Barry Blalock was promoted to vice president of chain accounts for the APW/Bakers Pride/Star Holdings Group, which is part of Middleby Corp. This group includes a variety of equipment lines such as APW Wyott, Bakers Pride, Holman, Lang, Star, Toastmaster, Wells and Wells Ventless.
Juice It Up! hired Susan Taylor to serve as vice president of operations for the smoothie, raw juice, and superfruit bowl chain.
Halton opened a new production facility in the Lingang area of Shanghai, China. In this new location Halton will manufacture its line of hoods for commercial kitchens, ventilated ceilings and pollution control systems.
Del Taco Restaurants promoted company veteran Chad Gretzema to chief operating officer, a newly created leadership role for the quick-serve Mexican chain.
Longtime foodservice consultant Al Moller has joined Theodore Barber & Company, a Florida-based foodservice consulting firm. Moller will serve as regional director for TBC’s new Denver office.
Salata Salad Kitchen hired Kevin King to serve as its first-ever corporate executive chef.
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouses’ and Del Frisco’s Grille’s time as part of private equity firm L Catterton’s portfolio will be a short one. That’s because L Catterton, which closed on its previously announced $650 million all-cash acquisition of the Del Frisco’s duo on September 25 plans to sell the restaurant chains to Landry’s Inc. Terms of the deal with Landry’s were not disclosed.
Steve Cobb will retire from his post as chairman of the board for Henny Penny at the end of 2019. Rob Connelly, the foodservice equipment manufacturer’s CEO, will become chairman of the board for Henny Penny.
Inspire Brands, parent company to Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and SONIC Drive-In, will add a sandwich chain to its portfolio. The company will acquire Jimmy John’s Sandwiches in a deal that’s expected to close by the end of October.
Cherry Hearn was promoted to president of Which Wich, a Texas-based sandwich chain. Hearn has a long track record with Which Wich.
Renowned lifestyle magazine Bon Appétit and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises are working collaboratively on a delivery-only restaurant concept in Chicago. Known as Bon Appétit, Delivered, the virtual restaurant features dishes curated by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen. Customers can order menu items from Bon Appetit, Delivered via third-party delivery firm Grubhub.
PBAC, a New York-based independent manufacturers’ rep firm, hired Barbara Tokofsky to serve as a sales account executive.
A dozen chefs from across the U.S. will help participate in the first-ever Real School Food Challenge: National Restaurant Edition this October. This program enlists the support of healthy food advocates to illustrate it’s possible to create delicious, nutritious food that is scalable for school kitchens.
Bojangles’ turned to Jose Costa to serve as the Southern restaurant chain’s chief development officer. In this new role Costa becomes responsible for increasing the company’s overall unit count and recruiting new franchisees. Other areas of responsibility include real estate strategy, equipment and new restaurant design and construction.
The Commercial Food Equipment Service Association recognized the contributions of seven individuals and elected four members to its board of directors.
Foodservice equipment industry veteran Valerie Hanson is the new western regional vice president for the APW Wyott, Bakers Pride, Star Holdings Group, which is part of The Middleby Corporation.
Concessionaire Aramark and the New York Mets developed a fully automated concessions operation at New York’s Citi Field that integrates biometric and artificial intelligence related technologies.
Ice-O-Matic made a series of changes to its sales team.
Foodservice equipment manufacturer Alto-Shaam promoted Dan Emanuelson to serve as national accounts and customer service specialist.
Smoothie King added president to Dan Harmon’s role of chief operating officer. Smoothie King also announced chief development officer Kevin King was elevated to chief business development officer.
