So Much To Celebrate

Before closing the books on 2022, Publisher Randy Hano takes a reflective look back.

December 1, 2022

Allison Rezendes, FER’s editor-in-chief, likes to look ahead this time of year to welcome in the new year. I’m choosing to take a look back, to reflect on key milestones and highlights from 2022—and there certainly have been many.

FER’s Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium was one of the last events FER put on, and that many of our readers attended, prior to the pandemic. MUFES 2022 also was one of the first events many of those same people attended post-pandemic. It was a reminder that there is no substitution for in-person events, and that gathering people together always results in better, stronger and more interesting conversations. (MUFES is coming back to Arizona in 2023!) The National Restaurant Association Show, Foodservice Design BootCamp and numerous other U.S. and international trade shows sprung back to life, and our industry responded with vigor.

I also was reminded of how creative and resilient our community is, with unprecedented challenges being tackled head-on, one after the other with great results. Everyone showed not only that they can handle supply chain issues and staffing shortages, but they can grow their businesses and strengthen their customer base amid them.

Most of all, 2022 reminded me that we are strong, we are focused and we are smart. Nothing can slow us down because “business as usual” is not in our vocabularies and never will be. I hope you had many similar observations and successes this past year. From our family to yours, we wish you all a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy and successful year ahead!

Events came back on, and the community showed its strength in 2022.