The number of restaurants in the U.S. fell again in the year ended March 31, 2016, according to the latest data from The NPD Group’s ReCount restaurant census. Total net units stood at 624,301, down 1% from the 632,572 total a year earlier. All the losses were among independent restaurants whose counts dropped by more…

One factor that many analysts believe is contributing to falling restaurant traffic and same-store sales is the divergent trends in grocery store and restaurant menu prices. In August, that gap reached its widest spread in nearly seven years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the  National Restaurant Association. And with wholesale food prices…

Last year was a very unusual year for Foodservice Equipment Report‘s Top 100 E&S manufacturers. For the first time since the magazine began this annual ranking in 2008, combined growth of the largest 100 equipment and supplies manufacturing companies in the U.S. was slower than total market growth. The Top 100 grew combined revenues 3.5%…

Seventeen recipients have been announced in Foodservice Equipment Reports’ biennial 2017 Industry Excellence Awards. Honorees included six organizations for Management Excellence; six to individuals near or under the age of 40 selected as Young Lions; and five Industry Service Award winners. Management Excellence Awards recognize excellence in the management of unit and facilities development, design,…

Terry Kohler, CEO of Windway Capital Corp., the parent corporation of Vollrath Co., died September 20. He was 82. Kohler, the great-great grandson of company founder Jacob J. Vollrath, joined the Sheboygan, Wis., foodservice equipment manufacturer in 1963 and became its seventh president in 1976. He would later serve as chairman of the board of…

Lakewood, N.J.-based Component Hardware Group has acquired the hardware and related business of Food Service Parts (aka John S. Dull and Associates), the Garden Grove, Calif., supplier of CHG’s branded parts to the commercial foodservice and plumbing markets throughout the western regions of the United States. The company—now known as Component Hardware Group West—will service…

Three months after acquiring Angelo Po, Marmon has added a second Italy-based foodservice equipment manufacturer. The assets of Dominioni Punto & Pasta S.r.l., a leading Italian supplier of commercial pasta equipment, have been purchased by Marmon Pasta Solutions S.r.l. Terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1968 by Pietro Dominioni, the family-run business designs and produces…

Three foodservice equipment manufacturers were among 12 suppliers honored by Arby’s Restaurant Group and ARCOP, its national supply chain cooperative, during the 3,300-unit chain’s Worldwide Franchise Convention in Orlando, Fla., earlier this month. Alto-Shaam and Powerhouse Dynamics received a joint Red Hat Supplier Achievement Award for their partnership in the redesign of Arby’s cooking platform. “Their innovative spirit…

Induction cooking is more than a century old, but demand for the technology in commercial foodservice industry is just beginning to take off. An October 13 free webinar at SoCal Energy’s Education Center, Hot New Induction Technology for Cooler Kitchens, will present the ABCs of induction cooking and its ventilation requirements, and show off the…

After 22 years with Yum! Brands as part of the RSCS, LLC (formerly UFPC) supply chain team, Brenda Lloyd has set up BSLloyd Consulting, specializing on areas including capital investment procurement, interim leadership, and electronic inventory. Lloyd joined the Louisville, Ky., company in 1994 as account manager for Long John Silver’s, and since 2007 had…