Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee and doughnut chain, is in “reset mode” in 2014 but will open at least 800 new restaurants through 2018 under a strategic plan to secure its dominance in Canada and boost its presence in the U.S. At least 500 of those store openings will be in Canada, including new formats…

Culver’s, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, has hit the big 5-0-0. The Prairie du Sac, Wis., chain opened two units on the same day last month to reach the 500-unit milestone. Last year, the family-owned chain opened 28 restaurants; it expects to add another 35 restaurants in ’14. Last year also saw…

The National Restaurant Association has added two executives. Sherman Brown is now senior v.p.-business and financial strategy for the association’s ServSafe Food Safety Program, and Thomas Wojno has been hired as president of member value and strategy. Brown, who previously served as the NRA’s v.p.-finance and strategy, will oversee the strategic direction, financial management and…

Eight operators have been named as recipients of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s 2014 Silver Plate Awards. From among the eight winners, each representing their respective segment of foodservice operations, one will be named the 2014 IFMA Gold Plate Award winner at the 60th Annual Gold & Silver Plate Celebration, held in Chicago on May…

Based on unit-count growth, 2013 was the best year in a long time for Domino’s Pizza. Last year, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain opened a record 573 new restaurants in its international division, which also marked its 20th consecutive year of positive same-store sales. In the U.S., the chain opened 58 net new locations, marking…

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, our northern neighbor’s national organization for owners and operators of restaurants, bars, caterers and other foodservice businesses, has unveiled a new name and tagline—Restaurants Canada: The voice of foodservice. The change will be rolled out over the next year, along with a new logo and website; all are part…

Marketing executive Tom Jedlowski has been tapped by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry as its new associate executive director. Jedlowski brings nearly a decade of marketing, public relations and branding expertise to the Atlanta-based MAFSI team, where he will focus on galvanizing member benefits while strategizing new initiatives to further the association’s…

After a banner year in which the company celebrated its most new-unit openings—194—in 15 years, AFC Enterprises has officially changed its corporate name to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. “The Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen name has been used in our restaurants since 2008. This name is among the most visible expressions of our Louisiana heritage and differentiates…

Middleby Middle East opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last month. The grand opening coincided with the Feb. 23-27 Gulfood Show at Za’abeel Hall in Dubai. The new location serves the Middle East with technical support, design services and a test kitchen for customers while covering all three Middleby platforms: commercial foodservice, food processing and…

Hy-Vee Inc., a grocery retailer with 235 stores in eight states, plans to expand its Minnesota operations—including foodservice—into the Twin Cities market. Hy-Vee, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, has been a fixture in Minnesota since 1969 and currently has 17 employee-owned stores statewide. The proposed expansion would add several new stores, each approximately 90,000…