Nancy Lane has joined the Sandstone Group Food Service Division as senior designer-visual merchandising and product concepts. She previously worked on the distribution side of the E&S business as an education-development account manager and focused on remodeling college and university dining facilities. Lane has served on the board of the National Association of College &…

Eight venerated members of foodservice industry were honored with awards from the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management during the association’s national conference Nov. 4-6 in Uncasville, Conn. SHFM President Sabrina Capannola presented the Bob Pacifico Above & Beyond Award to Eric Von Kaenel, Avtec product specialist at Unified Brands, and recognized her colleague, World…

Ing. José Luis Nicho, CFSP, has been named by Ali Group North America as v.p.-sales for Latin America. In his new role, Nicho will be responsible for developing and cultivating relationships within Latin America on behalf of Ali Group North America and its operating companies within North America. He brings 24 years’ experience in the…

Alto-Shaam has announced a few changes to its sales and marketing team. Todd Griffith, who has spent the last 18 months leading the functional development and integration of Alto-Shaam’s marketing support resources group, has moved to the office of v.p.-sales. He will lead the culinary resources team, as well as continue to be integral to…

Technomic is continuing its “Technomic Talks” webinar series, launched last year in cooperation with the Int’l. Foodservice Distributors Association. Each 20-minute webinar covers a major trend of interest to foodservice industry professionals. All sessions begin at 10 a.m. CT. October’s topics were “Reaching Consumers on a New Level” and “How 2014 is Reshaping Chains.” Upcoming…

Versele Global Marketing, the Harelbeke, Belgium, sales agent for American manufacturers in Europe, has changed management while maintaining continuity. After 20 years, company founder Jean-Francois Versele has ceded control of Versele Global Marketing and 10-year-old Versele Logistic Services to Mieke Vanacker and Jurgen Dobbelaere. Vanacker led her family business before joining VGM/VLS nine years ago.…

The casual dining Italian-style group Prezzo has accepted a takeover offer from the Texas-based private equity firm, TPG. The deal is worth £304 million ($483 million). Founded in 2000 in Oxford, Prezzo currently has nearly 250 restaurants across the U.K., including more than 200 under the core Prezzo brand and 37 under its Mexican-themed Chimichanga…

Burger King, which returned to France in 2012 after 15 years, opened its third location in Paris last week, and it’s a big one—boasting two kitchens in its 13,000-sq.-ft. footprint. The chain’s new flagship store in France has more than 250 seats and offers customers six digital ordering kiosks. The average size of a BK…

The future appears to be now in the refrigeration industry. With looming changes in refrigerants, manufacturing and environmental regulations, Emerson Climate Technologies is holding its first quarterly forum in support of its E360 initiative. The Nov. 13 event will focus on creating a meaningful refrigeration industry dialogue and help customers address the many challenges facing…

Rational USA has implemented a new business structure, effective Oct. 1. The move realigns the company’s American organization into three separate units: regional sales managers (metropolitan regions), partner groups and key accounts. While collectively, the three business units make up Rational USA’s organization, each will function independently and focus on separate core goals. By having…