• by Teresa Buyikian , May 10, 2024

New seasonal menus and locations are sprouting as we’re halfway through spring and barreling towards summer. Here are just a few.

Menus

Auntie Anne’s has launched three new watermelon-flavored beverages, available until Aug. 25. The Watermelon Lemonade Frost is a blend of watermelon and frozen lemonade topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, while the Watermelon Frozen Lemonade is a frozen combo of watermelon and Auntie Anne’s Original Lemonade. The Watermelon Lemonade Mixer is an iced watermelon flavor with Auntie Anne’s Original Lemonade.

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream has created a new Carrot Cake ice cream flavor: a carrot cake base with cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and cream cheese. Carrot Cake flavor is available until May 30 by scoop or pint at all Handel’s locations.

Wing Snob has added an Extra Saucy Mac and Cheese to its menu. The savory dish is available with an added “Snob Shot”  -- an extra splash of sauce such as Honey BBQ, Buffalo, Cajun, Hot AF, Lemon Pepper, Nashville Hot or Sweet Heat. The new Mac and Cheese is available as a premium side option included in meal combos, or on its own regular, large and family sizes.

Wendy’s has launched a Nuggs Party Pack, which features approximately 50 all white-meat chicken nuggets for sharing with a group. To promote the new party pack, Wendy’s teamed up with Rashiq Zahid, the developer behind McBroken (a website that locates every U.S. McDonald’s with a broken ice-cream machine) to create WendysNuggParty.com.  The website is a real-time interactive map, directing customers to their closest Wendy’s serving the Nuggs pack.

Locations

Dave’s Hot Chicken has signed a multi-unit agreement for seven new locations across the St. Louis area with The Hari Group. Since its inception in 2017, the brand has grown to over 140 locations in the United States and Canada.

The Honey Baked Ham Company recently signed a new agreement with existing franchisee group Glazed Animals LLC to bring a new location to Columbia, Tennessee. This new agreement builds upon the group’s initial deal from October 2023, which outlined a new HoneyBaked store in Clarksville, Tennessee, as well as ownership of an existing location in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Port of Subs has signed a regional development deal for 10 new locations throughout Arizona over the next several years. The first store is slated to open by the beginning of 2025, and “will be near a local hospital, tech hubs, hotels and multifamily housing” per the release, with additional locations in Mesa and Queen Creek opening later in the year.

Shipley Do-Nuts, an 88-year-old U.S. donut brand, has signed 14 deals for 61 new locations throughout Texas. So far in 2024, the brand has already opened six Texas and Oklahoma locations, as well as slated shops in Colorado, Florida, Maryland and North Carolina to open before the end of the year.