August 30, 2011
Industries Headline

 GE Capital Franchise Finance provides $2.15 million to Domino's franchisee Pizza Project, LLC

GE Capital Franchise Finance, a leading lender for the franchise finance market, has provided $2.15 million to Pizza Project, LLC, a Domino's Pizza franchisee. The funds will assist Pizza Project's plan to become a 40+ unit Domino's franchisee in northern California.

The financing includes a $1.45 million term loan for the acquisition of existing Domino's units, as well as a $700,000 development line of credit for the development of additional stores in the San Francisco, California, area.

"We are already a GE Capital customer, under another restaurant brand," says Jim Taggart, principle of Pizza Project. "After our success with that brand, we were looking to diversify our portfolio. The brand management team at GE Capital introduced us to the Domino's family, and we couldn't be happier."

Pizza Today's 2010 and 2011 Pizza Chain of the Year, Domino's Pizza, has more than 9,000 stores in more than 60 countries.


Grimaldi's to open third Florida location

Grimaldi's Pizzeria has announced its newest location in West Palm Beach, Florida. The location marks the third Florida location, with restaurants in Fort Myers and Palm Beach Gardens.

With more than 100 years of pizza making tradition, Grimaldi's owns and operates locations in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas; and Fort Myers, Florida.

With 20 locations across the U.S., Grimaldi's plans to continue to expand into 2012.


NRA kicks off National Food Safety Education Month

This week, National Restaurant Association kicks off National Food Safety Month with a month-long initiative to encourage restaurants to renew their commitment to food safety by raising awareness of the importance of education and training. This year's theme is "Lessons Learned from the Food Inspectors."

As part of the month's program, NRA has provided free weekly training activities, food safety tips and posters, available through its ServeSafe food safety training and certification program.

"There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our guests at restaurants around the country," says NRA President and CEO Dawn Sweeney. "And National Food Safety Education Month highlights our industry's commitment to serving healthful, delicious and safe meals every day."

The NRA will also provide a toolkit that includes the initiative's logo, a news release for restaurants, sample tweets and e-mail templates that promote involvement in the program.


Rotolo Pizzeria adds locations

In the past month, Louisiana-based Rotolo's Pizzeria has opened three new locations in its home state, including restaurants in Walker, New Roads and Pearl River. The franchise is set to roll out two more locations before the end of the year in Baton Rouge and Gulf Breeze, Florida.

"We've grown our franchise by over 50 percent this year, and we plan to grow by another 50 percent in 2012," says Founder Mitch Rotolo. "We offer excellent franchise opportunities, and area markets are selling fast."

Founded in 1996, Rotolo has grown to 20 locations in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Arizona.