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Garden City Equity Invests in WeBuild’s Foodservice Turn-Key Service

Garden City Equity is investing in WeBuild, a manufacturer of custom store elements and provider of turn-key program management services for national restaurant and retail franchise brands.

Jeff Fenster founded WeBuild in 2017 to support the rapid new unit growth of his healthy food chain brand, Everbowl. After successfully standing up over 50 Everbowl locations, Fenster saw the opportunity to provide other franchise brands with the same turn-key services – including custom fabrication, logistics, installation, general construction and inventory management.

WeBuild marks Garden City Equity’s seventh investment since 2020. Other notable investors in WeBuild include Drew Brees – athlete and co-owner of Walk-On’s, Smalls Sliders and Stretch Zone; and Perry Rogers – co-owner of Big Chicken.

“Emerging restaurant and retail brands are looking for creative ways to offset the increasing costs and complexity of new unit development. There is immense value in having a partner who has experience avoiding overruns and delays who can support each phase of multi-site brand rollouts – all while having a more streamlined development process,” said Fenster.

“We are very excited to welcome WeBuild to the Garden City family of companies,” said Michael Arrieta, Garden City Equity founder & CEO.

Garden City Equity recently invested in Wathco, a national leader in providing remodel, conversion, and expansion project services to multi-site restaurant, retail, and hospitality brands with nationwide footprints.

Arrieta added, “This investment is extremely strategic for us as we can now further help our national restaurant clients simplify their entire development process – WeBuild provides custom store elements and Wathco provides the installation and project management services.”

Garden City Equity is a people-first holding company that invests in exceptional founder and family-owned businesses. It partners with owners who truly care about the legacy of their businesses, and provide them with a fast, fair, and straightforward acquisition process. It utilizes little to no debt, hold for the long term, and actively engage our family of 50+ mission-aligned shareholders to help grow our businesses.

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The Fresh Market Presents Gourmet Easter Meals

The Fresh Market is helping its guests celebrate the joy of spring and create an Easter to remember this year. With a focus on fresh, gourmet food, The Fresh Market is the perfect one-stop-shop for everything guests need to host a beautiful, stress-free meal and celebration. The specialty fresh food retailer’s prepared meals, sides, and desserts, which include several new options this year, make entertaining effortless, offering incredible flavor without all the fuss.

The Fresh Market’s variety of ready to heat and ready to cook meals are available to pre-order online in advance through Mar. 27 at 2 p.m., with pickup in store Mar. 28-31:

  • Easter Ham Meal (Serves 8-10): Ready to heat. $99.99 – Note that members of our Ultimate Loyalty Experience save $10 ($89.99 for members)! Includes:
    • Spiral Sliced Bone-In Honey Ham (9 lb)
    • Fresh Pineapple Slices (16 oz)
    • Green Beans with Sea Salt and Black Pepper Butter Steamer Bag (2 lb)
    • White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes (2.5 lb)
    • Soft Golden Dinner Rolls (12 ct)
    • Deluxe White Cake (7 in)
    • The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
  • Easter Ham Meal for 4: Ready to heat. $64.99. Includes:
    • Spiral Sliced Bone-In Honey Ham (3.5 lb)
    • Fresh Pineapple Slices (16 oz)
    • Green Beans with Sea Salt and Black Pepper Butter Steamer Bag (2 lb)
    • White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes (2.5 lb)
    • Soft Golden Dinner Rolls (4 ct)
    • Strawberry Bar Cake (18 oz)
    • The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
  • Herb Gremolata Lamb Market Meal Kit for Two. $19.99. Includes:
    • Premium Lamb Steak
    • Asparagus
    • Herb Gremolata
    • Gnocchi
    • Olive Oil and Seasoning Packets
  • Easter Rack of Lamb Meal for 2: Ready to cook. $49.99. Includes:
    • Your Choice of French Cut Rack of Lamb – Seasoned or Unseasoned (1.5 lb)
    • Seasoned Asparagus (1 lb)
    • Mascarpone Whipped Potatoes with Rosemary (1 lb)
    • Hand Dipped Chocolate Strawberries (8 ct)
    • The Fresh Market Reusable Shopping Bag
  • Easter Prime Rib Meal for 2: Ready to heat. $54.99. Includes:
    • Fully Cooked Prime Rib (1 lb)
    • Seasoned Green Beans (1 lb)
    • Mascarpone Whipped Potatoes with Rosemary (1 lb)
    • The Fresh Market Rosemary Horseradish Aioli (4 oz)
    • The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
  • Easter Brunch Meal for 4: Ready to heat. $19.99. Includes:

The Fresh Market is also offering several a la carte mains, sides and desserts (including the new Italian rum cake and Lemon Cheesecake) for purchase through the Easter holiday.

In addition, no Easter would be complete without beautiful spring flowers and the perfect Easter basket. The Fresh Market has festive treats to make those baskets extra special for guests of all ages. The retailer’s extensive floral department has everything from tulip bunches to fresh roses to spring lilies and rose lilies. For inspiration on making Easter even more special, The Fresh Market will host an Easter shoppable livestream on March 7 at noon featuring Chef Anna Rossi.

Voted as the “Best Grocery Store in America” by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2021, “America’s Best Customer Service 2021” by Newsweek and Statista and a top 5 most trusted grocery retail brand for specialty and natural/organic foods in the 2022 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, The Fresh Market helps guests discover the best with time-saving meal solutions, unique ingredients, and delicious food for any occasion. From fresh produce and exceptional meat and seafood to signature baked goods and thousands of organic options, the specialty grocer has something to please every palate. The Fresh Market operates 161 stores in 22 states across the United States, inspiring guests to discover new flavors and cook with confidence. For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com or follow the company on Facebook, TwitterInstagramTikTok and Pinterest.

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KNAPP, Takeoff Team to Grow eGrocery Fulfillment Innovation

Takeoff and KNAPP announced an evolved and integrated partnership to accelerate hardware and software innovation for eGrocery fulfillment through:

  • A new network-strategy oriented product suite: Rollout of a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet evolving industry needs
    1. A joint voice in the industry: Further integration of key functions from commercial to technical teams to streamline delivery of seamless End-to-End eGrocery fulfillment solutions
  • Coordinated technology roadmap: Additional R&D collaboration for continued innovation at the cutting edge of eGrocery fulfillment

Takeoff and KNAPP have expanded their partnership to offer a modular product portfolio to provide food retailers with right sized automation and unique capabilities for their operation. With profit-driving fulfillment models for high-, mid- and low-volume operations, retailers can choose different technologies and solutions to realize their eGrocery strategy and fulfill their promises to the end customer. Retailers are now empowered to construct an intelligent, interconnected fulfillment network without being constrained to a single solution, having to engage with different hardware and software providers, or compromising on operational excellence.

“After operating alongside and growing with our retail partners over the past 7 years, we are excited to offer our retail grocery partners new solution modularity with our partner KNAPP,commented Takeoff co-founder Jose Aguerrevere.

KNAPP Group VP of Food Retail Solutions Rudolf Hansl added, “Automation remains foundational in addressing rising labor costs and offering an optimal customer experience at the lowest cost to serve. Through Takeoff’s expertise we were able to further develop our modular solution for micro fulfillment. In addition, we will enhance our existing portfolio within this new, intensified partnership to make it easier than ever to deploy rightsized automation for any retailer, anywhere.”

In the next phase of their partnership, Takeoff and KNAPP are bringing their sales, solutions engineering and technical product teams closer together. Together, this will provide retailers with a unified, streamlined experience and access to the industry’s largest dedicated team enhancing eGrocery fulfillment.

Seven years ago, Takeoff created the hyperlocal fulfillment category with a custom, grocery-native platform – Micro Fulfillment Centers were born. After extensive technology evaluation, Takeoff partnered with KNAPP, a globally recognized leader in intelligent automation and specialized software solutions. Together, Takeoff and KNAPP offer an unmatched experience, global reach, flexible architecture, industry-leading operator productivity and ultimately, eGrocery profitability. The future of eGrocery fulfillment is led by Takeoff and KNAPP.

Takeoff Technologies offers eGrocery solutions that empower grocers to thrive online using hyperlocal fulfillment. Founded in 2016, Takeoff’s solutions range from fully manual fulfillment technology to highly automated Micro Fulfillment Centers powered by a seamless integration with global automation leader KNAPP. Takeoff Technologies is driven by a mission to transform the grocery industry by making online grocery operations as efficient and cost effective as traditional brick-and-mortar stores. With over 180 employees and approximately $1 billion in sales processed through Takeoff fulfillment centers, Takeoff is building on a meaningful track record to continue driving innovation in a rapidly growing eGrocery industry.

KNAPP is the technology partner for intelligent value chain management. Headquartered in Austria, the KNAPP group provides all-in-one solutions for automation and digitalization, from production and distribution to the point of sale. Excellent service and long-term collaboration make KNAPP the strong partner behind the success of their customers in the sectors healthcare, retail, food retail, fashion, wholesale and industry. The solution portfolio for grocery comprises innovative automation concepts for both online and brick-and-mortar food retail.

For more news of interest to the grocery industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.