London is a busy place for business and industry, politics and tourism. And come October, hospitality professionals will descend on the city for the three-day event known as The Restaurant Show.The show, October 3-5 at the Olympia Grand Hall London, will again showcase foodservice/catering equipment and supplies, smallwares, dishware and servingware, interior design and finishes,…

There’s another year until HOST 2017 – Fiera Milano, but more than 800 companies have already reserved exhibit space for the October 20-24, 2017 event. When the 40th International Hospitality Exhibition opens its doors, it will occupy 16 pavilions, two more than the previous edition, to cover the entire ground floor of the exhibition center.…

Two weeks ago, we wrote about dealer consolidation and growing internet sales of equipment and supplies, and how they might affect smaller dealers, buying groups, and the entire distribution landscape. If you missed it, it’s here. That column prompted several of you to write us with your thoughts, and we want to share some of…

Houston-based Sysco Corp. has acquired Supplies on the Fly, the e-commerce platform providing restaurant supplies and equipment exclusively to Sysco customers. Financial terms were not disclosed. In 2009, Sysco entered into an agreement with Instawares Holding, the owner of Kennesaw, Ga.-based Supplies on the Fly, to develop an internet sales platform, suppliesonthefly.com. At that time,…

Milton Schwartz, the second-generation family member and driving force behind the success of Advance Tabco from 1975 through 2002, passed away July 9. He was 85. Schwartz started his career with the company in the 1950’s and walked out half a century later, passing it on—without any regrets—to the next generation. In 1976, halfway through…

Bizerba North America has announced a new Foodservice Division that will place emphasis on consultants and dealers, and offer continued customer support of corporate and franchise chains. The changes are designed to meet consumer-driven trends in foodservice and transform how Bizerba interacts with the North American foodservice industry. “The organizational change will drive innovative solutions…

More than a year after The Boelter Cos. acquired the Gainesville, Ga., dealer, Boelter Direct South has officially changed its name to simply Boelter. The change was announced to employees and suppliers by the companies’ presidents, Nick Adams and Eric Boelter. The two companies have worked closely together under the Boelter umbrella since the April…

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…