June 01, 2018
Written by Maureen Slocum
May 01, 2018
Written by Maureen Slocum
Take a multigenerational family-owned business — one that hires nice people from the Midwest who generally come predisposed with a customer-centric, friendly attitude and a strong work ethic. Combine that company with some progressive management ideas promoting company-wide transparency, entrepreneurship and empowering employees throughout the organization with the authority and resources to make sure the customer is always satisfied. What do you think you’d get?
March 01, 2018
Written by Maureen Slocum
It’s March and that can only mean that the FE&S awards season is underway. In this issue, we highlight some of the very best examples of creative tabletop installations across five industry segments. Our team of independent judges curated a list of winners that exemplify the best in current trends across a variety of foodservice applications.
February 01, 2018
Written by Maureen Slocum
We have a trifecta of great events on the horizon. It all starts in May with our annual Dealer of the Year and Industry Awards Gala , which coincides with the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show , which takes place May 19-22 in Chicago.
January 02, 2018
Written by Maureen Slocum
As a woman who has worked closely with men in male-dominated industries for more than three decades, you can believe the #MeToo movement holds some resonance for me.
December 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
It is December and that means it's time for the annual directory issue of FE&S as well as for my annual dose of humility as a prognosticator. For the record, in the last year I have also been wrong about the durability of Bitcoin, the outcome of Brexit and the timing of the first female president of the United States.
November 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
Looking back the other day at the publisher's letter that I wrote one year ago in the November 2016 issue of FE&S , recapping our first Foodservice Equipment & Design (FED) Global Thought Leadership Summit, I realized that, as hard as it is to believe, it is already time to start planning for our second event. It will be held at the Radisson Blu in Chicago next year September 10-12.
October 02, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
We know that we are asking a lot from our readers to participate in a study that takes so long to complete. The entire Best in Class (BIC) survey is broken up into three parts and each one takes about 45 minutes to fill out. That is a huge time commitment in a digital world that routinely measures time spent on a web page, for instance, in seconds and not minutes.
September 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
I’m a big fan of cooperation … in business, this can mean seemingly disparate groups establishing and working toward a mutual goal that ultimately benefits all parties.
August 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
Entrepreneurs and small businesses are often the ones to lead the charge during times of change. One way to be part of the solution is to help start-ups.
August 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
August is our annual healthcare issue, and this year, it comes amid a great national debate about healthcare. Fundamental questions about whether access to healthcare is a right of citizenship, a basic human right or a benefit that should be bought and paid for on an individual basis, have led to a feverish political debate pitting those on all sides of the issue against one another.
July 03, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
... is an awesome word that we've appropriated from Bargreen Ellingson to describe the act of celebrating one's successes along the way. For David Ellingson, president and FE&S ' 2017 Top Achiever — Dealer , the idea is so important that he has made it a basic tenet of the company's rich culture.
June 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
If you are a regular reader of FE&S, you have heard me say that Zoomba Group is an original content creation company and that we see you, the reader, as our primary customer. Our business proposition is a pretty simple one: If we can give you a magazine that is worth reading, one that will give you insights and information that helps you do your job as a buyer, seller or specifier of foodservice equipment and supplies better, then we will create an environment in which advertisers want to be seen.
May 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
May is a big month here at FE&S and naturally we have a big issue, chock-full of terrific stories.
April 03, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
It is noteworthy that Mark Freeman, recipient of FE&S ' 2017 Hall of Fame award, was the president of the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management, (SHFM), when that organization took the bold step of changing its name and added the "H" for hospitality to its already well-recognized acronym of SFM.
February 01, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum
It was rather late in the production schedule for this month's issue, when I was made aware that Editorial Director Joe Carbonara, for whom I have the utmost love and respect, had commissioned an unscheduled piece of editorial on the predicted impact of a Trump presidency on the foodservice equipment and supplies industry. I wasn't thrilled... for a couple of reasons.
January 03, 2017
Written by Maureen Slocum, publisher
December 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
Readers tell us they still find the directory issue a useful and welcome tool.
November 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
If we can deliver the original content and unique events that you, our readers, want to associate with, then we can earn your attention in the busy marketplace of ideas.
October 03, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
September 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
September is a time of transition in many ways: for businesses it’s time to budget and plan for the new year, for families it’s time to go back to school because summer holidays have come to an end.
August 03, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
This was a special year for the Dealer of the Year and Industry Awards Gala for several reasons. I hope that you will take a few moments to review the pictures and video . For those who were there, I hope that the pictures provide a happy reminder of a memorable evening in Chicago. For the vast majority who were unable to attend, I hope that you will recognize some industry friends and perhaps a few larger-than-life characters who have left an indelible mark on the equipment and supplies industry.
July 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
Welcome to FE&S ’ annual college and university issue. Looking back at last year’s coverage, it was all about Generation Y/Millennials and the impact this demographic was having on the market. This year it’s all about Generation Z.
June 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
It's hard to think of two things that fit together more seamlessly with overarching objectives than sustainability and healthcare foodservice.
May 02, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
A corollary in business might be: If you want to gain insight into a company’s culture, take a look at the way they treat their competition.
April 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
What the FE&S Top Achiever Awards seek to recognize is fresh talent ascending in different quarters of the industry.
March 02, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
It is time once again to begin the process of identifying the winners of FE&S’ annual Best in Class awards .
February 01, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
Food Safety is never a sexy topic. I am not aware of any way to make food safety a sexy topic. But it is an incredibly important one and one that never seems to be far from the headlines. The CDC estimates that contaminated food sickens 48 million Americans each year.
January 03, 2016
Written by Maureen Slocum
Some see it as a watershed moment in human history; an acknowledgement of our mutual self-interest and the ultimate need for cooperation in order to survive played out on a global scale.
November 01, 2015
Written by Maureen Slocum
It’s exhilarating to watch good ideas take hold in an industry that has a reputation for being slow to change. But this issue of FE&S contains several great examples, and I hope that you enjoy reading it from cover to cover.