Darden Restaurants announced Friday that it had agreed to sell its 700-unit Red Lobster chain and related real estate assets to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion in cash. Darden said the sale—which defies activist investors who opposed plans to shed the struggling seafood chain— was not subject to shareholder approval and…

Heritage Foodservice Group has announced that it is shifting its focus and now solely will provide genuine original equipment manufacturer repair and replacement parts to the commercial kitchen industry. The Fort Wayne, Ind., company will no longer include a mix of either direct-source or generic parts in its offering to customers. Heritage says that while…

Taco Bell is making a play for the taste buds and wallets of Millennials, who flock to and spend bigger bucks in the $34 billion fast-casual segment. Dubbed U.S. Taco Co. and Urban Taproom, the new concept—highlighted by a vibrantly pink Day of the Dead skull logo—is scheduled to debut this summer in Huntington Beach,…

Golden Gate Capital has agreed to sell the 157-unit On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina casual-dining brand to Borders Holdings, an affiliate of Argonne Capital Group. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. On The Border, the largest full-service Mexican restaurant brand in the U.S., owns and operates 121 units domestically and franchises…

Vulcan/ITW Food Equipment Group has enhanced its sales and business-development team with three new appointments. Tim Welsh, a 10-year company veteran, has been promoted to the post of sales director-Chain Cooking Business unit. He is now responsible for managing and coordinating several initiatives for Vulcan’s recently formed Chain and Retail division. He also will oversee…

Mike Beaverson, Winholt Equipment Corp.’s foodservice business development manager, has been promoted to director-foodservice sales. Beaverson is now responsible for the Syosset, N.Y., company’s initiatives to expand sales and market share for its prep, storage and shelving products. He will report to Kevin Yates, v.p.-sales, and work closely with Winholt’s regional sales managers, foodservice sales-rep…

Imagine a world with no limitations—no client, no budget—and endless possibilities. What kind of foodservice concept would you design? The folks at the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Show would like to find out. The IHMRS is inviting designers and operators to put their expertise and imagination together to create the next great Foodservice Pioneering…

A combination of a slowing general economy, high food-price inflation and food-safety concerns led to a dramatic slowdown in foodservice growth in China in 2013, according to Angela Liu, director of business development at NPD China. Liu presented an overview of the Chinese foodservice market at the Foodservice in the 21st Century Forum March 31…

The recovery of the foodservice market in the U.K. is fragile, but Peter Backman, managing director of Horizons FS Ltd., a London-based research firm, expects positive real and nominal growth for the market in 2014. Backman presented the forecast at the Horizons Annual Briefing in London in March. With the theme, “Return to Growth: Myth…

The 180 U.S.-based chains with operations outside of the U.S. grew international sales 4.4% in 2013 on a net unit gain of 9%, according to the latest data from Technomic Inc.’s annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, released in April. The international sales increase slipped from a 5.6% international gain reported for 2012, while unit…