Culver’s pursuit of LEED certification led to a host of restaurant and operational improvements, both green and otherwise.

“Sure, it’s an economic and political environment fraught with uncertainties,” Foodservice Equipment Reports Publisher Robin Ashton told attendees at the magazine’s annual E&S Market Forecast President’s Preview meeting, held in Rosemont, Ill., on July 24. “But the fundamentals for continuing growth of the equipment and supplies market remain strong, not just next year,” he continued,…

“Restaurant sales are in better shape than we expected,” the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association stated in a release July 14 announcing an upgrade in the groups’ forecast for restaurant sales in Canada this year. The group revised its forecast upwards to 4.2% nominal growth from its original forecast of modest 2.9% growth, made last…

Wholesale food prices rose for the third month in the last four and menu price increases outpaced those at grocery stores again in June, according to producer and consumer price data released in mid-July by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to analysis from the National Restaurant Association, average wholesale food prices rose 0.4% in…

Many observers of the foodservice industry, including Technomic Inc., the National Restaurant Association and others, have been voicing concern about the almost certain impact on food prices, especially proteins, of the severe drought in much of the central part of the U.S. The corn crop, the key feedstock for beef, pork and poultry, has been…

The Americans with Disabilities Act is making it easier for restaurants to welcome all potential customers, but it is leading to “abusive lawsuits,” according to legislation supported by the National Restaurant Association. The association has submitted testimony to Congress supporting a bill providing restaurant and other businesses time to check into and fixed alleged accessibility…

Last week, full-page newspaper ads featuring victims of food contamination highlighted an outcry by 10 consumer-health groups that championed the landmark 2010 food safety law but now assert that enforcement delays could cost lives and money. A consortium, which includes the American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the…

There are a million stories in the big city, and one restaurant association just is not big enough for all of them. Three hundred restaurateurs, bar and lounge owners, hotel executives and liquor distributors have created a new trade group, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, to lobby legislators and city regulatory agencies in the…

Chicago is one of the last major American cities to allow food trucks to patrol its streets. For the past few years, the city has allowed food trucks to sell prepared and prepackaged foods, but under pressure from bricks and mortar operations, it did not allow any onboard cooking. On July 24, the Chicago City…

Peet’s Coffee & Tea is turning over a new leaf. The chain announced on July 23 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by European holding company Joh. A. Benckiser. The transaction is valued at about $1 billion. The deal will put Peet’s in private hands. It was unanimously approved by…