The Franchises Buffalo Wings and Moe's are to start operations in August in Plaza Tempo, located in Escazu.
For the U.S. food chain, Moe's, the opening of its branch in Costa Rica is it’s first foray into Latin America. The company also plans to open another branch in July 2013, in Plaza Carolina Mall, also in the Costa Rican capital.
The chain from El Salvador, Buffalo Wings, which has a presence in other countries in Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras) will offer its flagship product, chicken wings in over 15 flavors.
The franchise company QSR International is to open 15 new stores during 2012, and invest in the remodeling and reopening of three others.
QSR International, which owns the fast-food franchise KFC and Quizno's Sub in the region, will open 8 new KFC restaurants and 7 new Quizno's outlets in Costa Rica.
"Calle Blancos (Plaza San Gabriel), Cartago (near the Ruins and in the new Paseo Metrópoli mall), in Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJIA), Limon, San Rafael de Desamparados, Moravia (Lincoln Plaza) and Alajuela are the new KFC locations," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
Quizno's has been awarded a contract to manage the food area in the international airport of Costa Rica for 8 years, with an investment of $4 million.
This was announced by the company itself in a statement Wednesday in which they mentioned an initial investment of $4 million to start the operation of the restaurants.
Quiznos Sub Inc. is a franchisee of the QSR company, the company that owns the international franchises Quizno's, KFC, Teriyaki and Smashburger in Costa Rica.
Those that are already here are expanding by opening more stores, while other franchises are coming to settle in a market with rapidly changing trends in consumer dining.
In 2012 seven new concepts will join the fast-food market .
Spoleto is one of them, a chain of Brazilian origin that offers salads and pasta dishes prepared to suit the client.
The Costa Rican firm has announced the opening of more stores in U.S. and Costa Rica.
Last February, the Pops ice cream chain opened its first branch in Miami measuring around 100 m2 and with an investment of $500,000. This was an initial step, because as well as operating this site in a mall in Pembroke Pines, it plans to open two more ice cream parlours in Florida during 2012.
The management company of Costa Rica’s principal international airport intends to take advantage of unused space with more restaurants and shops.
The management company Aeris is pushing plans to expand the range of food services in the airport, and is creating a tender for the 600 square meters currently being used as a dining area.
In an already saturated hamburger market another competitor is looking to set up franchisees throughout Central America.
The Smashburger chain will be the new player in the competitive hamburger market in Costa Rica, where the company plans to open three restaurants this year.
Smashburger, voted "Most Promising Company in America" by Forbes magazine, is based in Denver, Colorado.
Within its expansion plans in the region the multinational has announced the opening of 50 new stores over the next three years.
Without having yet determined the location of the branches, the company held an employment fair in Guatemala to recruit for the new restaurants.
"The director of Human Resources at McDonald's Mesoamerica, Patricia Cofino, explained that those interested in working in this area, even if they don’t have any experience, can start being trained with a degree in Hamburgerology. After two years of this course they can go to the University of Chicago to get a degree in Restaurant Management," reported Siglo21.com.gt
Casa Phillips with over 60 years offering airline catering services, is entering the restaurant market with the opening of offices in Juan Santamaria Airport.
With an investment of $1.3 million, the company has opened three stores in the airport terminal under the name Malinche, two offering meals and a convenience store.
One of the restaurants, which is 198 square meters, is located inside the terminal next to boarding gate number 7 and the other, which is 241 square meters, is located on the south side of the airport parking lot.
Next May the U.S. chain will open its first store in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The announcement was made via a press release from the Pan American Coffee Corporation, a company that promotes Salvadoran coffee shops across the Isthmus.
Nacion.com reported quoted Manuela Velasquez, Starbucks marketing manager for Central America: "Our main goal is to bring the Starbucks experience to Costa Ricans.
With an investment of $3 million the Carl's Jr. chain has opened its first three restaurants in San Jose.
The franchise management company, Gold Star Burgers SA, indicated on the occasion of the inauguration of its first location in the heart of the capital, that in the coming weeks they will open two new branches in malls, Mall San Pedro and Plaza Real Cariari.
The opening and remodeling of restaurants, the closing of others and the entry into the market of new competitors is shaking up the market.
QSR International, which operates Quizno's in the country, has added fast-food chain Smashburger to its portfolio with three locations opening in 2012.
Meanwhile Subway, which has already opened three new outlets this year, plans to open three more by December.
While waiting for new foreign franchises to enter the market, domestic chains are expanding their operations.
More stores in different parts of the country, new brands and increasing competition are defining the chicken restaurant market.
This year alone there are plans to open at least two outlets under the Nicaraguan franchise Tip Top, which last year tried its hand in the center of the province of Alajuela.
The National Training Institute (INA in Spanish) in Costa Rica will build a new headquarters in Heredia providing IT training programs as well as subjects such as food, environmental management, and languages.
The establishment will be 4900 square meters, and its opening is planned for September 2011.
According to an article by Andrea Rodriguez in Elfinancierocr.com, "The site will be used to teach everything about the configuration of network services, networking and internet protocols,, Cisco network systems, and training in IP telephony including wireless networking, and IP cameras .
The Chamber of Hotels & Restaurants is continuing its attempt to eliminate the mandatory gratuity on bills.
The tax, equivalent to 10% of the invoiced amount for food and accommodation services in restaurants and hotels and referred to as a tip, is income that should be distributed among employees. However, many operators do not pass the money on to their staff.