Unique Foods Corporation has acquired fast-casual concept Pizza Fusion, a gourmet concept with franchised locations in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Mark Parkey will become president and CEO of multiconcept operator J. Alexander’s Holdings Inc., effective May 1, 2019. He will succeed Lonnie J. Stout II, who will assume the newly created position of executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Thomas Handley will retire from his post as president and chief operating officer for Ecolab later this year. Christophe Beck, currently executive vice president and president of Ecolab’s Global Industrial Group, will succeed Handley as Ecolab’s president and COO, effective April 1, 2019. Until retirement, Handley will lead the work on the previously announced spin-off of the company’s Energy Services upstream business into a stand-alone company.
As part of an executive succession plan, David Deno will become CEO and a company director for multiconcept operator Bloomin’ Brands, effective April 1.
The Oneida Group promoted Sean Gibson to vice president of marketing and product innovation. He served as the company’s director of marketing and innovation since 2017.
Singer Equipment Co. hired foodservice equipment industry veteran Todd Griffith to serve as a vice president for the Pennsylvania-based dealer.
As part of its strategy to further integrate its operating units, TriMark USA has formed TriMark Distribution and Retail – Western Region.
Scott Redler of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Mike Hickey of EcoLab Inc. were named co-chairs of the 2019National Restaurant Association Show, Hotel-Motel Show.
Mike Hickey
Redler’s career in the industry began as a teen in St. Louis, where at 15 he catered events to groups ranging from 2 to 6,000. Throughout the years, he has owned, managed, and developed numerous restaurants. He is the chief operating office and co-founder of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. Today, Freddy’s has more than 250 restaurant locations serving guests from coast-to-coast with a menu reminiscent of the all-American meals Freddy prepared for his family.
During his 33-year tenure at Ecolab, Hickey has held a number of key executive positions, including senior vice president and general manager of multiple operating units as well as senior vice president of global business development. Hickey began his career at Ecolab as a territory manager-in-training in 1985.
The 2019 National Restaurant Association Show takes place May 18-21 at Chicago’s McCormick Place
Stoner's Pizza Joint tapped Glenn Cybulski to serve as president and chief culinary officer for the quick-service pizza franchise.
The Women's Foodservice Forum is in the market for a new president and CEO after Hattie Hill, the person who has held that role since 2013, announced her plans to retire. Hill will remain with the WFF until the organization names her successor.
Antunes, a Carol Stream, Ill.-based commercial foodservice equipment manufacturer, launched a joint venture in Chennai, India, to manufacture water filtration systems. Antunes is partnering with NADI Airtechnics Pvt. Ltd., an India-based manufacturer of industrial fans, on the operation.
Alto-Shaam tapped Jeremy Martin to serve as vice president of national accounts-foodservice.
Emily Martin was named marketing manager for Electric Motor Repair Company (EMR), a Maryland-based service agent for the commercial foodservice equipment industry. In her new role, Martin becomes responsible for the public relations, advertising, creative development and overall brand management of EMR for six branches serving eight service regions.
Kitchen United hired Jen Henriksen to serve as vice president, business development and Anthony Green to serve as vice president, national sales.
Ah, the bar … Like the first sip of a well-crafted cocktail, it can be a pleasant harbinger of things to come or a stand-alone experience savored entirely on its own. Integral to most full-service restaurant operations — and directly responsible for the profitability of many — the bar plays an increasingly important role in generating buzz and creating some of what restaurant guests crave most: experiences that are social, casual, welcoming, open, friendly, engaging, energetic, craft-driven, authentic and unique.
Joseph Wells, former CEO of The Homer Laughlin China Company, passed away on March 12, 2019. He was 77 years old.
After starting her foodservice career as a server and working her way up to overseeing new restaurant openings, Debbie Burke switched gears and tried something new. “I went into training and recruiting, writing management training manuals for several years,” she says.
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies named Ohio University’s Jefferson Marketplace the recipient of its 2019 Facility Design Project of the Year Award.
Display kitchens and live cooking stations may sell the sizzle and even wind up on Instagram, but well-designed, smoothly functioning prep kitchens and behind-the-scenes elements play just as critical of a role in achieving operational success. After all, that’s where the food products coming into a kitchen’s back door begin their transformation into the specific menu items, specials and signatures that wind up on customers’ plates or out the front door for off-premise consumption.
