In This Section:
CNL To Acquire U.S. Restaurant Properties
Libbey To Move California Production To China
Double Check Your New York Show Plans
Book It! Seattle’s Best Coffee Pairs With Borders
If It’s November, It Must Be MAECO
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: Atlas Metal Industries Inc. | Regulatory ReportSponsor: ES3
 
CNL To Acquire U.S. Restaurant Properties
Wanna buy a location? Your one-stop shopping source for restaurant real estate and financing is about to get a lot bigger, thanks to an upcoming merger between CNL Restaurant Properties of Orlando, Fla., and U.S. Restaurant Properties, of Dallas.
The $1.3 billion deal, if approved by shareholders and regulators, would create the nation’s largest real estate and financial services company serving the restaurant industry. The transaction is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2005.
The combined company would do business under the CNL name out of Orlando. CNL current Pres. and CEO Curtis McWilliams would continue in the same position with the new company.
After the merger, the new CNL will own 1,900 properties and have financial interests in about 3,000 properties in 49 states, with a stable of brands that includes Applebee’s, Arby’s, Bennigan’s, Burger King, Golden Corral, IHOP, Jack in the Box, KFC, Pizza Hut, T.G.I. Friday’s and Wendy’s. New brands include Dairy Queen, El Chico, Grandy’s and Spaghetti Warehouse.
Libbey To Move California Production To China
Libbey joins other suppliers in (partial) migration to China. The Toledo, Ohio, glass tableware maker announced that it will close its manufacturing facility in City of Industry, Calif., in early 2005. About 140 employees, or 3.7% of Libbey’s total workforce, will be affected.
"While the decision to close this facility was extremely difficult, increasing demands from customers and growing international competitive pressures require us to reduce costs and improve profit margins," said Libbey Chairman and CEO John Meier in a statement.
Meanwhile, the company is in final stages of site selection, land procurement and licensing to manufacture glass tableware in the People’s Republic of China. Production is expected to begin in early ’07.
Over in Europe, Libbey is negotiating the acquisition of a glass tableware facility to complement its Royal Leerdam subsidiary in the Netherlands. That transaction will most likely close by yearend.
Libbey currently operates glass tableware manufacturing plants in California, Louisiana, Ohio and the Netherlands.
Section sponsored by Vollrath Co.
Double Check Your New York Show Plans
Eyeball your travel plans again, because although the bright lights of Broadway haven’t changed, the New York Int’l. Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show has.
The show’s new format makes Saturday a full seminar day, followed by three days of show exhibits. The show’s scheduled to run Nov. 13-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.
By contrast, previous years’ IHM&RS four-day shows have featured concurrent exhibits and seminars.
Also new this year is Saturday’s Hospitality Leadership Forum, where keynoters Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala of CNN’s "Crossfire" will talk about the political climate’s impact on the hospitality industry. The conference also features sessions on government advocacy, leadership skills, lodging food and beverage, sales and marketing, and technology.
IM/H&RS is expected to attract 1,500 exhibitors and 45,000 attendees. Register online at www.ihmrs.com by Oct. 15 to catch the early- bird rate. And be sure to read Foodservice Equipment Reports' October show preview article for full details.
Section sponosred by Vollrath Co.
Book It! Seattle’s Best Coffee Pairs With Borders
You could say that Borders Books & Music and Seattle’s Best Coffee are now on the same page. The two companies recently signed a licensing agreement in which Borders will operate SBC cafes in more than 400 existing Borders locations, and in new stores as they open.
The first conversions will start in early 2005 and continue over the next few years. The SBC cafes at Borders will serve a full line of branded premium coffee and non-coffee beverages. The cafes will also offer pastries, bakery items and warm and cold sandwiches, using the same menu as other SBC cafés.
Seattle’s Best Coffee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks Corp., of Seattle. Starbucks operates more than 8,000 stores worldwide. Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, of Ann Arbor, Mich.
If It’s November, It Must Be MAECO
Q: What do grease filters, green buildings and invisible arrows have in common?
A: They’re all on the agenda for the upcoming Multi-Unit Architects, Engineers & Construction Officers conference, to be held Nov. 7-9 at the Marriott Portland Downtown hotel in Portland, Ore.
Co-chairs Jerry Delventhal of Restaurant Development Corp. and Tony Spata of WD Partners have engineered an info-packed meeting.
Topics to be covered include lifecycle cost projections and an update on a new grease filter study, presented by Don Fisher of Fisher-Nickel; a look at green buildings presented by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specialist Helen Kessler of HJ Kessler Associates; a refrigeration energy use report by John Morris from Continental Refrigerator; the latest on dehumidification technology, by Larry Klekar of Munters Commercial; the art of air balancing by Tony Spata; and information on pneumatic linear detection by Robert Utech of Greenheck. You’ll also get the latest research and industry data from the National Restaurant Association’s Christine Andrews.
To register online, point your browser at http://www.restaurant.org/studygroups/maeco/index.cfm.
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