Taco Bell wants to take its “Live Más” motto to a new level and let its customers drink a toast to their tacos. The 6,500-unit chain has applied for a liquor license for a unit soon to open in Chicago. The store will have a completely new, urban design in the city’s north-side Wicker Park…
William Eaton, whose 45-year career at Cini-Little Int’l. spans nearly the history of the foodservice, laundry and waste-management consulting firm, has retired. As a Principal, he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. Eaton was not just a daily presence at Cini-Little, but active in the industry—most recently seen walking the show floor…
In a shift in its efforts to grow business in the American marketplace, Tim Hortons has closed its U.S. headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, where it had about 30 employees, and will centralize its market strategies in Canada. The café chain’s owners, 3G Capital Partners, will drive future growth from the newly built Tim Hortons Global…
Microscan, the Renton, Wash.-based maker of barcode, machine-vision and lighting solutions, has appointed Bart Nollet as Regional Sales Director for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Nollet, who will report to Microscan President Scott Summerville, brings the firm three decades of sales and marketing experience in industrial automation and electronics. His resume includes…
Unified Brands has added Abby Young as Business Development Manager for the central region. New to the foodservice industry, Young is responsible for increasing business opportunities across Unified’s Groen, Randell, Avtec, A la Cart and Power Soak product lines in the central U.S. Unified Brands, headquartered in Conyers, Ga., is an operating company within the…
The Los Angeles City Council voted May 19 to increase the city’s minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour by 2020. The action gradually will increase the guaranteed hourly wage from $9 in the country’s second-largest city, where more than 40% of the workforce earns less than the hourly wage. Although the hourly wage…
New York State health laws banning dogs from the al fresco dining experience have been bagged. By a 60-0 vote on May 20, the State Senate approved a bill that lets foodservice establishments welcome dogs—if accompanied by a diner—into their outdoor eating areas. The State Assembly now is reviewing its version of the same bill.…
A moratorium on QSR development championed by the mayor of Apopka, Fla., has been rejected by the City Council. The hold, which would have been in effect for the rest of 2015, wouldn’t have affected those already in business, only new developments. Apopka, boasting a population of about 46,000, currently has 22 QSRs. Locals call…
After a review of recent industry indicators, Foodservice Equipment Reports is sticking with its current equipment and supplies market estimates and forecasts for 2014 and 2015. Last July, at the magazine’s annual President’s Preview E&S Market Forecast, 2014 market growth—at the manufacturers’ level—was forecast at 4.4% nominal and 2.3% real. Growth was set at 4.8%…
Little did we know it, but an historic moment occurred last December. According to retail sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau, restaurant sales surpassed sales at grocery stores last December for the first time in history. Bruce Grindy, the Chief Economist for the National Restaurant Association, noted the milestone in his “Economist’s Notebook” commentary…