California Pizza Kitchen (310-342-5000) has a 25% stake in L.A. Food Show, an upscale, family casual dining concept created by Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, the co-founders of California Pizza Kitchen. The first L.A. Food Show restaurant is under construction and is expected to open in early June at Manhattan Beach Village Shopping Center in Manhattan Beach, CA. The restaurant is expected to be approximately 7,000 sq.ft. and will feature a rotisserie and exhibition kitchen.

Stein Mart (904-346-1500) is planning to open 14 stores this year, with nine openings slated for the first half of the year. Included in those openings are Collections of Stein Mart stores in Pasadena, CA and Hendersonville, NC. Four stores are planned for closure during this year.

H-E-B Grocery (210-938-8000) is planning to open 11 Food Drug stores in the Houston, TX area. The company operates 30 smaller Pantry stores, 13 Food Drug stores and one upscale Central Market in the area. H-E-B plans to close eight Pantry stores when the larger stores are opened.

Delhaize America (704-633-8250) is expected to open approximately 97 stores this year. The company currently operates 2,617 stores nationwide. The company trades as Food Lion, Kash n’ Karry and Hannaford Bros.

Talbots (781-749-7600) is planning to open its first Talbots Mens locations this year. The first three locations will open in Westport, CT; Worthington, OH; and King of Prussia, PA. During the Fall, the company plans on opening an additional three Talbots Mens stores, including a location next to the Madison Avenue flagship store in New York, NY. The company currently operates 895 stores, including 468 Talbots Misses stores in the United Kingdom; 241 Talbots Petites stores, including two in Canada; 41 Talbots Accessories & Shoes stores; 63 Talbots Kids stores; 58 Talbots Woman stores and 24 Talbots Outlet stores.

Bass Pro Shops (417-873-5000) is planning to open a store in Little Rock, AR. The company also is planning to open a store in Columbia, MO during 2004. Bass Pro also is exploring the possibility of a Kansas City and Branson, MO location. The company plans on opening eight stores this year and will have as many as 25 stores operating by the end of the year.

Coldwater Creek (208-263-2266) is planning to open three smaller-concept stores of 3,500 sq.ft. this year.

Calloway’s Nursery, Inc. (817-222-1122) is planning to open two stores in the San Antonio, TX area on the far north side on Loop 1604.

Hibbett’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (205-942-4292) is planning to open 60 stores during fiscal 2004. The company currently operates 371 stores nationwide.

L.L. Bean, Inc. (207-865-4761) is planning to hold off opening more stores while it evaluates the results from the first three mainstream retail stores outside of ME. In addition to the Freeport, ME location, the company operates stores in MD, NJ and VA.

The J. Jill Group, Inc. (617-376-4300) is planning to open 35 stores this year. The company recently opened a store at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ. The company currently operates 51 ladies apparel stores nationwide.

Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. (317-594-2100) is planning to open two supermarkets, one of which will be a new concept store in a new market area. The company also upgraded 101 Village Pantry convenience stores and are planning to remodel four to six supermarkets this coming fiscal year.

Walgreen Co. (847-914-2500) opened a store in Van Nuys, CA. The company now operates 90 stores in the southern CA region and plans on opening 50 more locations by the end of 2004, with hopes of doubling its presence in that area during the coming five years. The company’s goal is to have 450 to 500 stores across southern CA by 2010 with a nationwide total of 7,000 stores.

Michaels Stores, Inc. (800-642-4235) is opening a new format store titled Recollections that will be devoted to scrapbook collections. Two stores are slated to open this Summer in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area. The stores will average approximately 5,500 sq.ft.

H&M (212-489-7777) is planning to open its first store in Italy. The company currently operates 844 stores throughout 14 countries. H&M also plans on opening 110 stores throughout Europe and the U.S. this year. The company also is expanding its presence in eastern Europe, opening five stores in Poland and three in the Czech Republic this year.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (212-541-3300) is planning to open 75 to 80 stores this year, including as many as 65 Loft stores and 10 to 15 Ann Taylor stores to increase selling space by 12 percent. The company currently operates 588 ladies apparel stores nationwide.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (847-286-2500) is planning to open its second prototype store at Gurnee Mills in the Chicago, IL area. The concept is starting with an opening later this year in a suburb of Salt Lake City, UT. Overall, the company is planning to open five stores. The prototype store would have more than Sears’ traditional lines of apparel, appliances and automotive. They would include such things as greeting cards, dry grocery products, house cleaning products, magazines and CDs.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (510-594-2100) opened three stores in the bay area of San Francisco, CA, including locations in Santana Row in San Jose, CA; Bay Meadows in San Mateo, CA; and Santa Clara, CA. Overall, the company plans on opening eight stores this year. The company currently operates 68 stores throughout four states.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (303-846-6000) is planning to open 18 company-owned restaurants and 10 to 13 franchised restaurants this year. Overall, the company owns and operates 99 restaurants throughout 13 states and has an additional 98 restaurants operating under franchise or license agreements in 17 states and Canada.