Patrick Murray, the second-generation owner of Service Ideas, died of cancer July 30. He was 72. The Woodbury, Minn., manufacturer of beverage servers and tabletop products was founded by his father, Art, in 1946. Patrick Murray’s lifelong role in the foodservice industry officially began in 1960, when he joined his parents in running Minneapolis’ signature…

Need to attend a CFSP refresher or to sit for your Certified Foodservice Professional exam? Two opportunities are pending. Oct. 16-17: CenterPoint Energy in Minneapolis is planning to host a CFSP overview and exam, but needs to fill seats to ensure the class minimum of 20 people. Contact Ann Lovcik, CFSP, CenterPoint’s Foodservice Learning Center…

The deadline for the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association’s 2012 Profit Survey has been extended by two weeks. Questionnaires are now due by this Friday, Aug. 17; dealers can find the forms in the Members Only section of FEDA’s website. Results from reporting companies form a complete picture of where the industry stands and provides direct…

The Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association Education Foundation has named Andrew Martinez of FEDA member firm Burkett Restaurant Equipment as the first recipient of its ServSafe scholarship. Martinez earned his ServSafe designation in June, and the scholarship will assist him in recovering the fees required to achieve it. As reported in the Aug. 1 issue of…

It’s a grand slam of a different sort. Denny’s Corp., which already flies its flag in 10 countries, will be opening in China next year. In what it calls its largest-ever international agreement, the Spartanburg, S.C., chain has inked a deal with Great China Int’l. Group to develop 50 new restaurants in six southern provinces…

Equipment and supplies manufacturers are not raising prices very much, according to the latest data from AutoQuotes Inc., presented at Foodservice Equipment Reports annual E&S Market Forecast President’s Preview July 24. List price increases averaged only 2.2% for the year ending June 30, based on an analysis of more than 350,000 products in the AQ…

Like most Americans, the drumbeat of negative economic and political news is having an effect on operators’ outlook for the rest of the year and into 2013. An improvement in current conditions offset a drop in expectations in the June survey of restaurant operators for the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index. The index remained…

Foodservice operators opened 2,872 net new units in the year ending March 31, as even independent operators saw a net increase in locations. The data from The NPD Group, apparently signals the end of the Great Foodservice Recession when it comes to unit growth. The new ReCount report, which counts commercial restaurant locations open in…

The U.S. economy generated 163,000 net non-farm payroll jobs in July, while the unemployment rate remained relatively unchanged at 8.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Aug. 3. The job gains were higher than most economists and observers had expected. Still, 12.8 million Americans remain unemployed and another 8.2 million are underemployed. Increases…

The c-store industry is hailing bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives July 24, which operators say provides the necessary flexibility in menu labeling and a fuller understanding of c-store foodservice operations. They laud H.R. 6174, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, as outlining a less burdensome approach to menu labeling and including…