It is not exactly economic news, except to the employees and investors in Chipotle, but a recent NPD Group report on how the fast-casual Mexican chain’s recent food-safety problems affected traffic by demographic segment is instructive. Teens and young adults, who generate the largest share of the chain’s traffic, continued to support the chain throughout…

Four new hires have been made at Alto-Shaam. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., manufacturer has named Leslie Hoffman as V.P. of National Accounts-Foodservice; Ryan Johnson as National Account Specialist; Jeff McMahon as Director-Product Development; and Jerry Polka as Regional Service Manager. Hoffman, who now oversees strategic development for chain account growth, joins Alto-Shaam after working in…

has strengthened its national accounts team, appointing Scott Meyer and Mark Costner as National Accounts Managers. Both bring national and global account sales management strategy and experience to Ice-O-Matic.  Costner most recently served as the senior product sales manager at Manitowoc Foodservice-Beverage Systems and Ice. Meyer most recently managed major accounts while representing EcoWater and Pentair/Everpure…

Foodservice Equipment Reports is once again a finalist for a top business-to-business media honor. The magazine’s September 2015 cover story, “It’s About Time…And Motion,” written by founding editor Brian Ward, is nominated for a gold medal for Best Single Article in the 62nd Annual Jesse H. Neal Awards competition. The award will be presented April…

Burger King is making room on its grills next week for hot dogs. The Miami-based chain has begun offering flame-grilled hot dogs at select locations, a precursor to a February 23 nationwide rollout to its more than 7,000 domestic outlets. The hot dog was tested in five markets last year: Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis…

BD’s Mongolian Grill wants a bigger share of the fast-growing Asian segment. In February, the Minneapolis-based company acquired the nine-unit Chicago chain Flat Top Grill. Flat Top Grill was founded on Chicago’s north side in 1995 and serves create-your-own Asian fare. BD’s Mongolian Grill operates 11 locations in the U.S. and franchises 16; it also…

The Tampa-based craft tavern continues to roll out new locations. It cut the ribbons on 22 new outlets last year, and now the 77-unit chain says it should have more than 100 locations opened by the close of 2016. World of Beer has a footprint in 20 states, and will debut in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Oklahoma,…

In an acquisition that merges the foodservice industry’s leaders in food safety certification, the National Restaurant Association has acquired the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals. The NRA’s ServSafe program, which recently issued more than million ServSafe certifications, is the leader in food safety training; NRFSP, a U.S.-based certification body, focuses on providing certificates for…

We’ve been repeating for some time now that the big five drivers of foodservice in the general economy are employment trends, disposable income, consumer spending, consumer confidence, and gasoline prices. Since we’ve already touched on the outlook for the first three in this issue (all three are very positive), we might as well look at…

Chances of passage are slim, but legislation to change the Food and Drug Administration’s menu-labeling requirements made it through the House last week and now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. The Obama Administration opposes the measure. The Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 (H.R. 2017) would allow a foodservice establishment…