Retail Watchers

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/charlotte-is-getting-its-first-wegmans/BJEGHBZVTNEVRDHPB6R6ITY4V4/ It appears that Wegman's is giving expansion in North Carolina another go, as they have just announced what will be their first store in Charlotte. This will be located in the south part of Charlotte...

I suspect that a lot of Cracker Barrels do most of their business during breakfast time (especially on weekends), at least in the South. I know places like Waffle House, IHOP and some of the local diner chains (like Jake's Diner and Carolina's Diner here in Greensboro) tend to have waits for tables ...

https://www.wayfairoutlets.com/ It looks like online furniture/home store Wayfair is making some forays into retail with physical Wayfair outlet stores, one of which will be opening later this month here in Greensboro in a space formerly occupied by Christmas Tree Shops between a Target and a Kohls ...

Currently I am located in the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point) area of North Carolina. Before that I lived in the Seattle metro area for many years. Up there indoor playplaces are probably more attractive since there's much more of the year that weather conditions are unfavorable...

I think outdoor playgrounds at McDonald's restaurants started to appear in the 1970s, and for a time it was rather common to see the McDonaldland themed playgrounds in front of many McDonald's locations. Some time in the 1990s the indoor ones started to become more common, but it seems to be a somew...

I think the main thing that keeps Costco on top in this industry, aside from the fact that Sam's Club has completely abandoned entire regions of the US, is the fact that many members seem very loyal to Costco. They seem to like being in a "club" even if it's something anyone with $60 can j...

In my experience with the Sam's Club here, there seems to be little no card checking at the door right now. There's an employee at the door, but it seems like people can basically just walk in and out at will, and with the scan-and-go in the app there can be basically no interaction with anyone in t...

The exception for chains that have less than 60 locations is interesting. What if McDonald's rebranded their restaurants? For example, rebrand 59 restaurants as Ronald McDonald's Hamburgers or Grimace's Burgers. Would that allow below $20 per hour wages? I don't know about this law in particular, b...

https://www.wbtv.com/2024/03/26/whataburger-inches-closer-first-charlotte-location/ Whataburger has received zoning approval for a proposed restaurant in Charlotte, which would become its first location in North Carolina. It has been reported that there are currently plans underway for five location...

Requiring the use of an app to make payments, although somewhat inconvenenient, does mitigate the potential for QR code fraud by adding an intermediate step in the process (a legitimate QR code would likely not work outside the app or would only point to an app download), and some of the apps will a...