The deadline is near for FEDA’s 2016 Profit Survey. The survey, free to members, presents a wealth of financial and operating guidelines to participating dealers and provides direct comparisons between a dealer’s firm and his or her competitors. The questionnaire can be found on 

Parts Town has undergone a major recapitalization led by Boston-based investment firm Berkshire Partners. Summit Partners, an existing shareholder in Parts Town, will remain a significant investor in the company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Parts Town possesses a customer-centric and innovative culture, which has driven remarkable growth,” states Kevin Callaghan, a managing…

One month they’re up, the next they’re down. The components that track current same-store sales and customer traffic exhibited wild swings once again in the National Restaurant Association’s May Restaurant Performance Index survey—this time downward. These indicators have been whipsawing wildly month to month since December 2015, when a steep drop helped drive the overall…

With the global turmoil of the June 23 referendum in the United Kingdom to pull out of the European Union playing out worldwide, FER Fortnightly asked Peter Backman, principal at London-based foodservice firm Horizons FS Ltd. for his views on the potential impact on foodservice in the U.K. The key word is “uncertainty,” and as…

The restaurant industry continued to grow net units in 2015, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported by NRA Chief Economist Bruce Grindy in his “Economist’s Notebook” June 9 blog on the association’s website.  The restaurant industry added a net 9,877 establishments in 2015, an increase of 1.7%.  The 2015 increase…

On the state level, restaurant unit growth trends were mostly positive in 2015, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As reported by NRA Chief Economist Bruce Grindy in his June 10 “Economist’s Notebook” blog, 45 states and the District of Columbia added eating and drinking place locations in 2015, while only five…

Bargreen Ellingson, the country’s seventh largest E&S dealer, has acquired The Restaurant Source, the Denver-based foodservice equipment, supply and design company that serves customers across Colorado. The deal, announced by Bargreen Ellingson President David Ellingson, brings together two family-owned companies. The Restaurant Source was founded in 1951 and purchased by the Schatz family in 1976;…

McDonald’s has a winning formula with all-day breakfast, and now Kellogg’s is joining the competition for the popular daypart. Kellogg’s NYC, a new café featuring dishes made entirely from the company’s cereals, launched this week in the heart of Times Square. It is the brand’s first-ever permanent restaurant. The menu features 10 items, priced between…

Tomlinson Industries has promoted Michael Ritley to V.P.-Manufacturing. Ritley, who previously served as Tomlinson’s director of materials management, will continue those responsibilities as he takes on oversight of manufacturing operations at all of Tomlinson’s facilities in Cleveland. “Mike brings over four decades of experience with our company, and we look forward to optimizing Tomlinson’s manufacturing…

Three appointments have been announced in Emerson’s Commercial Solutions Group. Drew Carmichael has been named Director-Product Planning & Innovation; he joins the Racine, Wis., company from Johnson Controls, where he was Director-Enterprise Innovation. At Emerson, he will manage all commercial product and research efforts, and be responsible for new product introductions/market entry strategies based on…