FOODSERVICE NEWS

Chefs from NRA Member Restaurants To Compete In Bravo’s Top Chef
As the sixth season of Cable TV Bravo’s culinary series Top Chef: Las Vegas debuts, the National Restaurant Association is recognizing chefs from five member restaurants in Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York City and Washington, D.C., who are all participating in the show. The chefs that are representing members of the National Restaurant Association, as well as their state restaurant association, are: Eve Aronoff, chef/owner of Eve the Restaurant in Ann Arbor, Mich; Ash Fulk, sous chef at Trestle on Tenth in New York City; Kevin Gillespie, executive chef/partner of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, Ga.; Michael Isabella, executive chef at Zaytinya in Washington, D.C.; and Bryan Voltaggio, chef/partner of VOLT in Frederick, Md.

New Appointments Made At Blount Fine Foods
Blount Fine Foods of Fall River, Mass., recently promoted three people to enhance the quality control division and increase internal sales support. Tim Burns, formerly Quality Assurance Supervisor, has been promoted to Quality Assurance Manager. He will oversee third party food safety audits and corporate food safety programs. Jacob Kim has been promoted to Process Control Specialist. Kim, formerly an R&D Chef, will use his chef skills in developing systems that enhance the food manufacturing process.
Blount also appointed Jonathan Lima as a Production Control Specialist. He will be responsible for training and integration of team members in the production facility. Lima formerly worked at Simmering Soups in the production department. Jonathan has a BA from UMASS Dartmouth and has extensive experience in food inspection and testing.
In another appointment, the sales division has appointed Jessica Offidani to a sales support representative. Ms. Offidani, formerly an office assistant, is now responsible for entering sales orders and handling customer questions/information.

New York Marketplace To Launch At IH/Motel and Restaurant Show
The launch of the New York Marketplace as part of the November International Hotel/Motel/ and Restaurant Show will add excitement and broaden the show experience for foodservice attendees, according to Lynn White, show manager.  "It promises to be a great enhancement to the diverse food service resources already found throughout the show floor,” she said.
The 94th annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show will run Saturday, Nov. 7 through Tuesday, Nov. 10, at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.  Following a full-day of conference and networking activities on Saturday, November 7, the IH/M&RS will feature three full days of exhibits from Sunday, Nov. 8, through Tuesday, Nov. 10. 
Developed in conjunction with the M. Tucker Company, the New York Marketplace will feature 25 exhibiting brands including APW/Wyott, Cardinal, Carlisle, Cres Cor, Captive Aire Systems, Day & Nite, GAF Seelig, Lakeside, Manitowoc, Oneida, RPI Industries, Scandia Fish, Unified Brands and others.
Celebrity book signings, chef Question & Answer Periods, food and beverage tastings, new product displays and seminars will round out the visitor experience, creating a comprehensive 8,000 square foot foodservice-focused space within the show. 
Seminars will address such topics as viral marketing, menu trends, green, along with healthcare and school foodservice subjects, while chefs will share insights and fine dining direction in one-on-one interviews with trade publication editors.

Food Service Latest Word…
AGAR has announced two fall shows in September. On Sept. 15, AGAR will host its food show for foodservice clients at the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Mass. On Sept. 30, AGAR will host another show geared for food service and retail customers at Twin Rivers, Lincoln. R.I. More than 100 vendors are expected to attend each show. Hours for both shows are 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.

Steve Treadow was appointed executive chef at the Summer Shack at Mohegan Sun and Russ Champlin is the manager at the Summer Shack Express, also at Mohegan Sun.

Starbucks is cutting prices for the first time on some drinks while boosting price on others. Small coffees and lattes will be cut five to 10 cents and complex drinks such as frappucccinos and macchiatos could go up between 10 and 15 cents.

Red Lobster topped the Best Seafood Chain in the Restaurants and Institutions Consumer Choice Study.

C-STORE NEWS

NECSA To Host October Executive Meeting With Two Major Speakers
The New England Convenience Store Assn. (NECSA) will host an Executive Networking Luncheon and Annual Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15 at Lombardo’s in Randolph, Massachusetts. This one-day conference will feature a presentation by Joe Petrowski, president and chief executive officer of Gulf Oil and the latest C-Store industry update by Hank Armour, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Convenience Stores. 
Mr. Petrowski will discus the economy as it relates to the oil industry; pending issues before Congress; whether or not operators should look at gas/diesel as a profit center; and, what a brand is worth on the street in a consumer’s mind. 
Mr. Armour will provide attendees with the most up-to-date 2009 NACS Industry Update which includes the latest data on growth categories.  This presentation is a must-see for retailers who are not able to attend the upcoming NACS Trade Show in Las Vegas in late October. 
For more information or to register, please contact NECSA’s Programs & Events Director Christina Apostal at (781) 297-9600, ext 4 or at Christina@necsa.net.

Irving Oil Launches New Charitable Giving Campaign Throughout New England
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. of Virginia has announced that Kwik Pik, LLC, an affiliate of Lehigh Gas Corp., has been selected as the “ Stalking Horse Bidder” in the Uni-Marts bankruptcy asset sale.
This is an initial bid on a bankrupt company's assets from an interested buyer chosen by the bankrupt company. From a pool of bidders, the bankrupt company chooses the stalking horse to make the first bid. Once the stalking horse has made its bid, other potential buyers may submit competing bids for the bankrupt company's assets.
The last date for submitting bids has been extended to Sept. 16 with a live auction to follow a week later on Sept. 23.
The Kwik Pik agreement provides for a purchase price of $10 million for the Ohio assets and $6.7 million for the assets located in Pennsylvania and New York. The sale procedures allow bidders to bid on the entire company, groups of assets and on individual stores. Under the agreement approximately 70 of the assets in Pennsylvania and New York will be offered to individual store buyers if offers meet certain value requirements without any “all or none” restrictions. and are submitted by the bid deadline of Sept. 16. These potential buyers will be invited to attend the auction on Sept. 23.

FDA Launches New Center For Tobacco Products
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched its new Center for Tobacco Products in Silver Spring, Md. The center will oversee the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The FDA’s responsibilities under the law include setting performance standards, reviewing premarket applications for new and modified risk tobacco products, and establishing and enforcing advertising and promotion restrictions.Lawrence Deyton, M.D. M.S.P.H., an expert on veterans’ health issues, public health, tobacco use, and a clinical professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will serve as the center’s first director. Financing for the center and other activities related to the regulation of tobacco will come from user fees paid by manufacturers and importers of tobacco products.

C-Store Latest Word…
Sheetz is carrying out a plan to rapidly develop a new market for its convenience stores in Southern West Virginia with the opening of another location in Huntington. This is the third opening in that area since June for Sheetz, the first two being in nearby Barboursville and Milton. Earlier in the month, the Sheetz increased its store count to four in Martinsburg, W.V.

The Harold Levinson Associates (HLA) Virtual Buying Show over the Internet will be held Wednesday, Sept. 2 from 5 a.m. through midnight at www.hlavirtual show.com. One must have an HLA account number in order to register.

General Tobacco has appointed Martha Patterson as director of marketing and purchasing.

NEW CHANNELS

Retail Hacking Ring Charged For Stealing Credit and Debit Card Numbers
Eleven perpetrators, allegedly involved in the hacking of nine major U.S. retailers and the theft and sale of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers, have been charged with numerous crimes, including conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud, and identity theft, The scheme is believed to constitute the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The indictment alleges that, during the course of the sophisticated conspiracy, this international ring obtained the credit and debit card numbers by “wardriving” and hacking into the wireless computer networks of major retailers — including TJX Co., BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW and in separate cases the restaurant chain Dave & Busters as well as Hannaford Bros., 7-Eleven and Heartland Payment Systems which processes payments for retailers and restaurants.
Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens, one is from Estonia, three are from Ukraine, two are from the People’s Republic of China and one is from Belarus. One individual is only known by an alias online, and his place of origin is unknown. The indictment alleges that, after the suspects collected the data, they concealed the data in encrypted computer servers that they controlled in Eastern Europe and the United States. They allegedly sold some of the credit and debit card numbers, via the Internet, to other criminals in the United States and Eastern Europe. The stolen numbers were “cashed out” by encoding card numbers on the magnetic strips of blank cards. The defendants then used these cards to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs.

 Sam’s Club Cuts Out Paper Coupons with eValues Program
Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, is the first warehouse club to introduce paperless coupons through its eValues programs. This program provide personalized savings on hundreds of items including fresh foods, health and beauty products, office supplies as well as other goods and services available at Sam’s Club locations. The eValue benefit is included in both the Advantage and Business versions of the Sam’s Club Plus Membership, both of which cost $100 annually. Sam’s Club estimates Plus Members will save more than $200 additionally per year with the program.
There are no coupons to clip and no rebate forms to complete and mail Sam’s Club Plus Members will receive customized offers tailored to them and discounts will be automatically taken at the register using their existing Membership cards. Sam’s Club is also including offers on high-ticket items such as appliances, electronics, tires, mattresses and services including optical.
Sam’s Club Plus Members can access their eValues accounts via samsclub.com to review and manage their offers. In addition, Sam’s Club has installed kiosks in more than 600 of its clubs nationwide to provide members with a quick eValues lookup while shopping. Both samsclub.com and the kiosk can send an eValues shopping list to the Member’s iPhone, Blackberry, or smart phone.

Price Chopper Singled Out By EPA For GreenChill Program
The newest Price Chopper Supermarket in Colonie, N.Y. , was awarded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s GreenChill ‘Best of the Best –award by setting a high standard for environmentally green design for a refrigeration system. The store's commercial refrigeration system runs on just 282 pounds of refrigerant in total (just ¼ pound of refrigerant per 1000 BTUs per hour) and its refrigerant leak rate is predicted to be less than 1 percent throughout the life of the equipment, resulting in a 92 percent reduction in refrigerant charge and a 99 percent reduction in refrigerant leaks.

New Channels Latest Word…
ES3, a sister company to C&S Wholesale Grocers, which provides logistics and delivery services to product manufacturers and retailers, plans to add a 705,000 square foot tower to its existing warehouse and distribution center in York, PA.

Redbox Automated Retail, filed suit in Delaware Federal Court against Warner Home Video on Aug. 18 to protect consumers' rights to access new release DVDs. Redbox filed the action in response to new distribution terms imposed by Warner Home Video that would prohibit redbox from providing consumers access to Warner Home Video titles until at least 28 days after public release.

Galaxy Nutritional Foods has named Brian O’Farrell to its team as a chief financial officer.