Drew Madsen, who led Darden Restaurants to a 71% increase in store counts and a nearly 80% rise in annual revenues, announced his retirement as president/COO late last month. Gene Lee, president of Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group, will succeed Madsen at the Orlando, Fla., company.Madsen joined Darden in 1998 as exec. v.p.-marketing at Olive Garden;…
The Association for Healthcare Foodservice is marking Healthcare Foodservice Workers Week Oct. 7-13 with the theme, “Where Healthcare Meets Hospitality.” The weeklong annual tradition honors healthcare foodservice and nutrition professionals in self-operated facilities that help ensure employees and patients stay well-nourished and healthy. Additional information regarding Healthcare Foodservice Workers Week, including details for AHF’s video…
The first Wendy’s outlet in Georgia to open under a year-old agreement made its debut in the country’s capital last month. The U.S. ambassador to Georgia, Richard Norland, was in a crowd of hundreds of Georgians who flocked to the Sept. 12 grand opening in Tbilisi. Wendy’s Georgia franchisee, The Wissol Group, plans to open…
It’s not only the chain’s flagship store, but KFC says its new outlet in Ukraine also is the world’s largest KFC drive-through restaurant. The 5,575-sq.-ft. store, at the National Railway Station in Kiev, features a double drive-through capable of serving 200 cars per hour, as well as dining-room seating for 280 customers and a 400-seat…
Next year is an off year for The NAFEM Show. As always in non-show years, the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers will instead host its Annual Meeting & Management Workshop. Registration opened last month for the Feb. 7-10, 2014, meeting at the JW Marriott New Orleans.
Middleby Marshall is celebrating a landmark year in the foodservice E&S business: 125 years as an oven manufacturer. Among the honors the company has received on its anniversary is an honorary street sign, “Middleby Way,” displayed on Toastmaster Drive by its headquarters in Elgin, Ill. It is only the third such honorary street sign in…
Fall isn’t just time for college applications, it’s time for foodservice equipment manufacturers to apply for the
A group of private-equity investors, including firms from Taiwan and South Korea, has acquired Los Angeles-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Terms were not disclosed for the transaction, which was completed Sept. 12. The capital investment comes from global buyout firm Advent International, represented by Will Kussell, previously president of Dunkin’ Donuts Worldwide. He’ll…
The California-style burger chain that isn’t based in California continues its global expansion. Shanghai-based CaliBurger has signed a franchise deal with shopping mall operator Dashang Group to open 50 CaliBurger and Cali Express units in China over the next three years. The first site will be a flagship CaliBurger at Dashang’s headquarters in Dalain. The…