• by Teresa Buyikian , March 15, 2024

Spring has almost sprung! And here are some new menu items and store locations that have sprung up as well.

Menus

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii launched its spring menu this week, featuring lavender-infused beverages. Bad Ass sources the botanical on the island Maui, known for its lavender fields. Island Bloom Oat Milk Shaken Espresso contains espresso, oat milk, lavender and coconut and is shaken with iced coffee cubes. The Lavender Lava Matcha is the chain’s iced matcha topped with lavender-infused cold foam. The Lavender Lemonade is the chain’s lemonade with lavender and coconut syrup.

Nékter Juice Bar has announced three new menu items in its collaboration with chili lime seasoning Tajín. Through May 29, customers can try Nékter’s new Pineapple Tajín Smoothie, with cashew milk, pinapple, agave, Tajín Chamoy Sauce and Tajín Classico seasoning. The Tajín Chamoy Frozen Cucumber Lemonade has cucumber, lemon, agave and Tajín Chamoy Sauce, while the Tropical Tajín Fruit Cup contains pineapple and cucumber with Tajín Classico Seasoning and Tajín Chamoy.

Smashburger has added a new Mango Habanero Crispy Chicken Sandwich to its menu for a limited time. The crispy chicken is coated in a sweet and spicy tropical-inspired sauce with lettuce and mayonnaise on a sweet roll.

TGI Fridays is celebrating March Madness this year with a consolation prize: free wings for every fan with a busted bracket. Fans that dine in-store and show their busted brackets will receive six free boneless wings with their choice of sauce, alongside any food or nonalcoholic beverage purchase. Additionally, the chain is offering 50-cent wings on men's and women's game days all tournament long.

Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard is launching its latest limited flavor, Sour Patch Kids Watermelon Ice, with a spring giveaway on Mar. 19 at its over 550 locations nationwide. The new sour and sweet candy-inspired flavor is one of the free options available to customers the first day of spring, when the chain intends to give away over 1 million 6-oz cups of its Italian Ice throughout the day

Locations

Carl’s Jr. is launching in Florida with its first location in Doral. Opened earlier this week, the West Coast-based chain’s new location marks over 1,000 Carl’s Jr. locations worldwide. The location held several pre-opening celebrations, including dining events for local emergency responders.

Donatos Pizza has announced its entry into the Dallas-Fort Worth DFW area, with initial plans to open up to 20 new Donatos Pizza locations in the area this year. The chain states in a release that “with DFW's growing population and extensive size, there is opportunity for over 50 locations in the area.”

KFC has reached 30,000 global locations with the addition of its newest store in Rome, Italy. From its beginnings in 1952, now a new KFC location now opens somewhere in the world every 3.5 hours, according to the brand. The chain also announced plans to enter its 150th country, to be revealed later this year.

Little Caesars has announced the grand opening of its latest New York location, in Corona. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Mar. 21, the restaurant will reward the first 50 guests in line with free pizza for a year.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza has opened its newest Nevada restaurant in Sparks. The chain has plans to expand into Las Vegas later this year.