Holman Cooking Equipment Founder Passes
J. Harrison Holman III, past-president of the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers, long-time executive with Market Forge Industries and founder of Holman Cooking Equipment, has died. He was 88.
Holman headed sales and marketing for Market Forge when the company entered the steam cooker business in 1945. After 33 years with Market Forge, he retired—only to start what became Holman Cooking Equipment a few months later. He figured out how to convect air in a toaster, and turned that into an entire second career. He eventually sold the company to Star Mfg.
A few of Holman's foodservice career highlights include receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Johnson & Wales University, being appointed as Food Service Industry representative by the Secretary of Defense and the National Research Council to standardize foodservice in the armed forces; and his long service to NAFEM.
He is survived by his wife Barbara; son Jay Holman; daughter Joanne Holman; a brother, two sisters and eight grandchildren.
Foodservice Industry Mourns Pacifico
The foodservice consulting community lost one of its brightest lights in March. Robert Pacifico, FFCSI, passed away March 29 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 62.
A principal of consulting firm Romano/Gatland, headquartered in Lindenhurst, N.Y., with 15 offices worldwide, Pacifico served as Director of Design from his offices in Woodstock, Ill. Pacifico was a past president of Foodservice Consultants Society Int'l. and also held the designation of Fellow with the group, an honor reserved for its most accomplished members.
Educated at Villanova and the Pratt Institute, Pacifico was an architect by training and began his career in foodservice consulting in 1977 with R/G. In '86 he launched his own firm, Robert Pacifico Associates and in '95 rejoined R/G, maintaining his Illinois-based practice as a branch operation.
He was perhaps best known for his work in the hotel and business/industry segments, with a long list of credits that included such notables as the Swan and Dolphin hotels at Walt Disney World, as well as numerous locations of Motorola's highly acclaimed Foodworks operations around the country. Among other notable projects and clients: Trump Plaza, Trump Taj Mahal, Hyatt, Goldman Sachs, University of Chicago's Bartlett Hall (Midwest Construction magazine's 2002 Project of the Year) and Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry (Foodservice Equipment & Supplies '03 Design of the Year).
He's survived by his wife Emily, two daughters, three grandchildren; his mother Beatrice, brother Charles, sister Janice and four nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials maybe made in his name to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Liver Cancer Research, P.O. Box 27106, New York, N.Y. 10087-7106 or the FCSI Educational Foundation, 304 W. Liberty St., Ste. 201, Louisville, KY 40202.
Carl's Jr. Franchisee Uses Fry Oil As Biofuel
MJKL Enterprises LLC, Arizona's largest Carl's Jr. franchisee with 52 stores, says it's converted 20% of its company vehicle fleet to run on biodiesel fuel. The entire fleet will be converted to run on fuel made from used frying oil from the company's stores by 2010, according to CEO Jason LeVecke.
MJKL Enterprises presently has Ford, Dodge and Jeep models that run on a mix of diesel and used frying oil that has been filtered and treated. The process, which LeVecke says is proprietary to MJKL, is relatively inexpensive, as is the cost to convert vehicles.
Company vehicles include cars used by corporate officers and trucks driven by repair technicians.
T.G.I. Friday's Bucks Bigger Is Better Trend
While some chains are still trading on a bigger-is-better philosophy, T.G.I. Friday's now has 10 items on its "Right Portion, Right Price" menu.
T.G.I. Friday's is bucking the longstanding trend of touting value through volume with its new menu even though other chains have met resistance from consumers after trying similar moves. "This is a category issue stemming from consumer demand," says Richard Snead, president and CEO of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, T.G.I. Friday's parent.
The new menu items, offered in all 582 U.S. stores, are priced from $6.99 to $8.99. The Jack Daniel's Chicken Alfredo, for example, has 40% less fettuccine, a third less chicken and half the sauce of the full-size version and costs 30% less.
www.fermag.com
Sponsor: The NAFEM Show 2007
