FOODSERVICE NEWS

NRA Top Leader Dawn Sweeney Talks Of Ad Campaign To Urge People To Eat Out
Dawn Sweeney president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Assn. came to Boston last week and pointed to the psychology of the economic situation as a contributing factor to the challenges facing the restaurant industry.
“People are being almost frightened into not going out to eat,” she said, recounting instances in which television personalities suggest that people stop going out to eat as a way to save money. “If everyone who watches Oprah stops going out to eat for one month, 55,000 jobs would be lost in one month,” Ms. Sweeney warned. “We are the one industry that creates jobs every single day,” she continued. “In an environment like this, these jobs don’t get created, and [established] jobs disappear.”
Ms. Sweeney noted that the restaurant industry is seen as a leading indicator of recovery, due to a pent-up demand for eating out, and the moment people begin to have a sense that the economy is improving, they begin to eat out again. “We haven’t seen this yet,” she stated. To help jump-start this recovery trend, the NRA is looking into launching an advertising campaign to encourage people to eat out.
The organization is currently working with an advertising agency, and Ms. Sweeney is hopeful that a decision to go forward will be made by the end of the year, depending on whether enough funding is raised to carry the campaign. Ms. Sweeney came to Boston as she spends a few days each year working in member restaurants to achieve a firsthand perspective of some of the issues and realities impacting the restaurant industry.

TriMark USA Expands Their Services In The Southeast United States
TriMark USA Inc., a major distributor of food service equipment and supplies headquartered in South Attleboro, Mass., has expanded its services with a new Southeast Division. TriMark South, located in Atlanta, Ga.
Jerry Hyman, president and chief executiv officer of TriMark USA, said, The addition of this new full service sales and distribution center will allow TriMark to execute design, equipment and small wares supply services with immediate and rapid response in one of the top foodservice markets in the country. The operation will be focused on local independents, regional and national chains as well as contract sales.
The opening of TriMark South will expand TriMark USA to 12 operational facilities in the United States. TriMark is a full-service equipment and supplies distributor with over 900 employees servicing all segments of the foodservice industry nationwide.

Pizza, Barista, Culinary Competitions Spark Sept. Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show
Restaurant and food-service industry professionals throughout the Southeast will have the opportunity to network, taste hundreds of new foods from all over the world, see thousands of products, watch cooking demonstrations and competitions at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show set for Sept. 11-13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Some of the highlights of the show include 450 exhibiting companies; the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum offering more than 20 educational sessions; the PMQ Orlando Pizza Show; the fourth annual Ultimate Barista Challenge; and culinary and pastry competitions hosted by the American Culinary Federation and the
For information on exhibiting or attending, call 888-372-3976 or visit www.flrestaurantandlodgingshow.com.

Food Service Latest Word…
Maurice Hart, founder of Hart Bros. Catering and who spearheaded the building of the Lantana facility in Randolph, Mass. died recently at 77 years old.

ABSOLUT VODKA last week officially launched its new, limited-edition, city-inspired flavor, ABSOLUT BOSTON. The new vodka is made with black tea and elderflower. To celebrate the spirit of the city, on August 26, ABSOLUT unveiled the ABSOLUT BOSTON Wall of Pride in Boylston Plaza at the Prudential Center.

Coca cola North America announced that Fanta Apple will be available for the first time as a fountain beverage option.

The Mass. Restaurant Assn. announced that the third annual Brian Walsh Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Sept. 28 at the Charles River Country Club. Mr. Walsh, formerly of Taylor Freezer was a loyal member of the MRA.

The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Assn. will host a End of the Summer Bash Sept. 1 at the Exeter Inn in Exeter, N.H. beginning at 4:00 p.m.

C-STORE NEWS

The Pantry Names Terrance Marks to Succeed Peter Sodini As Top Leader
The Pantry, of Cary, N. C., the largest convenience store chain in the Southeast, announced that Terrance Marks, a former Coca Cola Enterprises executive, will become president and chief executive officer of the company, effective Sept. 25. Mr. Marks previously served as executive vice president of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE) and president of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. North American Group. He will succeed Peter Sodini, who is retiring from the company and its Board of Directors.
Mr. Marks has more than 21 years of experience serving the convenience, grocery, mass merchant and quick-serve restaurant industries. As president of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. North American Group from 2005 to 2008, Mr. Marks directed all sales, marketing, finance, operations, manufacturing, distribution, supply chain and human resources for a $15 billion enterprise with 55,000 employees in 400 facilities. From 1987 to 2004, Mr. Marks held various positions in sales, operations, finance and general management during his long career at CCE. As of Aug. 27, the company operated 1,679 stores in 11 states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express., its primary operating banner.

NYACS Welcomes Ruling On Indian Tax Free Sales Of Cigarettes
New York's convenience store industry today cheered the Aug. 26 ruling by U.S. District Judge Carol Amon temporarily barring smoke shops on Long Island's Poospatuck Indian reservation from selling vast amounts of untaxed cigarettes to people outside the tribe.
"Under the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous Attea decision of 1994, New York has the right to collect these taxes," said NYACS President James Calvin. "And under a law passed by the Legislature and signed by then-Governor Pataki effective March 1, 2006, New York has the duty to collect these taxes. Why Governor Paterson refuses to enforce it in the face of a $3 billion budget deficit is a mystery for the ages."
A separate injunction imposed by State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers currently prohibits Governor Paterson's Tax Department from enforcing the March 2006 tax collection law, but only until such time as the department issues the tax-exemption coupons prescribed by the law in order to preserve the undisputed tax exemption on tribal sales to other tribal members.

Cindy Paquin Named Xtra Mart Manager Of The Year
Cindy Paquin was named Xtra Mart’s Manager of the Year at the 2009 Managers Appreciation Dinner and Awards ceremony, held Aug. 26 in Sturbridge, Mass. Chosen from a field of 12 managers of the month over the past fiscal year, Ms. Paquin was awarded with a $4,000 travel voucher that includes two round-trip airfares to the destination of her choice, accommodations, transportation and meals, and five extra vacation days. Ms. Paquin was manager of the month in January 2009, and leads the Millbury, Mass., location.
Mike Brick was named first runner-up. He heads the Bainbridge, N.Y., location, and originally was named manager of the month for October, 2008. He was awarded a travel voucher for $2,500 that includes two round-trip airfares to the destination of his choice, transportation and accommodations, and five extra vacation days. James Brown of the Willett Ave., R.I., store, was named second runner-up. He was presented with two round-trip airfares to the destination of his choice and three extra vacation days. Xtra Mart management also recognized safety award winners and managers who helped to raise funds for the Jennifer Creed Fund, Xtra Mart’s corporate charity.

C-Store Latest Word…
The Food and Drug Administration is creating a 12-person panel to advice the agency on issues affecting oversight of the tobacco industry. Three members will be tobacco industry representatives and eight of the members will be experts in medicine, medical ethics science and tobacco technology. One member of the general public will also join the panel.

7-Eleven has awarded Kraft Foods with the company’s Retailer Initiative Award. Kraft was selected for hits high level of partnership and for developing programs that increased sales at 7-Eleven stores.

Lil’Drug Store Products is celebrating its 35th; anniversary of providing non-prescription drug and healthy and beauty care in the convenience, grocery, drug and mass market sectors.

Hunt Brothers Pizza recently announced its Hunt Brothers Wings to complement the company’s well known core pizza product.

NEW CHANNELS

Super 88 Being Sold to Hong Kong Supermarkets
Super 88, which once had six Asian supermarkets in the Boston area, is in the process of being sold to Hong Kong Supermarkets of New York. A year ago, the chain closed three of is six stores with units still in operation in Allston, Dorchester, and Malden.
Hong Kong Supermarkets operates 10 stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and California.
The area has seen an influx of out of town chain stores moving into the market. New York based C-Mart has opened three supermarkets in Boston’s Chinatown. Kam Man, also of New York, has opened a store in Quincy, and H-Mart, a large Korean market, has plans to open in Burlington.

Walgreens Joins With Company To Lower Prescription Costs
Walgreens last week announced an agreement with Caterpillar Inc. that establishes a direct relationship for the purchase of prescription drugs using a transparent pricing model. This is the first announced company program that provides lower prescription drug pricing to employers who offer prescription drug benefits to their employees, dependents, and retirees. Under the program, Caterpillar is given a Walgreens Proprietary Price List which is based on “off of the cost” Walgreens pays the drug manufacturer.
Walgreens and Caterpillar also agreed to explore other ways of creating an integrated health care and pharmacy program. Under this plan, the program combines worksite health centers, in-store clinics and pharmacies with the discount prescription drug offering that is available nationally to a company’s employees, dependents and retirees no matter where they work or live.
More than 70,000 Caterpillar employees, retirees and eligible dependents will have access to prescription drugs purchased under the Pharmacy Management Excellence program, as nearly 70 percent of all Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens, and 50 percent live within two miles. In addition, Walgreens currently serves as Caterpillar’s pharmacy mail service provider.

Walmart Forms Walk-In Bill Pay Services
Walmart announced last week a new service within its stores that allows customers to pay utility, landline phone, cable/satellite, credit card bills, auto and wireless phone at their local Walmart store. A new study shows the service will cut customers' costs in half and could save families more than $100 million in bill-pay fees this year.
The new service provides options to the growing number of financially underserved Americans who do not use traditional checking accounts to pay bills in person. According to research commissioned by Walmart, more than 21 million households pay at least one bill in person every month.
"More and more Americans are looking for ways to save money on financial transactions and enjoy the convenience and confidence of knowing their bills are paid on time," said Jane Thompson, president Walmart Financial Services. "We're introducing Walk-in Bill Pay nationwide to provide another affordable money service option that will help families manage their monthly budgets so that they can save money and live better in these tough economic times."

New Channels Latest Word…
Ctw Investment Group called on Whole Foods Market to remove CEO John Mackey after he wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal opposing President O’Bama’s health care reform bill. Ctw urged Whole Foods to take immediate action to prevent continued damage in the face of a growing boycott by Whole Foods customer base.

The federal Environmental Protection Program has recently presented awards to Giant Eagle for exceeding GreenChill stands in reduction of refrigerant emissions and to Food Lion for its commitment to deploying Advanced Refrigeration technology at new stores in its 11-state footprint.

Laura Sen, BJ’s Wholesale Club president, revealed last week that BJ’s may build smaller size stores measuring around 85,000 square feet in certain demographic areas.

The Dedham, Mass. Legacy Place mall, one of the few malls to open this year, has opened for business. The 675,000 square foot property will have 80 establishments including 10 restaurants. Anchor stores include Whole Foods, L.L. Bean, Borders, and National Amusements, Cinema de Lux.