It’s back to school for food trucks in San Diego. The county’s 60-year-old restaurant letter-grading program is being expanded to about 550 mobile food facilities, encompassing 250 hot-food trucks and 300 carts that serve items like coffee and hot dogs.The County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously July 11 to begin issuing the letter grades after…

The National Restaurant Association announced in July that it has issued five million ServSafe certifications. The nearly 40-year-old program is the No. 1 food-safety training program for foodservice operation managers and staff in the U.S. and abroad. It was an employee of the world’s largest restaurant chain that scored the honor. Richard Bryan, an employee of McDonald’s franchisee Baine Enterprises,…

The shift to an all-franchise model is nearly complete. DineEquity has sold another 65 of its Applebee’s restaurants for $61 million, one of its final steps in converting the chain to a franchised operation. With the sale of the stores, all in Michigan, to an operator in that state, DineEquity has sold or reached deals…

More than 200 friends and colleagues, including manufacturers, operators, consultants and media reps, gathered at the Marriott in San Ramon, Calif., Aug. 1-3 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pacific Gas & Electric’s

Manitowoc Foodservice has promoted Bill Hallett to vice president of Global Accounts-Yum! Hallett, a 20-year veteran of foodservice chain business development, will manage the corporate and global relationship aspects of the Yum! Brands/Yum! Restaurants International account; he will lend initial efforts to support YRI growth opportunities. His team includes Joe Kaplan, v.p.-Yum! and Don Alwood,…

Tundra Restaurant Supply of Boulder, Colo., has acquired Superior Commercial Kitchens, a neighboring design firm specializing in restaurants and healthcare facilities. The move will allow Tundra to further expand its suite of planning, design and project management services, according to Tundra Pres. Ryan Lewis. “Superior Commercial Kitchens now allows us to expand into additional foodservice…

I hope you’ve seen that we are forecasting another good year for the foodservice equipment and supplies industry in 2013 (see article this issue). We’re forecasting current dollar growth of 4.3% and real growth of 2.5% for next year. It’s pretty close to where we think this year will end up and just a bit…

In a transaction effective immediately, H. Weiss Equipment Corp., a half-century-old dealership based in Armonk, N.Y., has inked an agreement with BRC Commercial Kitchens Corp. to acquire certain BRC assets and to hire key personnel at the Elmwood Park, N.J., company. In a statement accompanying the announcement, H. Weiss Pres. Jim Weiss commented, “BRC has…

Las Vegas is home to a new distribution center for 3Wire, which provides supply chain solutions and parts distribution to the foodservice and beverage industries. The new distribution center will serve 3Wire’s casino customers along the Strip and surrounding area and features a complete storefront with same-day order pickup or next-day delivery. Osseo, Minn.-based 3Wire…

Last month’s Southwest Foodservice Expo in Dallas was the setting for Ace Mart Restaurant Supply’s annual rep of the year awards. The San Antonio-based, family-owned E&S dealer named Mark Lemons & Associates as its Independent Rep of the Year. Honorees were Tony Dettling, Steve Dumar, Doris Dettling and Mark Lemons. It is the firm’s second…