Sheila Palinkas has joined Leer Inc. USA as national sales manager. The New Lisbon, Wis., company manufactures walk-in coolers and freezers under the Leer and Carroll Cooler brands. Prior to joining Leer, Palinkas was director of specialty markets at W.A. Brown. In addition, Leer has named Patrick McNeely as customer service manager; he’ll manage the…

Ice-O-Matic has appointed Terry Hoelle, CFSP, as its director of sales. Hoelle will focus on leading U.S. sales efforts in distribution and channel development. Hoelle joins the Denver-based company after nine years with Structural Concepts, where she served as director of sales and helped build its foodservice division from the ground up. She has extensive…

The Certified Food Service Professional program has a newly streamlined application and updating process. First, the point-earning/recording requirements have been simplified and the North American Food Equipment Manufacturers Association no longer differentiates between advancement and maintenance points. Certification is maintained by paying $50 dues every two years and by earning at least one point per…

Subway’s newest look is a hybrid of McCafe and Starbucks, with perhaps a dash of Panera. Subway Cafés blur the lines between a sandwich store and a coffee bar, with a menu that goes beyond sub sandwiches to embrace baked goods, espresso and frozen blended beverages. The concept, aimed at office buildings and other upscale…

Value-pricing and special deals are helping profit margins for at least a few chains. Crowd control has seldom been an issue, though. Except when it’s In-N-Out Burger launching in a new state. In May, the Irvine, Calif., chain finally—after much anticipation—made its Texas debut. Two units opened on the same day in Allen and Frisco,…

What are the business and service models of leading U.S. E&S distributors? These details and more are contained in FER‘s June issue and provide an in-depth look at many of the largest E&S dealers and distributors. Our nearly 20,000 large operator and consultant recipients will find these details useful as they evaluate potential distribution partners.…

The National Association of College & University Food Services holds its 2011 National Conference July 13-16 in Dallas. The 53rd annual national conference,

Two long-standing New York foodservice consulting firms, Beer Associates and Jacobs/Doland Associates, have merged their businesses. The new firm, to be known as Jacobs/Doland/Beer, will remain in its New York offices as well as continue operations at its Woodmere, N.Y., location. The three principals, Ira Beer, Gary Jacobs and Robert Doland, will continue to consult…

The Middleby Corp. announced May 31 that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of UK-based Lincat Group plc for about $90 million. The Lincat Group has annual revenues of approximately $50 million. In addition to Lincat, which manufactures a broad range of cooking products including ranges, ovens, fryers, toasters and counterline cooking equipment, the…

In spite of the bite of rising gasoline and food prices, the restaurant industry continued to expand in April, according to the latest Restaurant Performance Index data from the National Restaurant Association. The overall index fell only slightly to 100.9, essentially unchanged from the 100.1 reading in March. Any reading above 100 indicates expansion versus…