Investments Blog

Leon, the British chain of fast-casual Mediterranean-style restaurants, has signed a lease to open in Mount Vernon Triangle — its second District location.

Leon will open at 655 New York Ave. NW, a mixed-use project coming online soon from Douglas Development Corp. and Brookfield Properties. It is expected to open in late spring.

The chain that bills itself as “naturally fast food” opened earlier this year at 1724 L St. NW. The menu includes a smoked salmon & avocado egg pot, Moroccan meatballs…

Seawolf Brewery is looking to raise $15 million to open three locations in the next two years.

The Annapolis-based company hopes to open a combination taproom, “fooderie,” and 10-barrel brewery in Philadelphia in April followed by a similar setup at the Navyseum in Chicago in 2020. If enough funding is raised, Seawolf also hopes to open its own 60-barrel brewery in Howard County by October, said managing partner Alan Beal. Beal declined to say how much money the company has raised so far.

Plans…

This story has been updated to include analysis from an M&A expert.

Nutrisystem Inc.'s shares soared Monday morning after news broke of its upcoming acquisition by Tennessee-based Tivity Health Inc., the shares of which took a tumble.

Fort Washington, Pa.-based Nutrisystem and Franklin, Tenn.-based Tivity Health on Monday announced a $1.3 billion deal in which the weight-management company would sell to the health company known for fitness program SilverSneakers.

The transaction — expected…

Lawrence Crane already had a decent ice carving business going when he and the about-to-be-former Susan Cannon, who owned a festive-balloon business, decided to merge their companies — and their lives. They married and created The Party Concierge in 1993.

“I started out as a chef at the (former) Red Lion Hotel,” Lawrence Crane says. I mention that the hotel had been one of my favorite places for brunch back in what all of us vaguely call “the day” and he says, “I did all of those ice…

It's only a few weeks until the end of the year: Do you know where you'll spend the waning hours of 2018?

The trick is ringing in the New Year without breaking the bank. Prices go up as the days count down, according to TravelMag; for example, the cost of hotel rooms in New Orleans and Atlantic City can increase by more than 300 percent on New Year's Eve.

But there are other factors to consider besides the price of lodging. WalletHub compared the 100 biggest cities based on 28 key indicators to…

Point-of-sale platform ShopKeep has secured a fresh round of funding.

The New York-based company, whose tech is used by more than 25,000 independent retailers and restaurants, has closed a $65 million round of equity and debt financing.

The round was led by Tribeca Venture Partners, the Manhattan firm that also led the company’s “A” round in 2011.

Other investors that took part in the round were First Data Corporation, a leader in payment processing services, and Salesforce Ventures —…

Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, the restaurant group created by the eponymous steakhouse proprietor, has created its first C-suite, hiring new executives to help fuel the company's growth.

Phoenix customers of food delivery service Postmates ordered more Gadzooks enchiladas this year than any other item, according to Food & Wine.

The foodie blog reported on newly released from Postmates, which said an order of two enchiladas from the Valley-based build-your-own enchilada chain was the most popular non-chain dish in Phoenix this year.

According to Food & Wine, Postmates customers ordered from more than 200,000 food vendors this year, and looking through the data revealed some fun…

Reveal Greens, a Medford-based lettuce grower with a two-and-a-half-acre greenhouse, was able to convince officials and buyers that its romaine was clean, and then sales took off.

One of the biggest names in Cincinnati chili is investing millions of dollars in bringing a new restaurant look and experience to its 83 locations.

Gold Star Chili is in the midst of rolling out a new look and feel at its restaurant locations as well as new menu items and a rebranding campaign to coincide with it all. The company is investing $25 million in the rollout.

“When I joined the company four years ago, the intent was to redefine the chili experience,” CEO Roger David told me.

The $25…