McDonald’s big announcement last week that it would begin posting calorie-count information made headlines, but it isn’t the first chain to get a jumpstart on new federal menu-labeling regulations. It’s just the biggest.For the past few years, chains such as Panera Bread Co. and Au Bon Pain have been posting calorie counts in their stores.…

The city that banned trans fats and public smoking has made it official: The New York City Board of Health has approved a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and other venues. The ban, the first restriction of its kind in the country, is aimed at…

Another fluid issue for New York foodservice operators is restrooms. Under recent changes to a city code, small restaurants and coffee shops with an occupancy of 30 or fewer people are now allowed to provide patrons with a single restroom rather than two (one for each gender), as previously required. The changes also brought the…

The huge unexpected jump in gasoline prices combined with an anticipated increase in food prices to push the Consumer and Producer Price Indices sharply higher in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI rose 1.7% from July while the CPI was up 0.6%. Both increases were the biggest jumps monthly since June…

Fuel prices generally start falling after Labor Day as the demands of summer-vacation driving recede. Having seen the big jumps in August’s Consumer and Producer Price Energy Indices, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, we thought we’d check to see if there has been any downward movement since the holiday. Answer: Nope,…

We guess you could call it irrational exuberance. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index took an unexpected jump in the preliminary September reading, released Sept. 14. The index rose nearly five points from the late August number, reaching 79.2, the highest level since May. The preliminary Expectations Index also surged to 73.4 from…

There is a very interesting discussion in the September issue of Blue Chip Economic Indicators of the potential impact on growth of gross domestic product in the U.S. if Congress and the President don’t somehow avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the combination of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts passed in August 2011 as part…

Foldcraft Co., the parent company for the Plymold brand furniture, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Waymar Cos., a maker of the Waymar and JH Carr furniture lines. Plymold products are commonly spec’d in quick-service facilities, while Waymar’s brands are mostly seen in more upscale operations such as Applebee’s and P.F. Chang’s. Plymold…

This Thursday, we’ll be judging our first FER Management Excellence Awards for dealers (and chains, noncommercial operators and consultancies). One of the things we want to do with these new awards is be more transparent about the process and base the awards on specific criteria. On the judging side, we have a Selection Advisory Board…

Industry veteran Mike McNeel has joined International Foodservice Equipment Distributors as the buying group’s new executive director. McNeel reports to IFED Pres. Paul Gustafson and will work closely with the IFED board to develop and execute its strategic growth plans and support day-to-day operations. He will be based in his home office in Oregon City,…