Thomas L. Redditt Sr., a manufacturers’ rep and past-president of the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry, died Oct. 20. He was 96.Redditt founded the Tom Redditt Sales Agency, based in Littleton, Colo. He’d learned the industry by working for his uncle’s rep firm in El Paso, Texas, after leaving the Army in 1946.…

If you’ve been too busy to fill out the paperwork, there is a little more time to apply for one of the 20 FEDA Education Foundation scholarships for the University of Industrial Distribution. The association has extended the application deadline to Nov. 2 for the UID program, March 10-13, 2013, at the JW Marriott Indianapolis.…

NexGen Procurement Group has updated its meeting schedule. The Greenville, S.C.-based buying group will hold NexGen Leadership Meetings Oct. 14-17, 2013, in Chicago and Feb. 3-7, 2014, in Dallas.

Sewer bills won’t be scary for operators in Portland, Ore., if their kitchens have a grease trap, and if they rely on composting rather than a garbage disposal to keep fats, grease and oils from going down—and clogging—the drain. In 2011, Portland spent just over $12 million to clear clogged sewer lines and remove fats,…

The California Restaurant Association is alerting its members to some unwanted deliveries. Some operators in the state have been served notices alleging they violated the California Health and Safety Code, under Proposition 65. The 60-day notices of violation are being sent by Whitney Leeman, an air-resources engineer from Sacramento. Over the past few years, she…

The National Restaurant Association has released "Americans with Disabilities Act: Toolkit for Restaurant Operators," an 80-page toolkit that helps restaurateurs comply with updated federal accessibility guidelines. The requirements, officially known as the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, are the first major changes to the federal design standards since the ADA was signed in 1991.…

The lawsuit to save big beverages on the streets of New York was filed Oct. 12 in Manhattan. Plaintiffs, including soft-drink companies, the American Beverage Association and the National Restaurant Association, filed the suit seeking to block New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s upcoming ban on large sugary drinks. The suit claims that the mayor’s Board…

In spite of economic uncertainty and another round of surging gasoline and food prices,

Restaurant sales growth in Canada is forecast to slow slightly next year to 3.9% after a predicted 4.7% gain this year, according to a new report from the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. The association also expects rising disposable income and population growth will help restaurant sales average growth of 4.1% over the next five…

Two weeks ago, we wrote in FER Fortnightly, “The fiscal cliff looms, worries about the fate of the Euro and European sovereign debt continue and everyone is uncertain about political environments everywhere. But American consumers clearly became more upbeat in September….” Last Friday, Kathleen Madigan of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Political intransigence could drag…