Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. (205-912-7226) plans to open about 60 stores during fiscal 2003, which ends in February 2003. The company’s primary store format is Hibbett Sports, a 5,000 sq.ft. store located in enclosed malls and strip centers in small to mid-sized markets in the southeast. The sporting goods retailer operates more than 320 stores in 20 states.

Tractor Supply Co. (615-366-4600) is opening a Tractor Supply location at 2300 North Woodland Boulevard in Deland, FL this month. The store will be the company’s 18th FL location. The Deland location is part of a growth plan that includes 180 store openings this year. The retailer of merchandise for farm maintenance, livestock, pets, lawn care and gardening operates more than 320 stores in 28 states.

Rag Shops, Inc. (973-423-1303) plans to open three stores and close one store during the fiscal year ending this August. The retailer of crafts and fabrics operates 66 stores.

PWS, Inc. (323-721-8832) is seeking 1,800 sq.ft. to 4,000 sq.ft. inline or freestanding locations throughout CA and NV. The company prefers to open laundry stores at sites with good street visibility, ample parking and easy ingress and egress. Preferred demographics include an area with more than 40% renter-occupied multihousing or a low-income population base.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (212-633-3300) is opening a 21,000 sq.ft. store at Valparaiso Market Place in Valparaiso, IN. The store, which will open during November, will be located at the intersection of U.S. 49 and La Porte Avenue. The company operates about 600 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 49 states.

Wendy’s International, Inc. (614-764-3100) is planning to open a Wendy’s location on Route 85 in Waterford, CT. If town officials approve site plans, the company will demolish a former Bee Bee Dairy location and build a 3,100 sq.ft. restaurant. The company’s expansion plans for 2002 include 515 to 540 openings of Wendy’s and Tim Horton’s restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada. More than 6,000 Wendy’s and 2,100 Tim Horton’s locations operate in the U.S. and internationally.

Gart Sports Co. (303-864-2141) plans to open a 32,000 sq.ft. Gart Sports Superstore in Wichita, KS during the Fall. The store will be located at the intersection of Maize Road and 21st Street in the Newmarket Square power center. The location will be the company’s second Gart Sports Superstore in Wichita; the first is located at 6959 East 21st North. The sporting goods retailer operates 179 stores in 25 states.

Fuddruckers (978-778-1300) is opening a location in Albuquerque, NM this Summer. The restaurant will be located in the 5,700 sq.ft. former Furrs Cafeteria at Coronado Center. The location will be the company’s third in Albuquerque. More than 200 Fuddruckers restaurants operate throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Middle East, half of which are franchised.

Dollar General Corp. (615-855-4000) plans to open about 600 dollar stores this year. The company also plans to close 60 to 80 stores and remodel or relocate about 100 stores. More than 5,500 Dollar General locations operate in 27 U.S. states.

Wolverine Foods (313-963-9805) plans to develop six fine-food restaurants in Detroit, MI by 2006. The company owns Sweet Georgia Brown, a restaurant and piano bar, as well as 118 Pizza Hut locations nationwide. Openings will include Tucci Milan, an Italian steakhouse that is expected to open during September, and Zanzibar Blue, which will feature American cuisine and open by the end of the year.

Cousins Subs (800-238-9736) plans to open four company-owned units and about 200 franchise stores. The company operates 39 company stores and 130 franchise locations in 10 states across the midwest and southwest.

84 Lumber Co. (724-228-8820) plans to open 25 stores during the next 12 to 18 months. The company opened 20 stores in NE, NV and OK last month, with the majority of the new locations in former Payless Cashways facilities. The building material retailer operates more than 434 stores in 34 states nationwide.

CVS Corp. (401-765-1500) plans to open a 11,000 sq.ft. store at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and State Route 322 at Briton Lake in Concordville, PA during the Fall. A 12,000 sq.ft. store is expected to open in Gilbert, AZ during February 2003. The company operates more than 4,000 stores in 24 states.

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Inc. (316-264-8899) is planning to expand its Frankie’s Italian Grill concept. The company operates one Frankie’s Italian Grill location in Charlotte, NC and initially will focus the concept’s expansion in the southeast. The company also operates more than 250 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants.

Elegant Illusions Inc. (831-649-1814) may open one to three fine art or copy jewelry stores this year. The company operates 19 stores nationwide.

Sonic Corp. (405-280-7507) plans to open about 190 drive-in restaurants during fiscal 2002, which ends this August. The company franchises and operates more than 2,400 drive-in restaurants nationwide.

Yoshinoya West, Inc. (310-527-6060) plans to open 700 Yoshinoya restaurants in the U.S. during the next 10 years. The restaurants specialize in gyudon, or beef bowls. The restaurant chain’s first East Coast location opened at Times Square in New York, NY during March. The company operates more than 80 locations throughout CA and the company’s parent company, Yoshinoya D&C Co., operates 784 restaurants in Japan.

The Container Store (214-654-2082) will open three locations during 2002. The retailer of storage and organization products will open locations in Paramus, NJ, Corte Madera, CA and San Francisco, CA. The Paramus store will occupy 28,000 sq.ft. on Route 17 and open this month. The Corte Madera store will occupy 24,000 sq.ft. in Town Center Corte Madera and open next month. The 29,000 sq.ft. San Francisco store, the company’s largest store to date, will be located at 4th and Market Street across from Union Square. The company operates 25 locations in CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, NY, OH, TX and Washington, DC.

Ross Stores, Inc. (510-505-4400) plans to open a Ross ‘Dress for Less’ store in Ocala, FL. The company operates more than 450 stores nationwide. The opening is part of the company’s plan to open 50 to 500 locations this year.

Watson’s of Dayton (937-848-2323), a retailer of spas, pools and saunas, is opening a 60,000 sq.ft. location on Whipp Road in Centerville, OH during February 2003. Half of the building will be used for storage and the other half will be used for retail sales. The store will replace a 16,000 sq.ft. location at 4399 Ohio 725 in Bellbrook, OH.

Famous Footwear (800-888-7198) is opening a 10,000 sq.ft. location at Target Center in Mesa, AZ during September. The footwear retailer operates more than 900 stores nationwide.

Kroger Co. (513-762-4000) is opening a 69,000 sq.ft. supermarket during Summer 2003 in Norwood, OH. The company operates more than 2,350 supermarkets.

Winchell’s Donut House (714-565-1800) plans to open three company-owned and 15 franchised locations by April 2003. The stores occupy spaces of 1,000 sq.ft. to 1,500 sq.ft. in freestanding, inline or endcap locations. The company prefers sites with a population of 20,000 residing within a one-mile radius earning a median household income of $20,000 to $60,000 and an average daily traffic count of 12,000 vehicles. The company is seeking franchisees in the following markets: Phoenix and Tucson, AZ; Riverside County, Sacramento, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Francisco and South Orange County, CA; Colorado Springs and Denver, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. The doughnut chain operates more than 200 units in 12 states, plus locations in Guam, Saipan, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.

Martin’s Restaurant Systems (770-948-3922) plans to open one or two units in the metro Atlanta, GA area this year. The company operates 14 Martin’s locations in GA. The breakfast and lunch restaurants, specializing in biscuits, occupy spaces of 2,500 sq.ft.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (804-527-4058) plans to open about 10 stores during fiscal 2003, which ends in February 2003. The company also is remodeling 300 stores and relocating 10 stores. The company operates 604 Circuit City Superstores and 20 Circuit City Express stores nationwide.

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (303-384-1400) plans to open 22 restaurants in CO during the next three years. Expansion is expected to take place throughout the metro areas of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The company operates 34 restaurants throughout CO.