--- title: "Good (and Other) News! – July 2021" url: https://burnaze.com/article/2c18bc7f-c87f-4f97-8a28-6e7d4eca114f source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/good_and_other_news__july_2021.html author: "Eddy Goldberg" category: "Franchise Industry" industry: "Franchise Industry" published: 2021-07-21T08:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:27:37.810Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/6138_plate.jpg --- # Good (and Other) News! – July 2021 **TL;DR:** Franchising continues to expand with mergers and virtual/ghost kitchens on the rise, despite a surge in Delta variation cases. Several major restaurant acquisitions took place in June, including FAT Brands' acquisition of Global Franchise Group and SPB Hospitality's acquisition of J. Alexander's. *By Eddy Goldberg, originally published in Franchising.com on 2021-07-21. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/good_and_other_news__july_2021.html).* ## Story Welcome back to our monthly news roundup. (We skipped June, so some items are a little older than usual). After a fairly optimistic June and full openings in many states, the surge in Delta variation cases among the unvaccinated has put a damper on things. But franchising carries on with expansion, and mergers are on the rise. So are virtual/ghost kitchens. And brands across the franchising spectrum are rethinking not only their real estate strategy, for example, but also fundamentally how they deliver their products to consumers. Here’s your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month! And if you’re not doing it already, send us your good (and other) news here! POST-COVID – REOPENING & RECOVERY Banks Are Reversing Course on PPP Loans to Small Business Owners The SBA Closed the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Portal on July 14 The Economic Recovery Is Here and Is Unlike Anything You’ve Seen Big Shopping Mall Owners Back Expanded Delivery-Only Ghost Kitchens in Food Courts DoorDash & Grubhub Sue San Francisco Over 15% Delivery Fee Cap Technomic: A Surprising Number of Restaurant Chains Added Locations in 2020 30 Big Restaurant Chains that Got Even Bigger in 2020 Survey: Customers Expected To Increase Spending as Vaccinations Increase Study: Casual Dining Traffic Is Nearly Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels Customers Return to Restaurants – Cautiously and with Bad Attitudes Pandemic Hangover: Consumers Are Wary as They Resume Purchasing Pet Startups Are Having a Field Day (Thanks to Covid) Smartphones, Contactless Service Drive Coffee Shops’ Post-Covid Evolution Roll-Em-Up Taquitos Signs 12-Unit Development Deal HIRING & EMPLOYMENT Restaurants and Bars Added 23% of All U. S. Jobs in June IFA Among 14 Associations Opposing Nomination of David Weil to DOL’s Wage and Hour Division Half of U.S. States Ended Federal Covid Jobless Benefits Early. Here’s How They Compare Expanded Unemployment Benefits Are Not Holding Back the U.S. Economy How Working from Home Has Changed Employees Forget Going Back to the Office; People Are Just Quitting Instead FINANCE/M&A 7 Major Restaurant Acquisitions in June FAT Brands To Acquire Global Franchise Group for $442.5 million SPB Hospitality To Acquire J. Alexander’s in $220 Million Deal Anil Yadav Affiliate YTC Enterprises To Buy Taco Cabana for $85 Million Luby’s Sells 92-Unit Fuddruckers to a Franchisee for About $18. 5 Million Ampex Brands’ Tabbassum Mumtaz Acquires Au Bon Pain WellBiz Brands Acquires 49-Unit LunchboxWax, Its 5th Beauty & Wellness Brand Virtual Brand Company Acelerate Raises $14. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - Franchise Industry (sector) - restaurant industry (topic) - Eddy Goldberg (person) - IFA (company) - DoorDash (company) - Fat Brands (company) - Grubhub (company) - Technomic (company) - WellBiz Brands (company) - Delta (company) - mergers and acquisitions (topic) --- Originally reported by Eddy Goldberg, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/good_and_other_news__july_2021.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/2c18bc7f-c87f-4f97-8a28-6e7d4eca114f).