In This Section:
QualServ Sells To Riverside
U.S. Foodservice Puts Contract Division Up For Sale
Jacmar, Shakey’s Main Franchisee, To Buy Pizza Company For $4.5 Million
Aga Foodservice Names Whalen To Top Sales And Marketing Post
McDonald's Plans Two New Flagships
‘Keep Your Cool’ At Chicago-Area Refrigeration Seminar
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: DI Foodservice Cos. | Regulatory ReportSponsor: ES3
 
QualServ Sells To Riverside
QualServ Corp., a multi-location supplier of fabrication, equipment, furnishings and smallwares, has been purchased by Riverside Co., a private equity firm with offices in Cleveland, Dallas, New York and San Francisco. The transaction is valued at more than $100 million.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., QualServ was formed in 1997 and ’98 by the merger of five separate equipment and supplies dealer/distributors: Air Systems, Food Service Supplies, Remco, Smith St. John and Tennessee Restaurant Equipment Sales. Consolidation of these entities created what is today one of the five largest full-service equipment and supplies businesses in the country.
QualServ supplies nearly half of the top 20 chain operators in the country, including Applebee’s, Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts. Branches can be found in Columbia, S.C.; Fort Smith, Ark.; and Nashville, Tenn. Meanwhile, the acquisition of QualServ is Riverside’s eighth this year and 86th since the firm’s inception in ’88.
U.S. Foodservice Contract Division: Wind-Down or Up for Sale?
U.S. Foodservice announced last week it intends "to exit its Contract Design business," and retained a firm to help the "wind-down" of the business over the next seven months. A knowledgeable source told FER Fortnightly that U.S. Foodservice may in fact be trying to sell the business.
In the release detailing the exit plan, U.S. Foodservice said it "is committed to fulfilling all agreements to Contract Design (C&D) customers and to helping affected employees." The Contract Design division employs approximately 130.
The source said the division will continue to operate "as usual" while a buyer is being sought. U.S. Foodservice officials were not able to comment further before deadline.
U.S. Foodservice, the nation’s second largest broadline distributor, is owned by Ahold USA, which is in turn owned by Royal Ahold of the Netherlands. The Contract Design division provides turnkey foodservice facilities, including design and engineering, purchasing, installation and maintenance.
Section sponsored by New Age Industrial Corp. Inc.
Jacmar, Shakey’s Main Franchisee, To Buy Pizza Company For $4.5 Million
Singapore’s Inno-Pacific Holdings has sold the 61-unit Shakey’s Pizza chain to The Jacmar Companies, its largest franchisee, for $4.5 million. The sale ends the 19-month class action lawsuit filed against Shakey’s Inc. by more than 20 franchisees. Under terms of the agreement, the sale’s completion would release the Singapore company of any damages brought against it by the group, including potential fines of up to $10 million.
Jacmar, of Alhambra, Calif., operates 19 Shakey’s restaurants. The firm also runs several Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, and A&W eateries in Guam and is the largest shareholder of BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery.
Section sponsored by New Age Industrial Corp. Inc.
Aga Foodservice Names Whalen To Top Sales And Marketing Post
Aga Foodservice on Friday announced the appointment of Mark Whalen as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Foodservice.
Whalen will direct the foodservice sales and marketing efforts of Victory Refrigeration, Adamatic and Northland, companies that operate under the Aga Foodservice umbrella in the United States.
With more than 28 years of experience in the foodservice industry, Whalen brings to Aga Foodservice a successful track record of accomplishments and sound expertise in sales, marketing, strategic planning and operations. Prior to joining the Aga Foodservice Group, Whalen served as president of cooking-equipment manufacturer Vulcan-Hart Co.
Under the new structure, Whalen will report directly to Iain J. Whyte, President of Aga Foodservice Inc. in the United States. "We are very pleased to have an industry veteran like Mark on board," said Whyte. "His diverse foodservice background and extensive knowledge of the industry will rapidly become an asset to the Aga Foodservice companies in the United States."
Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Aga Foodservice Inc. is a manufacturer of commercial foodservice equipment and high-end domestic cooking appliances.
McDonald's Plans Two New Flagships
Talk about burger-luck: Chicagoland, as locals call it, is slated to get not one but two flagship McDonald's stores next year, all part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The first store will replace the popular "Rock ’n’ Roll" McDonald's, a longtime downtown Chicago tourist destination and the third busiest McDonald's restaurant in the country. The Rock’n’Roll shop closed on July 18.
Its replacement, slated to open in April next year, will be a "bold, one-of-a-kind, futuristic" store, according to the Oak Brook, Ill., company. The exterior, highlighted by two 60-ft. tall Golden Arches, will echo the red and white design of Ray Kroc’s first McDonald's, opened in Des Plaines, Ill., in 1955. Its "green roof" will display a garden view for second floor guests. Dual drive-through lanes will serve twice the current number of customers in cars. Interior touches include WiFi and other innovative features. Seating capacity will double to more than 300.
Meanwhile, out in McDonald's-land (Oak Brook), plans are brewing for the building of a 10,000-sq.-ft. restaurant seating 280 and including a McCafe, drive-through and outdoor dining area. The site is less than a mile from McD's international headquarters, and within sight of another McDonald's-owned office building. This opening is set for mid-2005.
McDonald's operates more than 30,000 restaurants in about 120 countries.
"Keep Your Cool" At Chicago-Area Refrigeration Seminar
Just about all you ever needed to know about refrigeration but were afraid to ask will be explained at a no-cost August seminar aimed at Chicago-area commercial foodservice operators and specifiers.
"Keep Your Cool" is jointly sponsored by Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry’s Region 17 Chicago Chapter and the Midwest regional members of Foodservice Consultants Society Int'l.
Topics to be covered include refrigeration basics, public health codes, HAACP implications, NSF Standard 7 requirements, the ins and outs of remote refrigeration, an update on the Montreal Protocol’s refrigerant requirements, and a tutorial on cook-chill and blast-chill systems. The day will be MC'd by none other than Foodservice Equipment Reports Publisher Robin Ashton.
The event earns credits towards certifications, too: Certified Food Service Professional holders will gain 2 Continuing Education Units, while FCSI members rack up 5 CEUs in their program.
Here are the details:
When: Tues., Aug. 10, 2004
Where: Harper College/Wojcik Conference Center, Algonquin, Ill.
Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: Free
For more information, contact Bob Pacifico, Romano Gatland, at 815/338-8808 or pacifico@romanogatland.com.
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