Two weeks ago, we wrote in FER Fortnightly, “The fiscal cliff looms, worries about the fate of the Euro and European sovereign debt continue and everyone is uncertain about political environments everywhere. But American consumers clearly became more upbeat in September….”Last Friday, Kathleen Madigan of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Political intransigence could drag the…

Food prices at the finished goods level rose another 0.2% in September, their fourth consecutive month of gains, according to data from the latest Producer Price Index, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Oct. 12. More worrisome were much larger increases in wholesale food prices at earlier stages of processing. Meanwhile, other than in…

Noodles & Company, which makes its base in Broomfield, Colo., is making its first forays into the Northeast. Through a partnership Mascott Corp., owner and operator of six restaurant brands in the region, Noodles will open its very first restaurant in the greater New York metro area. The free-standing unit in East Brunswick, N.J., will…

Wendy’s is reporting an average sales increase of more than 25% in its new "Image Activation" units.  The modern, sleek units feature lounge seating with fireplaces, flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi and digital menuboards. The Columbus, Ohio, chain anticipates completing 75 re-imaged restaurants by the end of the year. It initiated the program in 2011, and will…

Expansion seems to be in the cards for Steak n’ Shake, which will debut its first units outside the U.S. next year. The diner-style burger chain founded in Normal, Ill., in 1934 opened its first New York City outpost last January and now it’s inked a deal to go worldwide—or at least expand from the…

With the announcement in this issue of our Industry Service Award winners, we have named all of those who will be honored at FER’s Awards Dinner & Program at the Peabody Hotel, Feb. 8, 2013, in Orlando, Fla. The dinner will be held during The NAFEM Show. We want to extend a special invitation to…

Foodservice Equipment Reports has named five individuals to receive the magazine’s prestigious Industry Service Awards. The awards, first given in 2005, honor those who have made substantial contributions not just to their firms and associations, but to the equipment and supplies industry as a whole. The awards are given to a dealer, a manufacturers’ representative,…

Alan Berger, designer of restaurant kitchens and fabricator of stainless steel, as well as a founder and top executive at Fabricators Int’l., Food Service Concepts and Alliance Food Equipment, died Sept. 28. He was 83. In 1947, he began his education in the foodservice industry working for Dallas Sheet Metal Works; he later would acquire…

Two weeks from today, the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association will host its fall teleconference/webinar, “Negotiations: Defending Your Price.” The program for FEDA’s dealer members will help salespeople protect their pricing while winning and protecting new and existing account relationships. The Oct. 24 teleconference/webinar (10 a.m. CST) is led by William Walker, founder and president of…

Caddy Corp. has hired Phil Bailis as eastern regional sales manager. Bailis most recently covered the East Coast for several Standex brands. He will be responsible for Caddy’s three manufacturing segments: ventilation/utility distribution systems, conveyors and carts. Bailis’ hiring allows Vice Pres. Tom Carter to focus on Caddy’s West Coast territory. Bailis is based at…