The Legacy Products Companies  and Focus Products Group International have signed a letter of intent by which Legacy will acquire the West Bend Electrics division of Focus. The transaction is expected to close within 45 days.Focus, a portfolio company of Centre Lane Partners, owns retail and commercial brands in bath and home fashion.The deal will…

Westerville, Ohio-based Zink Foodservice has hired two new regional account managers to oversee sales activities for healthcare and educational accounts in central and southern Ohio: Frank Rivelle joins the central Ohio team and Christie White joins the Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and southern West Virginia team. General Parts Group is opening its 25th service…

Church’s Chicken has promoted Joseph Christina to CEO. He has served as the Texas chain’s executive v.p. of U.S. operations since 2013, overseeing more than 1,150 franchise and company-owned restaurants in 29 states. Prior to joining Church’s, Christina served as senior v.p. at Burger King as well as other roles at that company. He succeeds Jim Hyatt,…

BRIX Holdings has elevated Craig Erlich to President. Erlich will oversee BRIX’s portfolio of franchise brands, which include the franchising companies for Red Mango, Smoothie Factory, Souper Salad, and RedBrick Pizza. Erlich began his career at Red Mango as director of operations in March 2013 and assumed responsibility as COO for the other brands over…

Employers who have been preparing for months to comply with a major change to overtime regulations by raising salaries and implementing time-tracking tools have been in limbo since last week, when a federal judge blocked the new overtime rules scheduled to go into effect December 1. The delay comes as the Texas judge considers whether…

Pot—not the stainless steel kind you cook in—has a new place in the Mile High City. While as of November 9, the use of both recreational and medicinal marijuana has been entirely legalized in eight states, Denver voters have approved a first-in-the-nation law allowing bars and restaurants to give patrons the option to use marijuana…

The National Restaurant Association and Ecolab have launched a campaign this month to provide the restaurant industry with tools and resources to help promote awareness and combat the spread of the virus. “We’re proud to partner with Ecolab as we continue our commitment to leading the way in food safety and handling,” said Sherman Brown,…

Ira Kaplan, who served as an industry leader for decades and was a beloved friend and mentor to many, passed away November 18 after a long illness. He was 72. Kaplan spent most of his industry career with his family’s Easton, Mass., manufacturing company, Servolift Eastern, advancing to helm it as president. In 2002 he…

Having a hard time keeping track of the latest regulatory rulings, refrigerant phaseouts and all the acronyms (EPA, SNAP, GWP) involved in understanding what is going on with refrigeration and how all of it impacts your business? Tune in at 2 p.m. EST on November 29 to Emerson’s E360 Webinar to get a handle on…

A lot of business unfolded in Chicago during PRIDE Marketing & Procurement’s joint shareholder-supplier brunch. During the mid-October brunch, held to thank stakeholders for the support they have shown the Denver buying group in 2016, the company announced it had redefined its vision, mission, and core values and unveiled its new name: PRIDE Centric Resources.…