These Restaurants Will Fill Some Of The Vacancies Left By McDonald’s Inside Walmart Stores

Walmart (WMT) has found some new restaurant tenants for its stores as it looks to fill the vacancies left by both fast-food chains McDonald’s and Subway.

On April 9, the Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald’s will close most of its restaurants inside Walmart, leaving only 150 locations remaining inside the retail giant after a 30-year partnership that was formed between the two companies. The news coincided with Subway also announcing that it would close locations at Walmart.

Walmart reportedly anticipated the departures and had a backup plan in place. The retail giant has teamed up with Nathan’s Famous Inc. to introduce ghost kitchens insides its stores that will offer seating, carry-out, and third-party delivery in partnership with Ghost Kitchen Brands.

Nathan’s, which is known for its hot dogs, will launch 60 ghost kitchen locations in the U.S. and 40 locations in Canada by the end of 2021. The company has plans to grow to 150 new locations by 2022.

Walmart will also add French bakery la Madeleine to its stores in North Texas in an Express format.

Initially, the bakery will open in 10 test stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with the first expected to open in Garland, Texas, in July. The remaining nine locations are slated to open shortly after, la Madeleine said.

The Express stores will encompass 980 to 2,209 square feet and feature grab ‘n go options with seating to dine-in. La Madeleine serves breakfast all day, lunch, and dinner.

“We’re very excited about Walmart’s curated food service experience for customers,” la Madeleine CEO Lionel Ladouceur, said in a statement. “We look forward to making it even more convenient for the DFW community to enjoy the la Madeleine experience, while also introducing our French comfort food to Walmart shoppers that are looking for more diverse dining choices.”

These are not the only restaurant additions that Walmart is planning for its stores as the company is testing Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell restaurants and has plans to expand its partnership with pizza chain Domino’s, according to the Journal.

Saladworks also announced in March that it also had entered into a partnership with Ghost Kitchen Brands and would bring 60 ghost kitchens to the U.S. and 30 to Canada, many of which would be inside Walmart stores.

Walmart also introduced the rollout of its first sushi and craft beer restaurant in Rogers, Arkansas, with Hissho Sushi and Craft Beer Bar last summer, and in October, it debuted a Blendid robot in stores in Fremont, and Dixon, California, to make smoothies, Restaurant Dive reported.

Shares of Walmart on Tuesday were trading at $141.11 as of 1:42 p.m. ET, up $1.40, or 1%.