Antunes broke ground in October on an expansion of its manufacturing facility in Carol Stream, Ill. The expansion will add approximately 55,000 sq.ft. to the company’s headquarters there, and additional space will accommodate several advancements to Antunes’ operation, including doubling the size of the engineering lab and sheet metal fabrication area, as well as constructing…

Stefano Pavesi has joined Stoelting Foodservice/Vollrath as Business Development Manager. He joins the Kiel, Wis., maker of frozen dessert equipment from Carpigiani North America, where he was v.p.-chain accounts after serving as director of sales and marketing. Pavesi’s 15-year foodservice career, includes sales management positions with Bravo North America and PreGel North America. At Stoelting,…

Starbucks Corp. has named its first chief executive officer for China and said it plans to more than double its store count in that country to 5,000 by 2021. Belinda Wong has assumed the title of CEO-Starbucks China. Wong had been president of that operation. Starbucks also promoted Leo Tsoi, most recently v.p.-store development and…

The Vollrath Company has engaged Katharine Mizla, FCSI, as its new Consultant Sales Manager. Mizla will drive new and existing foodservice projects for a variety of industries and work closely with the director of equipment sales to create commercial kitchen designs. She’ll report to Dennis Park, v.p.-foodservice sales With more than 30 years of experience,…

You gotta give it to restaurant operators: They are consistent. For the seventh month in a row, restaurant menu prices, as tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the monthly Consumer Price Index, rose 0.2% in September. Meanwhile, prices at grocery stores and other retail outlets continued to fall last month, down 0.1%. It…

Health officials in Sacramento County, Calif., are cracking down on pop-up booth restaurants, telling owners that they can no longer operate inside the cafes, bars and other businesses that have regularly hosted them. The county’s dozen or so pop-ups were contacted earlier last month by the Environmental Management Department, which, among other things, enforces health…

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index record a surprising mid-month drop in October, falling more than three points to 87.9 from 91.2 in September’s final reading. It was the index’s lowest reading in 13 months and the second lowest mark in two years. The preliminary reading on the research group’s Expectations Index plunged more…

Michael Lister has been appointed to replace Adam Wright as CEO as Famous Dave’s of America; he also been named Chief Operating Officer. Wright has left the company and resigned from the board of directors. Lister is a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis chain; he has been a Famous Dave’s franchisee since 2001, after serving…

This is the last FER Fortnightly before Election Day on November 8. So, during what could prove a long two weeks, we offer readers a quick glance at some ongoing issues that anyone working in any sector of commercial or non-commercial foodservice might want to consider when they head to the polls. Labor Regulations In…

In an event focused on regulatory challenges in HVACR industry, St. Louis-based Emerson hosted its tenth day-long E360 Forum in Newark, N.J., in August. More than 100 commercial refrigeration industry stakeholders attended and garnered insights on food retail and foodservice regulatory concerns and emerging trends. The E360 Forum featured a keynote session from Jon Melchi,…