After a brief lull in increases for food at the wholesale level, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Restaurant Association show prices rose again in April. Overall wholesale prices rose 0.5% after falling 0.1% in March, according to the NRA. The BLS said prices for “finished foods” rose 0.3% on a…

While we’ve been busy reporting first-quarter E&S numbers and the like, the two leading foodservice research organizations have released several new research reports. Technomic Inc. has released the full version of its annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. The top 500 chain concepts increased U.S. systemwide sales 1.8% in 2010, a marked improvement over the…

We’ve just come from the National Restaurant Association’s annual show, which ran Saturday, May 21 through Tuesday, May 24 in Chicago. Most manufacturers and dealers we spoke with during the show reported their sales and the market as a whole continue to recover, though moderately. Most also thought the quantity and quality of attendees at…

The seven publicly traded or reporting foodservice equipment and supplies companies saw blended sales gain 6.7% in the first quarter 2011 versus the first quarter last year. It was the fourth consecutive quarter that blended sales for the group, whose revenues add up to nearly $2 billion annually, have risen versus the prior-year quarter. The…

Manitowoc Foodservice has appointed company veteran Chris Karssiens as v.p./g.m. for its Jackson MSC division. Karssiens adds the new post to his current duties as v.p./g.m. of Delfield Refrigeration. During the past 13 years, Karssiens has held a variety of leadership posts with Manitowoc Foodservice and Enodis. Under Enodis, he led Jackson from 2002-03. Jackson…

Tundra Specialties, a distributor of restaurant parts, supplies and equipment, has purchased the assets and liabilities of Cen Tex Supply Co., a neighboring dealer which specializes in eco-friendly paper products in addition to E&S. Both companies are based in Boulder, Colo. Ryan Lewis, president of Tundra Specialties, is focused on a seamless transition, according to…

Tina Reese has been appointed v.p.-operations at Commercial Appliance Parts and Service. She will be directly responsible for Commercial’s headquarters in Tampa, Fla., and will oversee various operational functions for the entire company, which has four branches in Florida and one in Atlanta. Reese has been with Commercial for more than 20 years, and is…

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…

Fred “Biff” Bearden, a partner with E-Source Inc. of Irving, Texas, passed away on March 17. He was 58. Bearden worked for his father’s business, Fred B. Bearden Co., Food Service Representatives, before launching his own company, B&L Marketing, in 1986. After selling the company in 2004, he became a partner with E-Source. Service have been…

PRIDE Marketing & Procurement hosted its annual marketing and sales conference in Denver in April. There, it presented its Dealer of Year Award to one of the buying group’s newer members, CuliQuip LLC. The kitchen equipment and design company has retail showrooms in Delaware and Maryland; its affiliated company, Zephyr Hardware, sells restaurant POS systems.