Investments Blog

Brothers Joe and Ryan Ng plan to open Red Hook Cajun Seafood & Bar restaurants in Bartlett, Memphis, and Cordova.

A build-your-own avocado toast bar. A veggie butcher. Fresh-squeezed juice and made-to-order grain bowls. A rooftop space with Adirondack chairs and cornhole. Trivia nights, open mic and even “drag” bingo.

These are just few things to expect at the new Southeast flagship Whole Foods Market, which opens today in Midtown.

“It’s going to be like an adult playground,” Bobby Turner, Whole Foods’ regional president of the South region, said on a tour of the 70,000-square-foot store. It occupies…

Charlotte has no shortage of tasty mobile cuisine, and we consulted with Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) to see what reviewers say are the best food trucks in the area. For this week’s list, we used Yelp’s star ratings to rank Charlotte’s food trucks. Ties are broken by number of Yelp reviews.

The List includes Charlotte-based food trucks with a Yelp rating of four or greater and seven or more customer reviews. Of course, there are dozens of trucks that haven’t been reviewed by customers on Yelp,…

The Kraft Heinz Company unveiled another condiment mashup last week: Kranch.

The mixture of ranch dressing and Heinz's signature ketchup add another new flavor to the company's recent mixing of condiments. Last month, the company debuted three other flavors, mixing mayonnaise with other condiments to create Mayochup, Mayocue and Mayomust.

In a press release, Heinz said the new Kranch flavor would pair well with fried foods.

The new Kranch sauce is currently available online from Walmart and…

A Louisiana fitness franchise has opened its second Alabama location in a popular Birmingham suburb.

Hotworx Vestavia Hills opened at 790 Montgomery Hwy. on April 5, according to Over the Mountain Journal.

Headquartered in Marrero, Louisiana, the fitness center franchise made its Birmingham debut at 2000 Fifth Ave. S. in the former Merienda Lounge building, which also includes a nail salon, Pizza Hut and an upcoming Chronic Tacos.

The fitness concept focuses on 30-minute isometric workouts and…

Some products seem relatively disruption-proof — their designs and standards so time-tested that there doesn’t seem to be much room for the next thing.

Cookware is not one of those things. Case-in-point, Austin-based Made In, which sells pots, pans and other home cookwares direct to consumers, has developed a business in two short years that now has a multimillion dollar run rate and landed a spot as one of Time magazine’s best inventions of the year.

On April 3, the company said it has closed…

Blackwall Hitch is getting ready to bring the latest location of its nautical-inspired restaurant concept to the Inner Harbor — just in time for the start of tourist season.

The local restaurant chain, which has other locations in Annapolis, Alexandria and Rehoboth Beach, will open in early May at 700 E. Pratt St. if all goes according to plan, said Derek Fink, a Blackwall Hitch majority owner.

Fink said he hopes to have permits for the 10,000-square-foot restaurant next week and start staff…

The Washington Avenue bar scene is about to become a little more crowded. Axis & Alibi, a new patio bar concept by restaurateur Carlos Palomo, is set to officially open April 26 at 5701 Washington Ave.

Palomo has been behind a number of bars and restaurants over the years, such as Crome, a Montrose nightclub that operated in the mid-’00s.

Palomo wanted to open a patio bar after he saw a trend rise in mixology-focused patio bars.

“We saw that a lot of these … patio lounge places that had…

Taco Bell is testing a three-item vegetarian menu at nearly 200 Dallas restaurants, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.

Two new items, the Vegetarian Crunchwrap Supreme and the Vegetarian Quesarito, will join the 7-Layer Burrito on the special menu.

Taco Bell's food choices already include 38 vegetarian ingredients, 28 of them also vegan, the company said. That includes Taco Bell’s second-most ordered menu item: the Classic Bean Burrito.

The dedicated menu test run will help determine consumer…

Dallas-based Four Corners Brewing Co. has expanded distribution of two of its beers into southern California.

El Chingón IPA and new El Grito Lager are the first of the craft brewer's beers to be distributed outside of Texas, the company said.

Both are available now throughout Los Angeles and San Diego in six-packs priced at about $9.99 for El Chingón IPA and $8.99 for El Grito Lager. The beers also will be available on draft at bars and restaurants, and the brewery plans to introduce…