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3 Chains Plan Over 1,300 More U.S. Stores
3 Proof Points Brick-and-Mortar Matters
Retail Led CRE for Small-Volume Deals in H1
JV Buys Rhode Island’s Biggest Mall for $133M
Fitness Grabs the Mic: Gym Will Co-Anchor Mixed-Use Project With Grocer
Big V Enables Everyday Investors To Buy In
Simon Launches Retail Media Network
3 Chains Plan Over 1,300 More U.S. Stores
Three brands are accelerating expansion plans. Hot Dog on a Stick eyes nearly 1,000 new locations within five years, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill has nearly 300 restaurants in its pipeline across 18 states and Miniso is opening 100 U.S. stores this year.
Hot Dog on a Stick’s New Owner Targets Nearly 1,000 Locations
The new owner of the Hot Dog on a Stick chain has grand plans for growth. Amazing Brands, which bought the 37-store chain out of bankruptcy for $8 million, aims to expand to 1,000 locations within five years, Franchise Times reported. Amazing Brands founder and CEO Stephen Siegel said the concept is “very scalable.” The chain is considering malls, freestanding drive-thrus, amusement parks, stadiums and airports for new locations, he told Franchise Times.
MORE FROM C+CT: Dog Haus Expansion Plan Calls for 300 to 350 Locations in 3 Years
In the next five years, Hot Dog on a Stick aims to expand from 37 locations — including California’s Glendale Galleria, above, and Santa Monica, at top — to almost 1,000. Photos above and at top courtesy of Hot Dog on a Stick
Hawaiian Bros Island Grill Plans Almost 300 New Stores
Citing Hawaiian Bros Island Grill’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, FastCasual.com reported Hawaiian Bros has nearly 300 locations under development in more than 60 markets across 18 states. In the first half of 2026, Hawaiian Bros opened nine restaurants and signed deals that will add franchised locations in Kentucky, Las Vegas and San Antonio. In the second half, the chain is targeting openings in Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisiana and Texas. Today, the chain operates 80 restaurants in 14 states.
Hawaiian Bros Island Grill operates 80 restaurants in 14 states. Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Bros Island Grill
Miniso Eyes Larger U.S. Locations as It Chases 100 New Stores This Year
Miniso, a Chinese seller of low-cost lifestyle goods and toys, is rolling out larger formats as it opens roughly 100 U.S. stores this year. The company plans to open a 15,000-square-foot Miniso Land store in late September or early October in Columbus, Ohio, according to Retail TouchPoints. 614magazine identifies the location as Easton Town Center.
Another large-format Miniso Land is set to open in Las Vegas during the first half of 2027. In addition, the retailer is doubling the size of its store at New Jersey’s American Dream to accommodate its Miniso Friends format.
Miniso Land and Miniso Friends both are immersive formats. Miniso Friends stores are smaller and geared toward Gen Z shoppers, and Miniso Land stores are multistory flagships designed to be major attractions.
Macao’s first Miniso Land opened July 27 in China’s Shoppes at Venetian. Photo top courtesy of Miniso/PR Newswire
As Miniso grows its U.S. footprint, it’s leasing 5,000- to 7,000-square-foot spaces at open-air centers, in lifestyle centers and along city streets, pivoting from smaller stores at malls, Modern Retail reported. The retailer operates more than 300 stores nationwide.
MORE FROM C+CT: Asian Retail Brands Are Chasing Space in the U.S. Here’s How They’re Setting Up Shop
3 Proof Points Brick-and-Mortar Matters
Walmart’s CFO told analysts its stores are becoming more essential, not less, as e-commerce grows. Meanwhile, the creator of Apple Stores said physical stores may never have been more important. And a JLL survey found shoppers are turning to physical stores to escape digital overload.
As E-Commerce Grows, So Does the Value of Walmart’s Stores
During the big-box retailer’s second-quarter earnings call, Walmart executive vice president and CFO John David Rainey delivered a positive message about brick-and-mortar stores: They matter more, not less, in today’s omnichannel environment. “The role of our stores has evolved as our model has changed,” said Rainey. Walmart stores serve as last-mile fulfillment hubs for 80% of e-commerce orders and 100% of Walmart’s delivery orders, he said. “The more [omnichannel] we become, the more important our stores become — not less important, more important,” Rainey told analysts. As of January, the retailer operated more than 5,200 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in the U.S.
Apple’s Retail Pioneer Says Physical Stores “Have Perhaps Never Been More Important”
Apple’s former head of retail and the creator of its in-house tech support team, the Genius Bar, also offered an upbeat take on physical stores. Ron Johnson, who crafted the blueprint for Apple stores in 2000 and later served as CEO of JCPenney, told Retail Brew that online shopping spurred “the rebirth of physical stores.” He went on to say that brick-and-mortar stores “have perhaps never been more important in their history than they are today, even though we can also shop online.” Likewise, he said, AI will change how we shop but it won’t change where we shop. “We will always rely on a combination of physical stores and other buying experiences.”
Physical Stores Offer Refuge From “Digital Fatigue”
Physical stores serve as an escape for shoppers suffering from “digital fatigue” triggered by e-commerce and AI, according to a new JLL report. Resetting the Retail (Algo)Rhythm advised that brick-and-mortar retail must counteract digital fatigue rather than simply mirror online shopping experiences.
According to a JLL survey of more than 1,100 U.S. consumers, 83% enjoy discovering products in stores that they never would have searched for digitally. Dovetailing with that insight, the No. 1 attribute of a positive in-store experience is a lack of “technological interference.” Going deeper, 72% of shoppers have left stores early due to overstimulation, and 53% of Millennial and Gen Z consumers prefer browsing physical stores “without algorithmic influence.”
JLL concluded that the future of brick-and-mortar retail belongs to brands that design stores for how people want to feel and connect, “not how algorithms predict they should behave.”
MORE FROM ICSC: Shopping in the Age of AI: Redefining Stores for a New Era
Retail Led CRE for Small-Volume Deals in H1
The dollar value of deals for small U.S. retail properties soared in the first half of 2026, a new report found. The Mid-Year Broker Rankings: Special Supplement from Green Street News’ Real Estate Alert showed sales of retail properties valued at $5 million to $25 million climbed 17.7% to $12.9 billion in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year. That represented the biggest year-over-year gain for deals in that dollar range among major commercial real estate sectors, said the report, which cited Green Street’s Sales Comps Database. The data tracks brokers’ sales volume by market and by sector.
JV Buys Rhode Island’s Biggest Mall for $133M
The biggest mall in the nation’s tiniest state has changed hands. A joint venture comprising Pyramid Management Group, Paolino Properties and DW Partners closed on its purchase of the 1.2 million-square-foot Providence Place mall in Rhode Island. The JV bought the property out of receivership for $133 million, The Boston Globe reported. The new owners said the deal “represents the beginning of a comprehensive repositioning and revitalization process for one of New England’s most prominent retail assets.” Tenants include Apple, Boscov’s, Dave & Buster’s, Fogo de Chão, H&M, Lego, Macy’s, Old Navy, The Cheesecake Factory and Uniqlo. Pyramid developed Providence Place in the 1990s, according to Chain Store Age.
MORE FROM C+CT: Providence Place Turns Secret Mall Apartment Controversy Into Community Reconnection
Fitness Grabs the Mic: Gym Will Co-Anchor Mixed-Use Project With Grocer
In a testament to the power of health-and-wellness in retail, a fitness studio will co-anchor a more than $450 million mixed-use project that broke ground in July in the Baltimore exburb of Frederick, Maryland. Club Studio signed a lease with Greenberg Gibbons for 30,000 square feet at the 65-acre Frederick Brickworks development. The fitness studio will join a 35,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market as co-anchor.
MORE FROM C+CT: Fast-Growing Exurbs Are Becoming Retail’s Next Growth Markets
The master plan calls for 130,000 square feet of commercial space and 1,260 residential units. Other retail tenants slated for Frederick Brickworks include Dave’s Hot Chicken, First Watch and Shake Shack.
MORE FROM C+CT: Dave’s Hot Chicken Aims for 150 New Locations a Year
Big V Enables Everyday Investors To Buy In
Big V Property Group just launched a platform enabling prequalified, accredited investors to purchase stakes in the company’s portfolio of open-air centers. “Given that most individual investors don’t have access to buying $100 million shopping centers, Big V created Big V Direct to offer the ability to invest in this asset class,” the company said. Big V owns, manages and develops retail properties; its 14-state portfolio comprises more than 50 shopping centers totaling 9.5 million square feet.
Simon Launches Retail Media Network
Simon launched a media network that connects brands with shoppers at the REIT’s more than 200 properties. Simon Media Network gives brands access to billions of visitors driving more than $100 billion in spending, the company said. Through the network, advertisers can reach consumers through on-site digital displays and experiential activations, ShopSimon.com, the Simon+ loyalty program, Simon-owned social and digital channels, and off-network media. “Unlike traditional retail media networks that are built around purchases from a single retailer,” the REIT said, “Simon Media Network provides advertisers with a broader view of consumer behavior across an ecosystem of shopping, dining, entertainment and lifestyle experiences.”
MORE FROM C+CT: Retail Media Is Having a Moment
By John Egan
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today