Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin joined Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market CEO Tim Mason in opening the Fresh & Easy at Tulare & R, the first grocery in Downtown Fresno in decades. At the celebration in January, Fresh & Easy also announced the opening dates of two additional stores in the Fresno area, at Shaw & West, in Fresno on 3 February, and Manning & Upper Bridge in Reedle, on 24 February.
In addition to the three stores opened today, Fresh & Easy has a store in Lemoore, CA. As part of the company’s commitment to be a good neighbour, the company awards a neighborhood charity with a $1,000 donation at each store opening.
“Fresh & Easy is excited to be a part of the revitalization of downtown Fresno because everyone deserves access to fresh, wholesome food at affordable prices,” said Mason. “We are thrilled at the wonderful reception we have received from our new neighbours in this wonderful community.”

After an extensive search process, Nick Shepherd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, named Lee Sanders as President of Franchising for TGI Friday’s USA and a member of the Carlson Restaurants Worldwide executive team.
In his new role, Sanders will lead all aspects of the TGI Friday’s USA franchise program, including day-to-day operations and support, with specific emphasis on growing revenues, profitability and the scale of the current franchise system.
Sanders joins Friday’s directly from Johnny Rockets Inc, where he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, responsible for the 280-unit chain and leading the company’s expansion of both traditional and diverse locations such as military bases, theme parks and cruise ships.
“The addition of Lee to our executive team and our business is a huge win for us,” said Shepherd. “He is a proven leader and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to this new role. I look forward to having him on our team.”
TGI Friday’s has more than 900 restaurants in 60 countries, including approximately 600 restaurants in the US.

Last year was a busy time for the Subway restaurant chain. In 2009, the company continued its tradition of promoting healthier dining options, expanded its highly successful $5 foot-long promotion by incorporating a value message into its permanent pricing structure and opened 2,164 new locations in 49 US states, plus the District of Columbia; seven Canadian provinces; and in 67 countries.
Now, at more than 32,000 locations in 90 countries, the chain is even closer to becoming the world’s single largest restaurant brand, in terms of number of outlets.
In December, the Subway chain was again named the No 1 Franchise Opportunity, as well as the No 1 Global Franchise opportunity, for 2010, by Entrepreneur magazine in its annual ‘Franchise 500’ rankings. This is the 17th time in the past 23 years that the chain has been recognized with the overall top honour.
From the beginning of January through to the end of December, the chain also reached quite a few development milestones. New store openings accounted for approximately 2.6 million square feet of prime commercial retail space, while the total international store count added up to more than 9,200 restaurants.

In Canada, the Core is Calgary, Alberta’s premiere shopping destination. Anchored by iconic retailers Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen, and Brooks Brothers, the centre has over 600,000sq ft of retail space with more than 160 stores and services emphasizing higher-end fashions
and merchandise.
In 2008, the Core announced that it was embarking on a $250M redevelopment project that will literally change the shopping landscape of downtown Calgary. The world’s largest skylight has been installed, linking the shopping centre across three city blocks and granting shoppers an unrestricted view to the sky and surrounding urban environment.
Many retailers have been busy renovating their spaces in anticipation of the fall 2010 completion date - Holt Renfrew recently expanded to a luxurious new four-floor, 151,000sq ft space, and Harry Rosen is doubling in size to 31,000sq ft.
Several new world-class retailers have been added to the Core’s growing roster of stores, including legendary international retailer Brooks Brothers, Aritzia, Browns’ Shoes and others.
The redevelopment also includes the integration of Calgary’s Devonian Gardens - a unique, indoor three-acre public park - and expanded, next generation food facilities that will include seating for 900 patrons.