Former Stripes executive Steve DeSutter has been named president and CEO of the multi-concept franchisor Focus Brands, effective March 17. DeSutter will replace Russ Umphenour, who has served as CEO for five years and will continue with Focus Brands as a member of the board of directors.Atlanta-based Focus Brands is the franchisor of seven brands,…

The Minneapolis chain celebrated a milestone in late January. Over the span of four days, Buffalo Wild Wings opened new units in Mexico, California, Illinois and West Virginia to take its store count to 1,001 restaurants. The chain’s new Monterrey location is its second store to open in Mexico in a month; the country’s first…

One of the first fast-casual better-burger operations is growing its Caribbean footprint. Fuddruckers opened its first unit in the Dominican Republic in January. The Santo Domingo restaurant, sited in one of the capital city’s new upscale malls, merges the chain’s classic roadhouse design scheme with local colors and images, and includes 100 interior seats and…

Famous Dave’s of America has appointed Ed Rensi, the former president/CEO of McDonald’s U.S.A., as its interim CEO. He succeeds John Gilbert, who resigned after 16 months at the Minneapolis barbecue chain. Rensi, who joined the Famous Dave’s board of directors last month, said, “I have been a customer and a fan of Famous Dave’s…

The National Restaurant Association announced on Feb. 12 the recipients of the 2014 Kitchen Innovations Awards, which honor equipment and technology that specifically improve back-of- the-house operations to benefit restaurant operators. The announcement marks the 10th year of the association’s KI Awards program recognizing cutting-edge advancements in increased energy efficiency, waste reduction and more for…

Winterhalter is setting standards for efficiency with its new trio of PT Series pass-through dishwashers. Innovative functions, intuitive operation and optimum ergonomics guarantee top performance from the PT-M, PT-L and PT-XL models. All deliver ultra-hygienic results with variable washing pressure; a new full-flow filtration system guides 100% of the water through a fine-meshed, highly efficient…

Whether it’s beer, wine or cider by the glass that an operator needs to tap, Perlick’s new Dual-Zone Wine/Refrigeration Center will do the job. The 36-inch (91.4cm) wine dispensing unit is the first of its size to feature two compartments with separate temperature zone ranges and the ability to dispense from four wine kegs. The…

It’s spot-on technology, not to mention speed and versatility, that creates the best toast in town. Hatco’s new Intelligent Toast-Qwik holds up to 18 product settings for everything from bagels to Texas toast to hash browns. The ITQ features individually controlled top and bottom heating elements, and a multispeed two-directional conveyor belt with Hatco’s patented…

In a sign that the interest in the foodservice market is only growing bigger, Singapore’s most established food and hospitality trade show has become the first event to occupy all 10 exhibition halls and Max Atria at the Singapore Expo. The 2014 edition of Food&HotelAsia and Wine&SpiritsAsia has filled every square meter of the center,…

The days leading up to next month’s Internorga 2014 will provide attendees with a high-quality conference program with the 33rd International Food Service Forum: “Moving Forward with Passion.” The forum at Europe’s biggest international conference for professional foodservice, will present the key drivers in professional foodservice, with a special emphasis on human resources marketing and…