Heritage Parts has hired Chris Sperry as Senior Vice President of Operations to oversee Heritage’s supply-chain and logistical operations. Sperry brings the Fort Wayne, Ind., supplier of OEM parts and aftermarket service a strong background in operational simplification and supply-chain optimization, gleaned from positions at large commercial distribution businesses including McMaster-Carr and W.W. Grainger. “It…

The “healthy-focused” quick-service chain that broke into the Chicago market in 2008, will open as many as six new locations in the area by the end of the year. Freshii currently has 29 stores in the city and its suburbs. Its expansion will aim for a variety of formats, including stand-alone stores and grab-and-go outlets…

TriMark USA, the country’s largest equipment and supplies dealer, announced June 6 it had acquired Adams-Burch, one of the oldest foodservice equipment and supplies dealers in the country, and the largest E&S distributor serving the Mid-Atlantic States. Adams-Burch, based in Landover, Md., was founded in 1896. “I am happy to welcome Adams-Burch and each of…

The Women’s Foodservice Forum will host its 2016 Executive Summit July 25-27 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas. The leadership development organization’s three-day event is fueled by content designed exclusively for executives at the vice president level and above in the foodservice ecosystem. This year’s summit theme, Thriving Executives Who Live It! – Sharing Culture, Strategy,…

The disparity in growth rates between the publicly reporting foodservice equipment companies and the broad E&S market continued in the first quarter of 2016. Combined sales of the six publicly reporting equipment companies rose only 1.3% first quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2015. In comparison, equipment sales rose 4.8% in the first quarter…

The pronounced swings in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index continued in April as the overall index gained 0.9 point to 101.6, thanks to strong gains in current same-store sales and traffic. The Index has swung back and forth since it ended a 33-month run of being in positive territory last December, when it…

Wholesale food prices, which had fallen six of the past seven months, were flat in April, according to Producer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the 12 months ending April, wholesale prices were 2.5% below their year-earlier levels, the 14th consecutive month prices have been lower than the year before. Among…

One major index of consumer confidence jumped sharply in April while the other moved lower. Meanwhile, record demand continued to push gasoline prices higher. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index spiked to 94.7 in the final April reading, from 89 in March, its highest level in nine months. The renewed strength came from consumer…

Chefs and operators headed to Capitol Hill two weeks ago to press for new regulations concerning the estimated 70 billion pounds of food wasted annually in the United States. The House Agriculture Committee, typically consumed with things like farm subsidies and food stamps, held its first full hearing on the topic. According to the Food…

Arizona: Installing ventilation for a pizza oven under the limitations imposed by historic building protections delayed a restaurant opening for four months in Phoenix. The new downtown Hilton Garden Inn opened last December, but regulations guiding changes, permits and preservation slowed down kitchen and patio construction. The oven’s ventilation had to be routed through nearly…