The Wendy’s Co. is feeling bullish on 2014. Not only does it plan to boost same-store sales, the Dublin, Ohio, chain says it will accelerate its Image Activation remodeling program and complete its refranchising initiative.In a presentation to investors, Wendy’s CEO Emil Brolick says the company will double the number of remodeled restaurants in its…
Winter is a very good time for a Midwest chain to think about Florida. Wisconsin-based Culver’s Restaurants, which has nearly 500 fast-casual independently owned and operated units in 21 states, already has three stores in Naples, Fort Myers and Port Charlotte, Fla., as well as others under construction in Sarasota and Estero. Now it’s beefing…
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management wants to buy CEC Entertainment, parent of the Chuck E. Cheese’s brand, in a deal worth about $1.3 billion, including debt assumption. CEC owns and franchises 577 Chuck. E. Cheese units in 47 states and 10 other countries and territories; it owns 522 of those locations in the U.S. and…
Fisher-Nickel Inc. (FNI), the San Ramon, Calif.-based commercial-foodservice energy-efficiency testing firm, has been acquired by GTI Int’l., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gas Technology Institute. FNI, owned and operated by Don Fisher and Judy Nickel, is an engineering consulting firm with deep expertise in commercial-kitchen energy-efficiency and appliance-performance testing. It provides comprehensive, unbiased information to…
Pitco Frialator has added Eric Anderson, CFSP, as v.p.-international sales. Anderson joins Bow, N.H.-based Pitco from Australia, where he had been a regional director for Manitowoc Foodservice. He’s spent two decades in sales and marketing in the foodservice equipment industry; the past 15 years have been internationally focused. Pitco Frialator, a division of the Middleby…
The Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability is now accepting applications for its seventh annual $5,000 sustainability grant. HCFS, a nonprofit, industry-wide forum supporting the foodservice industry’s drive for sustainable equipment and design, awards the grant to the individual or organization judged to have the best-executed foodservice or grocery sustainability project of the year. Last year’s…
The Middleby Corp. announced Jan. 7 that it has acquired the assets of Market Forge Industries, the 118-year-old manufacturer of steam cooking equipment, including countertop steamers, kettles and braising pans. Everett, Mass.-based Market Forge has annual revenues of approximately $15 million. “The steam cooking category is a large and growing sector in the commercial foodservice…
IHOP, which already has four locations in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has opened its first store in Saudi Arabia. The mall-based restaurant, which opened Dec. 14, is part of a seven-brand restaurant destination in the seaside city of Jeddah. It’s the fifth grand opening in the Middle East region for the all-American breakfast…
Darden Restaurants, which announced plans last month to sell or spin off its Red Lobster chain, is suspending the opening of new Olive Garden locations and cutting back on the number of new LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants. Red Lobster, which has 705 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, has seen stagnant same-store sales in the past…