• by Teresa Buyikian , December 1, 2023

 

The year may be coming to a close soon, but that isn’t slowing down new store openings and menu items. Here are a few of the latest.

New Locations

California Pizza Kitchen announced the opening of its latest franchise location in the Philippines, which marks the chain’s 24th international location. The California-based brand now has more than 180 restaurants across 11 countries and U.S. territories.

Chicken Salad Chick announced two new store openings this week for the fast casual restaurant. The first, in Norfolk, Virginia, is the chain’s seventh location in the state. The brand also opened its fourth location in the Jacksonville, Florida, market in The Pavilion at Durbin Park.

White Castle recently celebrated the opening last Tuesday of its new restaurant in Tempe, Arizona with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by a Tempe-area couple who met at a White Castle restaurant over 72 years ago. The couple, both in their 90s, met at a Chicago White Castle in early 1951 and married just a few months later. The new White Castle is the second location in Arizona. The first opened in October 2019 in Scottsdale.

 New Menu Items

Maggiano’s Little Italy announced its new December menu, centered around a three-course holiday offering of two salads and a choice from a list of 14 starters, 10 pastas and 11 entrees. Sample items include appetizers like Stuffed Mushrooms and entrées such as Branzino Crab Imperial, Beef Tenderloin Medallions and Four-Cheese Ravioli. For those ordering takeout, Maggiano’s will offer two different Holiday Bundles. The first is available between Dec. 14 and Dec. 24, will be served hot and ready-to-eat and can feed 5-6 people. The second is a New Year's Carryout Bundle for two or four people available from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1.

Noodles & Company will launch “CrispiDays” beginning Dec. 6, releasing a new holiday themed limited-edition flavor of its Crispy dessert every day until Dec. 12 for $3 each. The exact ingredients in each new Crispy won’t be announced until each day at 9 A.M. EST via the Noodles & Co. website and Instagram account, but the flavor names are  The Wonderland Crispy on Dec. 6; Eight Toasty Nights on Dec. 7; Home for the Holidays on Dec. 8; Oh Deer, Reindeer! on Dec. 9; Crispy Confetti on Dec. 10; Naughty & Nice on Dec. 11; and Buddy’s Crispy on Dec. 12.

Wendy's announced a new limited-time-only version of its famous Baconator. The Pretzel Baconator contains grilled beef, American cheese and six strips of Applewood smoked bacon on a warm pretzel bun.