Two of Unified Brands’ four divisions received the 2010 Pizza Hut Equipment Supplier of the Year Star Award last month. Avtec was recognized as a Star Award recipient for “outstanding energy efficiency results in fryer and oven hoods.”  Randell received kudos from Pizza Hut’s R&D Group, which cited it for “hard work and determination (that)…

A Yum! Brands Star Award was presented to Henny Penny Corp. last month when it was honored as KFC’s 2010 U.S. Supplier of the Year. Henny Penny was recognized for the success of its AHC-993 Holding Cabinet, which KFC uses for its chicken. “It’s an honor to receive the Yum! Brands Star Award,” said Rob…

Garland, a Manitowoc Foodservice company, has appointed Bill Smithers as director of customer service. Smithers will oversee global customer and aftermarket service for the Mississauga, Ontario, company. He brings 20-plus years of multinational business experience to the post. For the past five years, he has worked on several key account projects for Garland. Smithers succeeds…

California Pizza Kitchen will be introducing its menu in Taiwan. The chain has announced a franchise agreement to expand into Taiwan and will open a minimum of six new CPK restaurants there over the next five years. The Los Angeles-based chain is partnering with Quanta Foods, previously a joint-venture partner in Taiwan with such brands…

On July 5, the National Restaurant Association and the National Council of Chain Restaurants filed comments regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s draft menu-labeling regulations.  The association was a primary advocate for the menu-labeling law, passed in March 2010, which will require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations operating under the same brand to…

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering two bills that would regulate franchise agreements and more clearly define the relationship between local franchise owners and their franchisors. One bill would clarify the employment status of franchise owners and protect franchisors from having to pay them overtime and the costs of certain benefits. The second bill would give…

California’s food-handler training law took effect July 1, and in the week leading up to its official enactment, press reports indicated a general lack of knowledge among operators about the new law. As of last Friday, food handlers must take basic food safety training and secure a California food-handler card to work in a restaurant…

The North Carolina General Assembly is in summer recess, but when it returns, it will get to debate grease. State Rep. John Torbett has sponsored a bill to crack down on the theft of used kitchen grease from restaurants. HB 512 would make it a felony to steal $1,000 or more of used cooking oils…

You must register by Friday, July 8 for Foodservice Equipment Reports’ E&S Market Forecast President’s Preview meeting to earn the early-bird discount on the seminar fee. The annual meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27, at the Hotel Orrington, in Evanston, Ill. This annual meeting offers manufacturers, operators, dealers and others in the industry an…

The only surprising thing is that it didn’t happen sooner. The surge in gasoline prices from February through May finally caught up with the restaurant industry in May. Pronounced drops in same-store sales, customer traffic and operator confidence drove the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index back below the point separating expansion and contraction. The…