps in the market and opportunities for opening new stores. It's a strategic process that involves analyzing customer needs and expansion strategies by competing retail chains. The latter was perceived as a retailer's herd mentality years ago but the technique is much more analytical today. The process works something like this:

- Identify gaps
- Analyze customer data
- Analyze competitors
- Identify opportunities for new store locations that minimize cannibalization and takes market share from the competition

Read more: CEO Interview: Why Brick-and-Mortar is Key to Kendra Scott’s Future Growth

TJX to open 130 net new stores in 2025

The TJX Companies, Inc. is looking to open 130 new stores in 2025, bringing the total to more than 5,200 brick-and-mortar locations worldwide. TJX's expansion strategy includes smaller markets and even some smaller store formats.

In the U.S. alone, TJX wants to open 30 net new TJMaxx and/or MARSHALLS LLC stores, 20 Sierra stores and nine HomeSense locations. TJX plans to open 22 new stores in Europe, 12 in Canada and six in Australia. The major focus in Europe is Spain, Germany and the U.K., but TJX sees opportunities in Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Ireland, as well, according to TJX CFO John Klinger. Additionally, TJX plans to relocate around 40 stores and remodel around 500 stores in 2025.

TJX will also open new stores in the UAE in partnership with Brands For less egypt and in Mexico in partnership with Grupo Axo®.

TJX now has locations in nine countries. For the most recent fiscal year ending on January 31, 2025, TJX achieved $56.4 billion in sales.

Read more: Off-price leader TJX announces 2025 brick-and-mortar expansion plans as it passes 5,000 stores

The Picklr is seeking franchisees across the Lower 48 states and Canada to expand pickleball mall locations

Is the pickleball craze here to stay? Apparently so, according to Jorge Barragan and Austin Wood, co-founders of The Picklr. The chain now operates 27 indoor pickleball clubs in seven states, but the founders’ ultimate plan is to take the franchise global.

The company hired JLL as its tenant rep to seek anchor locations at shopping centers. Chris Walker, The Picklr’s chief development officer is looking for franchisees across the Lower 48 states and Canada, and for any franchise deal he signs on, JLL will negotiate with the landlord for a suitable location, many of which have already been identified as ideal sites for a Picklr location ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 sq. ft. in size.

North of the States, The Picklr signed a lease in Winnipeg and plans for a total of 65 locations across Canada.

Unlike other pickleball chains that incorporate restaurants and entertainment, The Picklr concentrates mostly on pickleball activity, such as league play, Junior Academy and adult clinics. Food and beverage sales are prepared grab-and-go only.

Read more: Pickleball franchise plots global expansion (Chain Store Age)

Luxury retailers are focusing on aspirational customers

Many retailers including luxury as well as moderate stores are focusing on “aspirational luxury customers.” These customers are not wealthy but they generally buy one or two luxury name brands a year.

They typically spend almost $274 billion a year, making them an important part of the customer base, according to McKinsey & Company. Think of that Louis Vuitton purse or that ROLEX watch that some people buy and use them frequently. The outlet mall shopper is often considered an aspirational customer.

Luxury brands can see a boon off smaller products priced between $400 and $1,000 — price points where less affluent shoppers might be willing to splurge. Leather goods and accessories, such as belts, eyewear and fragrances, are typically lower-priced products that interest aspirational luxury consumers, according to Joëlle Grunberg, who leads McKinsey’s apparel, fashion and luxury sector in North America.

Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group, is among the brands that continue to offer lines of lower-priced leather goods and accessories to appeal to aspirational customers.

Read more: Aspirational buyers could save luxury brands from losing more ground (CNN Business)

Hooters of America may file for bankruptcy, per Bloomberg

Hooters of America is reportedly working with its creditors on restructuring its business via bankruptcy, according to a news report from Bloomberg.

There are over 410 Hooters locations globally, per its website. If the beloved chain, known for its skimpy-clad servers and double-entendre owl mascot, does file for bankruptcy, Hooters would join other struggling restaurant chains to enter bankruptcy as the popularity of casual restaurants has shifted to fast casual format over the past 10 years.

Long standing casual-dining chain TGI Fridays, seafood chain Red Lobster, Italian food chain Buca di Beppo, fish taco eatery Rubio's Coastal Grill and the owner of burger and pizza chains BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza are among those restaurant chains that have sought to reorganize through bankruptcy in 2024.

Read More: Hooters in Talks for Potential Bankruptcy in Coming Months

Global retail chain Urban Revivo enters U.S. with first store in New York City

China-based fast fashion brand URBAN REVIVO will open its first brick-and-mortar store in the U.S. in SoHo, on February 28, 2025 at 515 Broadway in New York City.

The Asian retail chain sells fashion-forward apparel at affordable prices. It is sometimes referred to as “China’s Zara” because it caters to young, style-conscious consumers seeking seeking low-priced fast fashion.

The chain plans to open additional brick-and-mortar locations in major U.S. cities, as well as other global locations in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London in 2025. It will open its second flagship in the U.K., a 30,000-square-foot store in Westfield Stratford City in London.

Founded in 2006 in Guangzhou, the brand currently operates more than 400 stores in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, but its fashions are already sold online in Europe and North America.

Read more: Urban Revivo to open first U.S. flagship in SoHo (Fashion Network)

Costco Wholesale to open seven new warehouses in the U.S. in March/April 2025

Costco Wholesale continues to open warehouse stores with seven new ones in March/April, as part of its expansion plans to open 29 new locations during its 2025 fiscal year, which runs through Aug. 31, 2025.

Openings planned for March 2025 are:
- Sharon, Mass. (March 1)
- Brentwood, Calif. (March 7)
- Highland, Calif. (March 8)
- Genesee County, Mich. (March 13)
- Prosper, Texas (March 14)
- Weatherford, Texas (March 15)

Costco currently operates 897 warehouses – 617 of which are in the U.S. and Puerto Rico – and with the opening of those seven new U.S. locations will have 904 locations. The company also has locations in Canada (109), Mexico (41), Japan (36) the U.K. (29), Korea (19), Australia (15), Taiwan (14), China (7), Spain (5), France (2) and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden.

Read more: Costco opening 6 new US stores next month, plus another in April: Here's when and where (USA Today)

Joann Stores will now shutter all of its stores permanently

Update: JOANN Stores will shutter all of its stores, pending bankruptcy court approval. Joann Stores will likely disappear from the physical retail landscape after two bankruptcies in 10 months, bringing an end to 82 years of retail operations.

Founded in 1943 by German immigrants, the Ohio-based company had received court approval earlier this month to close over half of its brick-and-mortar locations nationwide, about 500 overall. Those had already started going-out-of-business sales, but now, a new deal with the owners and debtors call for the closure of all stores.

Read more: Joann Inc. is going out of business and closing all stores after a turbulent bankruptcy process and sale (Fast Company)

Sprouts Farmers Market to open 35 new stores in 2025

Sprouts Farmers Market plans to open 35 new stores by the end of 2025. The organic-oriented chain has identified several hundred locations around the U.S. where it could open stores.

Sprouts is no longer laying out its store footprint over 32,000 square feet as it once did, instead choosing to operate smaller locations between 20,000 and 25,000 square feet. The new stores will feature this year the popular smaller-format design concept.

Sprouts opened 33 new stores in 2024 and now operates 380 stores.

Read more: Sprouts has eyes on 1,200 US sites for new stores (Phoenix Business Journal)

Mango will open 20 stores in 2025

Spanish fashion brand Mango plans to open 20 new U.S. stores in 2025, for a total of approximately 65 U.S. locations. 

Growth will focus on the Sun Belt and the Northeast regions, including new state entries into Washington, Illinois and Nevada with stores at Bellevue Square, on Michigan Avenue and at Fashion Show Las Vegas, respectively.

Mango also plans to open stores for the first time in Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Ohio and Oregon. In addition, the company will open a location in the San Francisco Bay area, and at the Houston Galleria. By 2026, the company expects the United States to become one of the group's three main markets in terms of revenue.

This year Mango will open its fourth Manhattan store at 1976 Broadway, situated in the heart of Manhattan’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, after launching on Fifth Avenue, in SoHo and in Hudson Yards.

Read more: Mango to open 20 U.S. stores in 2025, with growth in these markets… (Chain Store Age)

Why do retailers want to lease smaller stores?

The trend for retailers to seek to lease smaller stores is partly due to the fact that retailers only want to stock fast moving merchandise, so they don’t need as much floor area as in previous decades. On a positive note, this translates into increased sales per square foot but not necessarily increased total sales per location (when adjusted for inflation).

It is quite common for customers to drive to a store only to be told the item they are looking for is out of stock but can be ordered online. That’s because retailers generally want to carry the stock that turns quickly. The result is less availability in store of assortments by size, styles and colors, all intentionally planned by the merchants.

AlixPartners surveyed 30 retailers and found that on average only 9% of their online women’s clothing assortment was available in physical stores. For department stores, the percentage was 7%, and at mass merchants it was 2%. Specialty retailers fared better, with a third of their online goods available in stores.

Read more: How the Internet Made In-Store Shopping Miserable (The Wall Street Journal)