The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille recently inked an 11-unit deal for southern New Jersey, marking the company’s first locations in the Garden State. The casual dining/sports bar and grill chain is now focusing expansion efforts on New York City, Philadelphia and New England, as well as points south. The multiunit New Jersey deal…
Longtime MAFSI member, Ken High, founder of High Sabatino Associates in Jessup, Md., died Aug. 12. He was 80. High entered the foodservice equipment industry in 1959, when he acquired the Lewis J. Andersen Co., a manufacturers’ rep firm. Eight years later, that company became High Sabatino Associates, then High Sabatino Huber, and eventually High…
Patrick J. Huppert, applications engineer and the “father” of the Kold Locker walk-in product line at Nor-Lake Inc., died July 17 while on an annual fishing trip in Canada. He was 60 years old. Huppert got his start in the E&S industry as a draftsman at Vollrath Refrigeration in 1976, designing walk-in coolers; he also…
FoodServiceWarehouse.com is going deep to store its inventory of equipment and supplies. The e-commerce firm has signed a 10-year lease to occupy 475,200 sq. ft. of warehousing and distribution space in Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. FSW, founded in 2006, cited location and logistics as the primary reasons for moving its…
A third dual-concept, side-by-side Luby’s Cafeteria and Fuddruckers unit recently opened in Texas. The new Dallas outlet joins similar co-branded stores in Houston and Austin. The concepts occupy a free-standing, 13,000-sq.-ft. facility; the 3,000-sq.-ft. Fuddruckers seats 92, while Luby’s can accommodate 220 guests in its 9,900 sq. ft. Luby’s Inc. operates 94 Luby’s Cafeterias, 68…
Ralph Bower, pres.-U.S. of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, has been named CEO of Pei Wei Asian Diner. It’s a newly created position at the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based fast-casual chain, which has 192 domestic locations in 24 states. Bower, who replaces K.C. Moylan, is a veteran of KFC and Domino’s; he’d been president of Popeyes’ U.S. division since…
Ice-O-Matic has appointed Don Riezebos as the new regional manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Riezebos will be responsible for existing accounts in the region and driving ice machine and accessory sales in conjunction with the company’s dealer and distributor network. Riezebos brings 14 years of sales experience to the post, including six…
Foodservice Equipment Reports took home six regional and one national Azbee Awards from the 2014 American Society of Business Publication Editors’ National Conference held July 25-26 in Chicago. FER won a Silver Azbee Award in the national Magazine Design category. Editor-In-Chief Beth Lorenzini was especially pleased, as the magazine recently underwent a redesign. “Our Art…
Eleven tabletop, servingware and smallwares products have been honored with awards in Foodservice Equipment Reports’s 13th annual Smallwares & Tabletop Awards. Six judges—three operators and three dealer specialists—made the final selections during a judging session held Aug. 6 at Edward Don’s headquarters in Woodridge, Ill. More than 60 tabletop and smallwares manufacturers submitted entries for…
Industry veteran Danny Koontz, who spent 36 years with Ruby Tuesday, has moved from the operations side of the foodservice business and joined Mobile Fixture, an Alabama-based E&S dealer. As the firm’s new v.p.-business development, Koontz will work out of the 87-year-old company’s Knoxville, Tenn., branch. Mobile, which had 2013 sales of more than $39…