While it did not take long for most states and municipalities to mandate restaurant restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, reopening is another story, for various reasons.
Greg Willman will become CEO of fast-casual restaurant chain Naf Naf, effective June 15, 2020.
Andrew Allen was promoted to vice president and general manager of Tomlinson Industries, a division of Oneida Hospitality Group.
Krystal Restaurants was acquired by Fortress Investment Group and its operating partner Golden Child Holdings. As a result of the transaction, Thomas Stager has assumed the role of Krystal president.
The Vollrath Company updated the leadership roles within the Wisconsin-based foodservice equipment manufacturer.
TriMark USA named Chad Brooks CFO for the Massachusetts-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealer.
Food Service Holdings appointed Abby Weiss to serve as senior marketing manager and Mark Fogarty eastern regional sales manager for the multiline manufacturer that operates such brands as BSI, English Manufacturing and Colorado Custom Stone.
Sixty Vines appointed Jeff Carcara CEO for the Texas-based wine-themed restaurant chain.
On May 15 restaurants and bars in Ohio received the green light to welcome patrons back for outdoor dining and then, just six days later, they were able to reopen their dining rooms to customers who wished to dine on-premises. Despite this all clear, at least one operator continues to take a more deliberate approach to bringing his business back up to full speed.
Slapfish’s approach to growth gave the 26-store chain a slight advantage when the pandemic hit. Instead of having a set footprint, the chain’s portfolio has grown through every kind of venue, from delivery/take-away style restaurants for food halls and event venues to an operation soon to open that could go flex-casual: fast casual at lunch and full service with a full bar for dinner.
As restaurants chart their path to recovery, many experts have predicted that digital platforms would play a critical role in the industry’s comeback efforts. And according to data from the NPD Group, these predictions are starting to prove true.
Not surprisingly, transactions at U.S. chain restaurants continued to show improvement for the week ending May 10.
W. Dean Kimber is the new CEO Americas for Arc, a manufacturer of tableware items.
Refrigerated Solutions Group plans to close its New Albany, Miss., manufacturing plant where the company makes its Master-Bilt line of refrigeration products. The company will consolidate product manufacturing of both its Master-Bilt and Nor-Lake lines in its Hudson, Wis., plant by Oct. 31, 2020.
While some restaurants and foodservice operators shifted to an exclusively off-premises model due to state and local closures to stop the spread of COVID-19, others chose to temporarily shutter their businesses entirely.
Boston Market promoted Randy Miller, a 25-year company veteran, to president.
Alto-Shaam promoted Cindy Zbytniewski to the newly created role of director of customer experience. She first joined the company in 1993.
Jaime Nau was promoted to president of Nieco Corporation, a Windsor, Calif.-based manufacturer of broilers for commercial kitchen cooking.
With states and municipalities continuing to slowly lift restrictions on restaurants, foodservice operators and, for that matter, other businesses, consumer confidence continues to creep back. As a result, sales at restaurants show small but positive improvements.
Oven manufacturer Marra Forni turned to foodservice equipment industry veteran Todd Griffith to become the company’s vice president of marketing and sales.
