FOODSERVICE NEWS

NRA Looks For Key Provisions On Health Care Reform Bill
As Congress begins to resolve the differences between the House and Senate passed versions of health care reform, the National Restaurant Association is working on three key provisions for the restaurant industy. Dawn Sweeney, president and chief executive officer of the NRA said,” While we did not seek this legislation, by staying at the table rather than being locked out of discussions, we secured significant positive adjustments to the Senate version of the bill.
She said the NRA needs membership help to push Congress to maintain in the final legislation the part-time worker exemption, the small business exemption, and the current regulatory framework for large, multi-state employers. 
The NRA is also urging members of Congress to include these essential provisions: the definition of full-time employee must be modified to consider the fluctuations in scheduling by defining a full-time employee as one who works 390 hours over a calendar quarter. (13 weeks) The Senate-passed bill currently defines a full-time employee as “with respect to any month, an employee who is employed on average at 30 hours of service per week.” The NRA is seeking a 90-day waiting period as the Senate-passed bill includes a 60-day period. According to the NRA, a 90-day waiting period is necessary to account for the heavy administrative burdens the legislation would impose.

New York’s Tavern On the Green Prepares For Auction
Tavern On The Green, New York City’s landmark restaurant, shut its doors with its final seating on New Year's Eve and an auction of the restaurant’s assets will be held on Jan. 13-15.
Arlan Ettinger, founder and president of Guernsey's Auction House, said: "Although we are saddened that the era of the late Tavern on the Green owner Warner LeRoy is coming to an end, it is comforting to know his vision will live on in the homes and businesses of others.: Thousands of extraordinary items including: Baccarat chandeliers, Tiffany stained glass murals and chandeliers, etched glass mirrors, copper weathervanes, silver candelabras, place settings and other treasures from this extraordinary New York City institution will be auctioned to the public on Jan. 13-15.

GBFB & Area Culinary Figures Promote Super Hunger Month
The Greater Boston Food Bank has designated January as 2010 Super Hunger Month. Chefs Ming Tsai, Jody Adams and Harpoon Brewery’s Liz Melby, will present three epicurean fundraising events, Between Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, a Super Hunger Online Challenge will be held. Culinary -themed packages will be auctioned online with all proceeds benefitting the food bank. The Super Hunger Chef Challenge will be held Jan. 21 from to 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Former Food & Wine “Best New Chef” winners Barbara Lynch of Barbara Lynch Gruppo, Michael Leviton of Lumiere and Rialto’s Jody Adams will judge Food & Wine’s recent class of “Best New Chef” winners, including Gabriel Bremer of Salts and Mary Dumont of Harvest. The chef challenge will be hosted at the Four Seasons, 200 Boylston St., by its Executive Chef Brooke Vosika. On Jan. 30 & 31, Greater Boston’s restaurants will participate in The Greater Boston Food Bank’s signature event – Super Hunger Brunch – where restaurants donate 100 percent of their proceeds from that day’s brunch service with some restaurants also donating server gratuities.   Most restaurants offer priced fixed menus ranging from $25 to $50/person.  For more information on these events, visit www.superhungermonth.org

Food Service Latest Word…
The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Assn and EPA Energy Star are sponsoring a free webinar “Best Practices For Hotel Energy Management” which will take place on Jan. 7 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

McDonald’s plans to provide free WiFI at 11,000 of its 14,000 USA locations in mid-January.

Dave & Buster’s plans to open its first Massachusetts location at the South Shore Plaza in late 2010.

Jon Luther, chairman of Dunkin’ Brands will be the keynote speaker of the Int’l Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York on March 1 at 1 p.m.

C-STORE NEWS

First Woman Chosen To Lead NECSA As President
Cathy Barber, Connecticut sales manager for Leonard E. Belcher, Inc, has been elected to serve as the 2010 president of the Board of Directors for the New England Convenience Store Association (NECSA). She is the first female President of NECSA and has served on NECSA’s Board of Directors since 2003. From 2007-2009, she served as the association’s vice president.
Ms. Barber has been working for Leonard E. Belcher, Inc., since 1993. She has worked in the gasoline business all her life, having grown up helping in her father's service stations in Brockton, Massachusetts. Leonard E. Belcher, Inc., is a multi-branded gasoline distributor and convenience store operator based in Springfield, Massachusetts. She has worked for over 30 years for major oil companies or gasoline distributors as well as operated her own convenience store with gasoline. NECSA also voted to elect Vern Johnson as NECSA vice president. Mr. Johnson has served on NECSA’s Board of Directors for the last three years and is vice president of operations for Honey Farms, Inc. Frank Carideo, division manager of sales and marketing for Crossmark , was re-elected NECSA treasurer.

NACS Leader Teri Richman Passes Away
Teri Richman, 54, veteran convenience industry leader and long time staffer of the National Assn. Of Convenience Stores (NACS), passed away on Saturday, Dec. 19 after a long fight with cancer.
Over the course of her 20-plus years at NACS, Ms. Richman was involved in nearly every major industry issue and initiative, from defeating beer-gas bans in the mid-1980s, to improving store security in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to introducing technology standards in the mid-1990s, to fighting outrageous credit card fees with the founding of the Merchants Payments Coalition in 2005.
“Teri was a committed risk taker, advocate, researcher and educator, and our industry is significantly better off as a result of her insight and tireless commitment,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour. “She will be greatly missed.”
Ms. Richman was an avid student and supporter of technology. She was an integral player in NACS’ technology standards effort, including the POS-Back Office interoperability demonstration at NACStech 2002, where NACS members saw standards in action for the first time. Before her illness, she was working with a group supporting fair and equitable health-care reform.

P.M. USA Brings Suit To Stop Counterfeit Cigarette Sales
Philip Morris USA recently filed lawsuits against 10 retailers selling counterfeit versions of the company’s Marlboro brand cigarettes in New York and New Jersey.
“The New York metropolitan area continues to be a lucrative market for counterfeit and contraband cigarette smugglers,” said Joe Murillo, vice president and associate general counsel, Altria Client Services, speaking on behalf of PM USA. “High excise taxes, coupled with New York State’s lack of effective tax enforcement, only makes the problem worse,” added Mr. Murillo.In addition to violating many trademark laws, counterfeit cigarettes are almost always sold without the appropriate federal and state excise tax. The counterfeit cigarettes purchased from the retailers named in the suits bore no tax stamp or a counterfeit tax stamp. As a result, the applicable excise taxes were not paid.
“The sale of untaxed cigarettes harms legitimate wholesale and retail businesses and costs New York and New Jersey needed tax revenues that could be used to support essential public services,” said Mr. Murillo. “Estimates vary, but New York could be collecting hundreds of millions of tax dollars on cigarettes sold to non-tribal members through Native American reservation outlets. Effective tax collection could also help stabilize the legitimate cigarette distribution channel in New York, which is increasingly under attack from counterfeit and contraband cigarette smuggling,” said Mr. Murillo.

C-Store Latest Word…
The Greater Boston area and Tedeschi Food Shops were shocked to learn of the death of a convenience store clerk Surendra Dangoi who was shot at a Tedeschi Food Shop in Jamaica Plain. He was shot in a robbery around 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26. Tedeschi Food Shops issued a statement which said, “We at Tedeschi Foods Shops are deeply saddened by the loss of Surendra Dangoi as the result of this senseless act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this very difficult time.” Police have released photos from the store’s security camera which have aired on Greater Boston television stations.

Rutter’s Farm Stores recently opened its newest store, at 14 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Stewartstown, York County Pa. The 5,750-square-foot store is the first Rutter’s to make use of skylights that will reduce the need for artificial lighting. The 19 skylights complement a white roof, which will keep the building cooler while reducing energy demand. The store has energy-saving triple-glazed windows and all-LED exterior lights.

Cumberland Farms stores offered free coffee to its customers from 5 p.m. Dec. 31 to 5 a.m. on Jan. 1. The free coffee was available to all Cumberland Farms stores across the Northeast and Florida except for those with Dunkin’ Donuts service.

NEW CHANNELS

Kehe Food Distributors Acquires Tree of Life
Kehe Food Distributors of Romeoville, Ill., has signed an agreement to purchase Tree of Life, a natural and organic food distributor of St. Augustine Fla., for $190 million from owner Royal Wessanen N.V of the Netherlands.
Earlier in the year, Wessanen announced it would start shopping its North American businesses which operates out of Canada and the U.S.
Three of Life currently operates 10 distribution centers in the U.S. and three in Canada. Kehe is a major distributor of specialty, gourmet and ethnic products to retail stores of all sizes in the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean. The acquisition will give Kehe a strong entrance in the Canadian market. Wessanen will use the proceeds to support growth of its European businesses. The executive management of Tree of Life is expected to stay and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.

FDA Disputes Nestle’ SA On Health Claims On Some Children’s Beverages
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently sent Nestle; SA a letter disputing health claims marketed by Nestle’ for some of its Juicy Juice and Boost Children’s Beverages. The agency is asking Nestle’ to take prompt action to rectify claims The FDA said Nestle made unauthorized nutrient content claims about Juicy Juice Brain Development Fruit Juice Beverage (Apple), Juicy Juice All Natural 100 Percent Juice Orange Tangerine and Juice Juice All Natural 100 Percent Juice Grape. The FDA said the company used the statement “no sugar added,” on the brain development drink. That type of claim is not permitted for foods intended for children under two years old.
For the Boost Kid Essentials Nutritionally Complete Drink, the label and website contains language which promotes the beverage as medical food but does not meet requirements for that type of claim.

New Chairman of Whole Foods Named; New Non-Profit Group Contest Announced
After years of petitions by a shareholder group of Whole Foods, John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive officer is giving up his title as chairman to John Elstrott. Mr. Mackey has held the position since the company’s inception in 1978. In other news, Whole Foods is encouraging customers to declare “This is my year to...,” choosing a food related mantra that best describes their aspiration for the coming year. Whole Foods hopes to raise awareness for three selected non-profit organizations. Each group will receive $10,000 donation and the non-profit with the most votes will receive an additional $10,000.Throughout January fans can vote for their favorite mantra.

New Channels Latest Word…
Procter & Gamble Co. has voluntarily recalled its Vicks DayQuil Cold and Flu 24-Count LiquiCaps Bonus pack in the U.S. P&G said it is taking the action because the product does not contain a child-resistant backing for the blister packs in the box despite label statements that the product is in child-resistant packaging.

Three News England organic food producers recently raised money to help support small farms. Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt, along with Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs and Barowsky Organic Bread sponsored the Organic Breakfast Bar at the recent Head of the Charles Regetta in Boston. Proceeds ($3,200) went to the Carrot Project a Boston area nonprofit that creates financing solutions for small and mid-sized farms and limited resource farms and those using ecologically sound practices.