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Bennigan’s struggles have been no secret. A top casual-dining space back in the day, the brand filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2008. All corporate units were closed and just a few franchised units kept the iconic brand alive.

Famous Dave's

Famous Dave’s opened the first of its smaller footprint prototype restaurants in Uptown, a commercial district in Minneapolis in December. The new restaurant is approximately 3,000 square feet, (compared to the average 6,500–7,000 square feet of previous iterations) and features a bar-centric environment and compact dining area.

The Toasted Yolk

The Toasted Yolk, a full-service dining concept that serves breakfast and lunch fare alongside boozy brunch cocktails, announces its continued expansion throughout the Texas market and into the Southeastern U.S. with three new locations set to open in early 2020 and 17 additional units in development.

Tom & Chee

Tom & Chee, a fast-casual restaurant chain with nine locations that specializes in grilled cheese and tomato soup, has unveiled a new prototype, &-Crafted, which is significantly smaller than its previous design.

Dyer Brown

Staying relevant in the ultra-competitive hospitality space means creating higher-quality experiences for patrons, according to Maxim Parkhomchuk, VP of construction and executive project manager at LOTT Restaurant Construction in Philadelphia. The LOTT team has collectively built over 400 restaurants throughout the United States since 1992.

Portillos Pop-Up

In an attempt to boost brand awareness and generate catering sales iconic Chicago restaurant chain Portillo’s set up a pop-up shop in a suburban mall.

Saladworks

Salad-focused fast-casual Saladworks has seen recent success in a nontraditional format by adding kiosk locations within two ShopRite grocery stories. The unusual partnership has worked out so well that the chain is expanding the format with plans to open new locations within Philadelphia-area Fresh Grocer and ShopRite stores. The salad brand also has locations under development in Delaware, Maryland and New York.

Q&A with Chief Development Officer Jon Siani of Eat Brgz.