The Middleby Corp. will acquire AGA Rangemaster Group, a British manufacturer of residential kitchen equipment including ranges, ovens and refrigeration, for about $200 million. The AGA portfolio includes AGA, Rangemaster, Mercury, Falcon, Marvel, Stanley and La Cornue. Headquartered in Leamington Spa, the firm has approximately $400 million in annual revenue and more than 2,500 employees…

Winsight, the business-to-business media company, has bought Technomic, the Chicago-based research and advisory services firm. Technomic was acquired from its founder, President and CEO Ron Paul, who is leaving the company to spend time with family. Terms of the August 31 transaction weren’t disclosed. Technomic will continue to operate under its brand name, and will…

American schoolchildren might be getting healthier lunches, but only a third of the nation’s schools have set up salad bars or invested in the kinds of foodservice equipment that could lead to more meaningful improvement. The numbers come from a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which investigated school data from 2000,…

In a long-awaited ruling reverberating throughout the franchising world, the National Labor Relations Board last week upheld the idea of joint employer status, marking a controversial shift in the standard for determining who is liable for hiring practices and employment policies. The ruling came in a case before the board about the former Browning-Ferris Industries…

Driven by stronger same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index posted solid improvement in July.  Showing its first gain in three months, the RPI stood at 102.7 in July, up 0.7 point from June. In further good news, July represented the 29th consecutive month in which the RPI stood above 100,…

The nine publicly reporting foodservice equipment and supplies companies posted combined revenue growth of 3.6% in the second quarter 2015 versus the same quarter last year. While overall growth was moderate, it was the best quarter since Q3/2014, when sales rose 6.7% and more than a full point ahead of first quarter combined growth of…

The dog days of summer? Not this year. Despite the volatility on the world’s stock exchanges, consumers are in holding pattern of feeling confident, if wary. What does that mean? You can look at the new numbers this way: Despite a dip in late August due mostly to the recent volatility in stock prices, any…

After 17 consecutive months of rising menu prices, consumers’ dining-out tab was unchanged in July. That stability is notable because since early 2014, menu prices had grown at least 0.2% every month, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the July slowdown, menu prices were up 2.7% in the 12 months ended…

Sanford “Sandy” Hahn, CEO of Perfection Equipment, died August 25 in Evanston, Ill. He was 78. Hahn helmed the Gurnee, Ill., maker of beverage and condiment dispensers for more than 47 years. He was a longtime board member of NAFEM, and served as the association’s president in 1996. He is survived by his wife, Kay;…

Two major appointments have been announced at St. Louis-based Star Mfg./Middleby. Lorne Deacon has been promoted to V.P.-Sales for the Star brands, comprising Star, Holman, Lang and Toastmaster. Christian Yungbluth has been promoted to V.P.-Business Development for these same brands. Both will report directly to Division President Brian Kearins. Deacon will be responsible for domestic…