Pine Hills Country Club, Sheboygan, Wis., uses Vollrath's Downdraft Vent modules to create action-cooking stations throughout the club.
Increases in equipment shipping costs, awards events and attracting young people to our industry are just some of what's happening as we start this new year.
Citing the United Kingdom’s increasingly adventurous palates and growing appetite for Latin American food, Bristol-based Las Iguanas has ambitions to open 100 units across the country. The chain serves a Latin American menu with Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and African influences in 39 restaurants across England, Scotland and Wales.Four new outlets are due to open by…
Pokka Café HK will be expanding its coffee and Western-style casual-dining businesses into China. The Hong Kong-based chain operates 34 restaurants under 12 brands in Hong Kong and Macau, offering specialty coffee and casual dining. Its expansion will be guided by Shanghai-based Xiao Nan Guo Restaurants Holdings, which purchased 65% of Pokka Corp. last November…
CaliBurger, the Southern California-style burger chain that isn’t based in California, continues its global expansion. The Shanghai-based chain will open the first of three units in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this year; Caliburger’s debut will be bolstered with a food-truck rollout. Co-founded by three Americans, CaliBurger has about 50 restaurant branches across China and outlets in Hong…
Dubai-based Al Ahli Holding Group will open no fewer than 20 Philippine-themed food and beverage outlets called “Little Manila” across the Middle East and beyond over the next five years. Six Filipino brands will be grouped into Little Manila franchise outlets: Binalot, a Filipino quick-serve chain known for banana-leaf-wrapped dishes; Jay-J’s, a chicken chain; Fruitas,…
The Middleby Corp. closed 2014 with a bang, acquiring companies on two continents. On Dec. 22, the U.S.-based Middleby announced its acquisition of Desmon Food Service Equipment Co., a Nusco, Italy, manufacturer of chilling and freezing equipment with annual revenues of approximately $15 million. Its products include commercial blast chillers and refrigeration products. Middleby followed…
Grupo Nutresa SA, the Colombian food industry conglomerate that has made at least 18 acquisitions since 2000, has paid US$384 million to buy the country’s largest quick-serve chain, El Corral. The Bogota-based burger chain, controlled by Aldage Inc., has 340 outlets, including freestanding, c-stores and mall units; it also has a better-burger offshoot known as…
Kevin Fink has been named executive v.p. of the Ali Group. He will relocate from Denver, where he has been president of Ice-O-Matic, to join Ali’s corporate team in Milan. Beginning March 2, Fink will report to Massimo Giussani, COO, Ali Group, and assist in the group’s overall support, control and development initiatives of its 76 brands;…