We’re in the middle of writing our operator and equipment and supplies forecast articles for Foodservice Equipment Reports’ annual January Forecast issue. As usual we asked the leading foodservice operator forecasting and research groups for their views. We edit them for the magazine but thought you might like to see their entire comments.We queried Hudson…

Paul Johnson, who spent nearly 30 years in the foodservice equipment industry, passed away suddenly on Dec. 2. He was 68. Johnson joined the E&S industry in 1985 and spent more than 20 years at ITW as a channel manager. In 2006, he joined Scotsman Ice Systems as a business development manager. For more than…

The foodservice equipment and supplies industry continued to chug along in the third quarter of 2014, according to the MAFSI Barometer, posting a 4.5% increase. The Barometer, which tracks manufacturers’ reps’ quarterly sales trends versus the year prior quarter, is maintained by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. The gain compares with a…

The Honolulu offices of Bargreen Ellingson now are open for business. The company recently relocated its distribution center and branch in Aiea to a newly renovated, more efficient location in the capital city. The new centrally located building at 2234 Hoonee Place features more storage space in a smaller footprint thanks to utilization of narrow…

Stay tuned. It’s too late to apply, but the recipients of scholarships for next year’s University of Industrial Distribution will be announced Dec. 9. The Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association awards 10 scholarships to the four-day program, a concentrated educational curriculum focused on the unique needs of the industrial wholesale distribution industry. Next year’s UID Program…

Denver-based FoodserviceWarehouse.com, also known as FSW, has purchased the assets of Loubat Food Service Equipment Co. Loubat began serving restaurants in New Orleans more than 137 years ago and over the years has grown into a regional leader specializing in equipment, design and smallwares. FSW was founded in 2006 in Greenwood Village, Colo., as a…

It’s homecoming week at Zink Foodservice Group. On Dec. 1, Zink Marketing officially became the Manitowoc Foodservice representatives in Illinois and Wisconsin, and it welcomed back R&B Marketing to cover those states. The reunion means that R&B will no longer represent Alto-Shaam, Beverage Air, CMA, Carroll, Kairak, Lang, Leer, LTI and Southbend. Instead, they’ll represent…

Go figure. In spite of the partial shutdown of the federal government for half of October and the threat of a debt-ceiling default, consumers apparently thumbed their noses and went out to eat anyway. Strong gains in current same-store sales and traffic propelled the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index to 100.9, up from 100.2…

Sam Tell & Son has acquired the business assets of Paramount Restaurant Supply Corp. The acquisition, announced Nov. 18, was made by Warren Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of the dealer. Paramount, which has offices in Phoenix, New York and Warren, R.I., is a national supplier of foodservice equipment and supplies. The firm, helmed by COO…

When it comes to the outlook for the equipment and supplies market, the good news keeps piling up. But we also had a shock over the weekend, when we learned our good friend Lew Burns, who formerly ran Groen and then several divisions of Dover Corp., passed away suddenly. First the good news. I flew…