Market Trends

🏚 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts to open in Indianapolis this winter, housed in the 1926-built historic Illinois Building after a $110 million restoration, adding a floor to become an 11-story luxury hotel with 170 rooms. Keystone Group developed the site, adding a penthouse suite, two dining concepts, a fitness center, and 5,000 square feet of event space. InterContinental's portfolio spans over 220 hotels with 73,350 rooms in 70 countries. 21c Museum Hotel Indianapolis to open in 2028, managed by Ennismore in partnership with TWG, featuring 156 rooms with original art, three dining venues, and 16,000 square feet of gallery space. Daxton Hotel Birmingham joined Curio Collection by Hilton, opened in 2021, owned by Mark Mitchell, with 151 rooms and over 400 original art pieces. The Boardwalk Hotel on Lake Anna by Kasa opened, offering 34 rooms and sustainability-focused infrastructure upgrades.

🎄 The Chalet, an Alpine-inspired restaurant by pop-up legend Jimmy Garcia, reopens on November 13 at Somerset House. Menu highlights include gin-cured salmon with Graveney Gin from Tooting, charcuterie from Tempus in Weybridge, and wild boar sausages supplied by Vicars Game in Reading. The British Cheese Fondue features Neals Yard Dairy cheeses, with a vegan option available. From November 28, the Après Skate experience offers a welcome gluhwein and a three-course dinner for £75 on Thursdays to Saturdays.

🏠 Design studio Simplicity crafted a traditional Japanese ryokan experience on the 28th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Osaka, located in the Dojima business district. The hotel occupies 12 floors of the One Dojima high-rise and offers 175 guest rooms. The ryokan floor, aiming to blend tradition with modernity, features 21 tatami rooms with interiors inspired by Japanese inns, complete with futon beds, and a Sabo tea lounge. This project aligns with Japan's economic surge and the forthcoming Expo 2025 Osaka.

🎉 Denise Tran, CEO of San Francisco-based Bun Mee, founded the five-unit Vietnamese sandwich concept in 2011. Bun Mee announced national franchising and opened its fifth location in San Francisco's Marina District after traditional stores grossed over $1 million annually since 2021. Its two airport units at San Francisco International Airport reported over $4.6 million and $3.6 million in 2023 sales. With a trimmed menu and upgraded equipment, Bun Mee aims for 5 new franchises in the first year and 50 units in five years, focusing first on Colorado expansion.

🍷 Demerara sugar, with its rich, caramel-like flavor, is now on 3.1% of U.S. restaurant menus, marking a 31% increase over four years, according to Datassential. This sugar is popular among vegetarian, vegan, and Asian consumers and is mostly used in independent and fine-dining establishments. It's favored for its minimal refinement and natural qualities, finding its way into cocktails, coffee drinks, and baked goods for added crunch and sweetness.

🍴 Bret Thorn is the Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016. He hosted the podcast “In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn” and wrote for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. His previous experience includes writing in Thailand for Manager magazine and Asia Times (1992-1997). Thorn is a magna cum laude graduate from Tufts University with a BA in History and studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. His work won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014, Thorn resides in Brooklyn, NY. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (@foodwriterdiary), and Instagram (@foodwriterdiary).

🏡 California's architecture studio Electric Bowery and graphic design firm Land, in collaboration with landscape design studio Orca and Marc & Rose Hospitality, renovated the 1980s-built Casa Loma hotel in Laguna Beach. The cliff-perched hotel features 70 rooms, a central pool deck, terraces, event space, and a double-height lobby with a bar. The design embeds European seaside inn influences, a calming color palette, and a focus on Laguna Beach’s crafting culture, particularly surfboard shaping techniques. Custom wood furniture with soft curves and geometric shapes are showcased throughout the hotel. Guest rooms exhibit woven textiles, screen-printed tapestries, and stone and tile work, while vanity fixtures from Sklo and lamps by Kassandra Thatcher accentuate the space. The project's details reflect the local natural beauty and Laguna Beach's historical spirit.

🏡 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts signs a 10-year franchise agreement with Reside, launching five residence-style hotels in the U.S. for extended stays. This move introduces Wyndham's Residence tier in upscale markets and aims to expand across the top 50 U.S. markets. Seattle-based Reside, operating in 60 countries for over 30 years, joins Wyndham's network of 112 million loyalty members. Existing Wyndham Residence properties include a 55-room hotel in Seattle and a 70-key hotel in Houston. Upcoming properties feature 22 rooms in New Orleans, and two in Washington D.C. with 81 and 67 rooms respectively.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, has guided F&B trends since 1999. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he covered New York City’s restaurant scene for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. Before that, Thorn worked in Thailand as a writer (1992-1997) and ABC News runner in 1989. He's a Tufts University magna cum laude graduate, a Phi Beta Kappa member, and studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. His editorial work earned him the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and a presidency at IFEC in 2005. Thorn authored food entries for Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015), and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

🏦 The Surrey in Manhattan's Upper East Side, now The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, has reopened under U.K. billionaire owners Reuben Brothers. Acquired in 2020 for $150 million, the hotel offers 70 rooms, 30 suites, and 14 private residences. Serving as Corinthia Hotels' first North American property, The Surrey has been a New York fixture since 1926. The hotel features interior design by MBDS, suites with dedicated butler services, and the first New York Casa Tua eatery with a private members' club.