Mrs. Fields Cookies shops will begin popping up here and there and TCBY frozen yogurt shops will multiply as well under a new franchising agreement announced by Utah-based Mrs. Fields Famous Brands LLC. It owns both the Mrs. Fields and TCBY sweet-treat concepts.

There are currently no Mrs. Fields shops in Hawaii, according to its website, and only two TCBY shops operate on Oahu, according to its website and the 2010 Hawaiian Telcom phone book. (Yes, people in newsrooms still use them.)

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands will be expanding the two concepts through franchiser CT Business Group, about which it released no details.

Mrs. Fields corporate offices could not be reached, but according to a news release, CT Business Group has purchased the right to franchise Mrs. Fields and TCBY stores in Hawaii and Washington state, as well as an international master franchise agreement in South Korea.

The agreement has CT committed to opening 30 new Mrs. Fields or TCBY stores in both states as well as 30 new stores in South Korea in the next five years. The stores will be a mix of CT-owned and operated and subfranchisee-run.

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands emerged from a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2008 with plans to open more than 40 new franchised stores that year as well as to grow its online gift and branded retail and licensing businesses.

Its TCBY brand, popular in Hawaii since the early 1980s, began languishing nationally and in recent years has been eclipsed by the tart-sweet Asian fro-yo concept popularized by brands such as Red Mango and Pinkberry.

Restaurant industry publication Nation's Restaurant News recently reported that the brand underwent an overhaul in order to refresh its image and spur sales.

New MVP boss

Longtime radio and TV broadcast executive T.J. Malievsky has been named group publisher for the local operations of Georgia-based Morris Visitor Publications.

“;I've been doing this a couple months,”; he said, though the company just made the announcement.

Morris publishes custom hotel books, Where magazine, Where GuestBook Best of Oahu and Dining in Paradise, and produces visitor-oriented TV programming under the names Where TV, Outrigger TV, OHANA TV and Starwood TV, the latter in both English and Japanese.

The TV content is regularly updated, though some is designed to match the publications' content, so if there is a print story on farmers' markets, “;we'll send out a TV crew (to cover them) and do scripting so it matches,”; he said.

“;I'm hiring,”; he added. The company is seeking an editor for its print products and is looking for a sales executive as well.

He first gained knowledge of publishing while general manager of what was then KPOI-FM 97.5, or “;98 Rock,”; as publisher of the twice-monthly entertainment newspaper The Beat (originally called On Stage Hawaii).

He continues to serve as general manager of KUPA-AM 1370, though a general sales manager is responsible for day-to-day operations of the Fox Sports Radio affiliate.