FOODSERVICE NEWS

Despite Economy, AGAR Expands Warehouse Site
New England wholesale food distributor AGAR, which supplies product for independent restaurants and other food-service suppliers, recently broke ground on a warehouse expansion totaling 50,000 square feet in a Taunton Industrial Park. The warehouse project will encompass 25,000 square feet of dry storage and 25,000 square feet of frozen storage. Also on the list of major improvements will be a new battery room, new maintenance room, and a renovation of AGAR’s operation center. After completion, AGAR’s total warehouse operation will be over 335,000 square feet.
“Despite what could be another challenging year for many, AGAR has decided to take advantage of competitive pricing and bids for such a project and move ahead with our aggressive expansion plans,” said Karen Bressler, president and chief executive officer of AGAR. “This effort will not only allow us to serve our existing customers with greater ease, but through this expansion, we’ll be able to offer a broader spectrum of products and have a greater opportunity to expand into new markets, keeping AGAR on a continued path of growth.”
AGAR, through this expansion, also has tentative plans to increase its workforce, adding additional jobs in the warehouse. In the year 2000, when AGAR made Taunton its home, the food distributor employed 200 individuals. As of fall 2009, they employ approximately 430 people in the Taunton headquarters.

Quiznos And Franchisees Reach Settlement Of Multiple Class-Action Lawsuits
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer has preliminarily approved a settlement of four franchisee class-action lawsuits filed against the Quiznos Franchise Co. and others. The cases in Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois, the earliest of which has been pending since 2006, allege violations of various state and federal laws in connection with the sale and operation of Quiznos franchises. Quiznos has denied all claims, and the settlement agreement involves no finding or admission of liability.
The settlement contains financial benefits for current and former franchisees that elect to participate in the form of cash refunds, food purchase discounts, and debt forgiveness.
In addition, the settlement agreement provides for the creation, endorsement and funding of an independent franchisee association; a retraining program for franchisees; annual benchmark studies by an independent third party to review costs of goods sold to franchisees; and an internal dispute resolution process for franchisee disputes.

Five Inducted Into Mass. Hospitality Hall of Fame
Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston was awash with heavy hitters from the hospitality industry at the 20th Annual Massachusetts Hospitality Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. This annual event is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and honors those individuals who have exhibited extraordinary dedication to the hospitality industry in Massachusetts. The 2009 inductees were Harvey Allen, Billy Costa, Donato & Filippo Frattaroli, and Jon Luther.
Mr. Allen serves as the president and CEO of M.S. Walker, Inc., producers and marketers of alcoholic beverages throughout the United States. Mr. Costa is a well-known entertainment personality, now on NECN’s TV Diner and also hosts a radio show on FM KISS 108.
Brothers Donato and Filippo Frattaroli were both honored for their service to the Boston area through their philanthropic endeavors and their restaurants, Ristorante Lucia and Fillippo Ristorante. They have made a commitment to keeping and strengthening relationships between Boston and their native Italy.
Mr. Luther, was named chief executive officer in 2003, chairman in 2006, and executive chairman in 2009. He has led Dunkin’ Brands through a complete transformation.

Food Service Latest Word…
Dunkin' Brands, Canton Mass., last week appointed Rich Emmett as senior vice president and general counsel. He will serve on the Dunkin' Brands Executive Leadership Team.Before joining Dunkin' Brands, Mr. Emmett was executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary Quiznos where he was responsible for the oversight of the legal department.

The National Restaurant Assn. annual survey of more than 1,800 professional chefs revealed that local sourcing of ingredients, sustainability and nutrition will be the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2010.

Carl Georigi, president of Platinum Dining Group was named 2009 Restauranteur of the Year by the Delaware Restaurant Assn.

C-STORE NEWS

NACS Launches Biggest Consumer Petition Drive
More than 8,000 convenience retail stores have signed up as part of the biggest consumer petition drive in American history, according to the National Assn. of Convenience Stores. . The goal of the petition drive is for retailers and their customers to tell Congress, “It’s time to reform unfair credit/debit card swipe fees.” This fall, 7-Eleven franchisees delivered nearly 1.7 million customer signatures to Congress — the largest number of signatures collected for a public policy issue in history — urging congressional leaders to “stop unfair credit card fees.”
Beginning Dec. 15, NACS is coordinating campaign to generate millions more signatures from convenience customers, encouraging Congress to reform unfair credit and debit card interchange, or “swipe,” fees
Both 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto and Alimentation Couche-Tard CEO Alain Bouchard, who led his company’s credit card interchange petition drive that collected 400,000-plus customer signatures at its Circle K stores, urged retailers to launch their own petition drive in their stores in a video introduced at the NACS Show in Las Vegas in late October. All of the materials retailers need to participate in the latest petition campaign are available free of charge at www.nacsonline.com/fightswipefees.

7-Eleven Targets Manhattan For Major Store Growth
7-Eleven, is expanding its presence in the New York metro area with a major focus on New York City, and Manhattan specifically.  7-Eleven is looking to open 100 stores in the next five years in Manhattan either by executing new leases or through its business conversion program (BCP).
Ideal sites for 7-Eleven are from 1,700 to 3,500 square feet in high foot-traffic locations that allow for 24-hour operation.  Under a company franchise arrangement, owners are invited to convert their existing business to a 7-Eleven store and become a 7-Eleven franchisee incorporating the company’s proprietary products, services, technology, and business processes.   Under 7-Eleven’s traditional franchise model, the company develops the store site and then franchises the business to a qualified candidate. Nearly 300 food and other products are sold under 7-Eleven’s private-label brand of 7-Select.

Data Security Boot Camp To Be Offered At PCATS Conference
The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) are hosting an intensive 1-1/2 day boot camp to streamline payment card industry (PCI) compliance for retailers that manage multiple stores. The data security boot camp is part of the data security track, held on Jan. 19-20, during the PCATS 2010 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
This boot camp will help merchants understand the compliance requirements accurately and get advice on various approaches they can take to achieve compliance. To obtain additional details, view the agenda or register for the CIO data security boot camp, visit www.pcats.org/ciobootcamp. 
Attendees will learn about PCI Compliance requirements, including deadlines, merchant levels and reporting.  According to PCATS officials, the real cost of a data breach is more than most retailers think—and they’re more at risk than they know. Merchants that do not comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) may be subject to fines, card replacement costs, costly forensic audits, and brand damage should a breach event occur.

C-Store Latest Word…
Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would delay making a decision on whether or not more ethanol could be mixed with gasoline to allow for more testing. In the past few weeks, the EPA has indicated its likely support for increasing the ethanol limit over the current 10 percent.

Rutter’s Farm Stores recently expanded its fresh-food menu to include turkey wings and sliders, which are available in its 36 stores that offer touch-screen ordering. Sliders are a hamburger or fried chicken patty served on a fresh-baked roll.

Sam Adams Breweries of Boston has launched the 2009 version of Utopias which is a strong, rich dark beer that is uncarbonated. The recommended pour is two-ounces meant to be savored like vintage port or a fine cognac. The limited distribution brew will now be available at select specialty beer and liquor stores.

NEW CHANNELS

Goya Foods Launches New State of the Art Facilities In Northeast and Midwest
Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic- owned food company in the United States, was joined by business, political and community leaders from Chicago, New Jersey and Pennsylvania last week to mark historic events for the company.
The ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Bollingbrook, Ill., and Pedricktown, N.J. officially launched Goya's enhanced presence in the Midwest and parts of the Mid and South Atlantic regions.
"We are adding more than one million square feet in distribution facilities and are staying on track for our global investment goals over the next five years," stated Peter Unanue, executive vice president of Goya Foods, "This expansion will enable Goya to effectively and efficiently continue to grow and distribute quality products to our customers and consumers." Goya, that will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2011, has procured additional acreage in both locations allowing for a total future expansion of 260,000 square feet underscoring the largest expansion and re-investment effort in the history of the company.
Goya Foods has increased its product line and is undergoing major improvements in production and expansion throughout the United States. They have significantly increased distribution and production capacity in nearly every market they serve including: Texas, Virginia, Spain, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, New York, and Chicago. In Miami, Florida Goya will soon break ground for a 335,000 square foot packaging and distribution facility scheduled for completion in 2011.

Conn. AG Takes CVS To Court Over Outdated Food and Medicine
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced last week he is he is bringing suit against CVS Pharmacy for allegedly selling food, beverages and over the counter medications past their expiration dates at 20 or more of its Connecticut stores. Blumenthal filed the lawsuit in cooperation with Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr.
The lawsuit potentially seeks significant monetary penalties for violations of the state consumer protection laws as well as an order barring CVS from selling products with passed expiration dates.
Expired items, allegedly sold by CVS, include cough and allergy medicines, baby formula and antacids, as well as energy drinks and dairy products such as milk, eggs and yogurt. Office of Attorney General investigators found the expired products in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

Wal-Mart Agrees to Record $40 Million Wage Settlement In Massachusetts
Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $40 million to as many as 87,500 of its current and former employees in Massachusetts in what is the largest wage-and-hour class action settlement in the state's history.
The class action lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2001, accused the retailer of denying workers rest and meal breaks; refusing to pay overtime and manipulating time cards to lower employees' pay.
Under the terms of the deal, any person who worked for Wal-Mart, between August 1995 and the settlement date will receive a payment between $400 and $2,500 depending on the number of years worked, with the average worker receiving a check for $734.
Atty. Robert Bonsignore said "Today is a great day for all Massachusetts Wal-Mart employees and for Wal-Mart, which acted in the best interest of their employees and served as an example to others. “

New Channels Latest Word…
According to the National Retail Federation, more people spent less over the Black Friday Weekend (the weekend following Thanksgiving). According to research from the NRF, 195 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million last year. However, the average spending dropped to $343.31 per person from $372.57 a year ago.

Native Waters of Fall River Mass., is launching a new sustainable bottled water that makes minimum impact on the environment. The water is bottled in Enso bottles, a recyclable and biodegradable plastic bottle.