Lowe’s Cos., Inc. (336-658-4000) is planning to open Lowe’s Home Improvement stores at 1800 West Valencia Road and 4075 West Ina Road in Tucson, AZ during early 2004. The company also is planning to open a location at Sunrise Place located at the intersection of East Speedway and North Kolb Road in Tucson.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (212-633-3300) is planning to open a 24,000 sq.ft. store in Morgantown, WV during March 2005. The company currently operates 630 locations throughout 49 states. It also operates 245 B. Dalton Bookseller stores, primarily in regional malls.

Federated Department Stores, Inc. (212-704-3300) is planning to open a Bloomingdale’s at the Old Orchard Center in Skokie, IL. The company also is planning to open a Bloomingdale’s location at a former Saks Fifth Avenue site in Oakbrook, IL.

Medicap Pharmacies (800-445-2244) is planning to open 15 to 20 stores this year, and enter the MD and NY markets. The company currently operates 180 locations and has franchised units in 35 states.

IKEA (610-834-0180) is planning to open a 370,000 sq.ft. store in Paramus, NJ. The company also is planning to open locations in the suburbs of Washington, DC; NY and San Francisco, CA. The company currently operates 17 locations nationwide.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (510-594-2100) opened a store in Long Beach, CA. The company also plans to open eight stores this year and is aggressively planning expansion throughout southern CA. The company currently operates 70 locations throughout four states.

O’Charley’s (615-256-8500) opened a 6,800 sq.ft. restaurant in Belton, MD. Overall, the company is planning to open 27 to 29 restaurants this year. In addition to O’Charley’s, the company operates six Stoney River Legendary Steaks restaurants and the 81-unit Ninety Nine Restaurant and Pub chain in New England.

JCPenney Co., Inc. (972-431-1000) is planning to open a store at Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City, IA.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (602-957-8986) is planning to open 16 Pei Wei restaurants by the end of the year, with planned locations for Phoenix, AZ, southern CA and Dallas, TX. The company also is planning to enter two new markets with locations in Houston, TX and Denver, CO. The restaurants typically average 3,000 sq.ft. to 3,200 sq.ft. The company also is planning to open 18 P.F. Chang’s China Bistro locations by the end of the year. The bistro locations typically average between 6,000 sq.ft. and 7,000 sq.ft. The company currently operates 85 bistro locations and 23 Pei Wei restaurants.

Gold’s Gym (800-457-5375) is planning to open a 21,000 sq.ft. location at 2900 Clarendon located at the intersection of Clarendon Boulevard and North Fillmore Street in Clarendon, MD. Opening is slated for early 2005.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (336-726-8917) opened a Krispy Kreme store at the intersection of Route 70 and Chambers Bridge Road in Brick, NJ. The company also is planning to open additional stores throughout southeastern PA, NJ and DE. Krispy Kreme currently operates 295 stores throughout 39 states, Canada and Australia.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (804-527-4000) is planning to open a 34,000 sq.ft. Circuit City in Hawthorne, CA. Opening is slated for February 2004. The site is situated on a land area of 2.8 acres.

Giant (717-245-7474) is planning to open a 58,800 sq.ft. supermarket at Bethlehem Square Shopping Center in Bethlehem, PA. Opening is slated for the Fall. The company currently operates 113 supermarkets throughout four states.

Washington Mutual (206-377-2138) is planning to open 40 to 60 locations throughout the Tampa, FL area during 2004. The company currently operates 150 financial centers throughout central and southeast FL. Overall, Washington Mutual expects to open a total of 250 locations nationwide.

Finish Line, Inc. (317-899-1022) is planning to open 55 stores during fiscal 2004, remodel 20 existing stores and close five to 10 locations.

Bebe (415-715-3900) opened 10 Bebe stores. Overall, the company is planning to expand the concept to 350 to 400 stores, opening as many as 30 stores per year.

Green Mill Restaurants, Inc. (651-203-3100) is planning to open five to six restaurants per year. Overall, the company plans to operate 50 locations during the coming few years. The company currently operates 11 Green Mill restaurants in the Twin Cities area of MN and 17 locations throughout KS, MN, ND, SD and WI. In addition, there are two Green Mill On the Go takeout operations in Byerly’s supermarkets in Edina and Maple Grove, MN. Next year, openings are slated for Bemidji, Lakeville and Maple Grove, MN, as well as Madison, WI.

Eastern Federal Corp. (704-377-3495) is planning to open a 16-screen megaplex movie theater with stadium-style seating in Columbia, SC. The theater will be located at the heart of the Village at Sandhill, a 300-acre, mixed-use development featuring shopping, residential, office and entertainment venues, located at the intersection of Two Notch and Clemson Roads in northeast Columbia. The theater is slated to open late next year or early 2005. The company currently operates 23 multi-screen theaters located throughout FL, NC and SC.

Walgreen Co. (847-914-2500) is planning to open four Walgreens stores throughout the Tulsa, OK area this year. The two latest Tulsa stores are located at the intersection of 15th Street and Yale Avenue and 51st Street and Lewis Avenue. Both stores are slated to open during early November. The company also is planning to open a location outside of the Tulsa city limits. A third Broken Arrow, OK location will open this month, while the first Walgreens store in Claremore is slated to open in October. The new stores occupy spaces of 14,500 sq.ft. The company currently operates 53 Walgreens stores throughout OK, including 12 in Tulsa.

Wal*Mart Stores, Inc. (650-837-5000) is planning to open a Wal*Mart store located at the intersection of North and Kilpatrick Avenues in Chicago, IL. The 150,000 sq.ft. store is slated to open during Spring 2005. The company currently operates 48 stores, including Wal*Mart and Sam’s Club locations, throughout the Chicago area. Overall, the company operates more than 2,870 discount stores, supercenters and neighborhood markets, 520 Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. and internationally.