FOODSERVICE NEWS

Restaurant Performance Index Posted First Gain in Three Months
The outlook for the restaurant industry improved somewhat in July, as the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity registered its first gain in three months. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 98.1 in July, up 0.3 percent from its June level. “Although restaurant operators continue to report soft same-store sales and customer traffic levels, they are more optimistic about improving conditions in the months ahead,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research and Information Services for the Association. “Restaurant operators reported a positive six-month economic outlook, and the proportion expecting higher sales rose to its highest level in three months.”
The July uptick in the index was the result of an improvement in restaurant operators’ outlook for both sales growth and the overall economy in the months ahead. Thirty-one percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), up from just 24 percent who reported similarly last month. In comparison, 33 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, matching the proportion who reported similarly in the previous two months.

N.H. Restaurants, PF NorthCenter Promote 'Live Free and Dine; Campaign'
The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association (NHLRA) is joining forces with Performance Foodservice - NorthCenter to promote New Hampshire restaurants. A major distributor of groceries and supplies for foodservice establishments, Performance Foodservice - NorthCenter has co-branded a tractor trailer delivery truck with the slogan “Live Free and Dine. You Deserve It”. “We’ll be sending the truck on different delivery routes each day,” said Bill Bolton, Vice President of Sales for Performance Foodservice - NorthCenter. “Today Concord, tomorrow the White Mountains, next week the Mount Washington Valley. The goal is to remind locals and visitors in all corners of the state that dining out is a valuable part of the New Hampshire experience.”Performance Foodservice – NorthCenter, a broadline food distributor that services New Hampshire, Boston’s North Shore and Maine, maintains a strategic partnership in the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association.

Burger King, ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston To Launch Retail Fries
Burger King Corp. has entered into a licensing arrangement with ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston whereby Lamb Weston will introduce a retail line of crispy and flavorful microwaveable Burger King branded french fries that will hit shelves of select retailers, including Wal-Mart, this fall. 
King Krinkz, seasoned crinkle-cut fries, will be the first to market in early September, soon followed by King Kolossalz , extra-large fries, and King Wedgez , seasoned potato wedges. The price point for each 4.5-ounce box will vary among retailers. With a quick rip of the top after the microwave, the box becomes an easily transportable container reminiscent of Burger King Corp.’s signature FRYPOD® container.

Food Service Latest Word…
The Mass. Restaurant Assn. last summer outing is Monday, Sept. 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Tavern on the Water, in Boston’s Charlestown Shipyard.

More than 200 foodservice members of the American Culinary Federation of Long Island will meet Sept. 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the Melville, N.Y. The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Ass. Has announced an upcoming webinar on social media on Sept. 24 from 1 to 2:30 pm., presented by Jason Blais of JobsinNH. Com. The webinar will address the various differences and similarities among the social media options of Twitter, Face book, MySpace, and LinkedIn. For more information, contact Jennifer Ruffing at the NHLRA at 603-228-9585.

D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches President Rick Wolfe presented a check for more than $86,000 at the recent WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon.

C-STORE NEWS

Tobacco Companies Challenge Federal Tobacco Act
Several tobacco manufacturers and one specialty tobacco retailer filed suit last week in federal court in Bowling Green, Kentucky, challenging the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 on First Amendment grounds. The law, passed by Congress in June, granted the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory oversight over tobacco products and limited the types of tobacco marketing that companies can engage The companies filing suit include Conwood Company, Commonwealth Brands, Discount Tobacco City & Lottery, Lorillard, National Tobacco Company and R.J. Reynolds. 
“This suit does not challenge Congress’ decision to give the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products, nor does it challenge the vast majority of the provisions of the new law,” said Martin L. Holton III, senior vice president and general counsel for R.J. Reynolds. “However, the law contains provisions that severely restrict the few remaining channels we have to communicate with adult tobacco consumers and, in our opinion, cannot be justified on any basis consistent with the demands of the First Amendment.”
Mr. Holton adds, “The law also contains provisions that chill our ability to participate in the broader public policy dialogue over the future of tobacco products in this country. Reynolds believes that governments, public health officials, tobacco manufacturers and others can and should play a role in providing adult tobacco consumers with accurate information about the various health risks and comparative risks associated with the use of different tobacco and nicotine products. This suit seeks to confirm that Reynolds’ ability to participate in that important dialogue has not been shut down.”

BP Products To Expand In New England
BP Products North America plans to expands its retail brand presence in New England as a result of a new supply agreement with fuel distributor Green Valley LLC. BP plans to rebrand 246 Getty stations in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Of that amount, 27 units are located in the greater Providence area, Green Valley Oil is located in E. Providence, R.I. BP currently operates more than 10,000 U.S. stations easy of the Rocky Mountains and an additional 2,000 stations on the West Coast, under its Arco brand.

Rutter’s Breaks Ground on Most Environmentally Store Yet
Rutter’s Farm Stores has broken ground on a second location in Stewartstown, York County, Pa. that will be its biggest and most environmentally friendly store yet. The 5,750-square-foot store is expected to open in December on the site of a former parking lot.
The new store will be the first Rutter’s to make use of skylights – 19 of them – that will reduce the need for artificial lighting. The skylights will complement a white roof, which will keep the building cooler while reducing energy demand.
In a couple of other Rutter’s firsts, the store will have energy-saving triple-glazed windows and all-LED exterior lights. Rutter’s recently became the first convenience store chain to join 32 other retail organizations in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Retailer Energy Alliance, whose mission is to promote the energy-efficient design and operation of retail locations.
The 24-hour store will have 20 fueling positions (including four that also will offer diesel) in front and two dedicated diesel islands in back, as well as an all-glass, two-bay automatic car wash. The store will feature Rutter’s latest foodservice offerings, including a recently introduced dinner menu and kids meal; custom stir fry and fajitas; and fresh-baked sub and ciabatta rolls. A premium-coffee island, touch-screen ordering, seating for 15, public restrooms, and a surcharge-free M&T Bank ATM are among the other amenities.

C-Store Latest Word…
Alimentation Couche Tard announced first quarter financials which saw same store merchandise sales increase 2.4 percent in the U.S. and same store motor fuel volume increase by 1.6 percent in the U.S. Alain Bouchard, president and chief executive officer said while first quarter results were satisfying, he is not ready to say the recession “is behind us.”

The New York City Health Dept. has begun campaigns on the dangers of drinking soda and ads will appear on subway cars by the end of the year. The message of the ad campaign is that when one drinks extra calories, the calories will be store das fat.

Doswell Ventures, an affiliate of Woodfin Oil Co of Va,. is purchasing 25 Virginia stores from Exxon Mobil.

NEW CHANNELS

FDA Opens New Registry Electronic Portal For Food Safety Info.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new way to head off potential cases of food borne illness - the Reportable Food Registry (RFR) , which food industry officials must use to alert the FDA quickly, through an electronic portal when they find their products might sicken people or animals. The requirement, a result of legislation, took effect with the launch of the portal.
Facilities that manufacture, process or hold food for consumption in the United States now must tell the FDA within 24 hours if they find a reasonable probability that an article of food will cause severe health problems or death to a person or an animal.
The reporting requirement applies to all foods and animal feed regulated by the FDA, except infant formula and dietary supplements, which are covered by other regulatory requirements.
Some examples of reasons a food may be reportable include bacterial contamination, allergen mislabeling or elevated levels of certain chemical components.
The requirements apply to any person who has to submit registration information to the FDA for a food facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for human or animal consumption in the United States. These people are termed responsible parties. For more information, log onto www.fda.gov/reportablefoodregistry.

Unilever, TOMRA Launch Front Of The Store Promotion Program Using Recycling Machines
TOMRA, of North America and Unilever have announced a unique four-week promotion that will utilize TOMRA's consumer recycling machines as front-of-store advertising and couponing vehicles at supermarkets in the Los Angeles and New York metro areas. The promotion aims to distribute coupons for Lever 2000 soap packs to customers who return recyclable beverage containers to "reverse vending" recycling machines.
The program, which runs throughout September, provides the only coupon distribution method that is linked to a sustainability initiative. On the East Coast, the 100-store program will focus primarily in the metro New York City area - at A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaums, Food Emporium, Shoprite and
King Kullen. In southern New England, participating supermarkets include Shaw's.
Warren Stoll, TOMRA's vice president of marketing and business development added, "As customers
deposit their used plastic, glass or aluminum beverage containers in a TOMRA reverse vending machine, the machine will print a dollar-off coupon for Unilever's Lever 2000 soap. Consumers who receive product coupons on their way into a store are more likely to use the coupon."

Coca Cola, Sodexo Form Electronics Recycling Effort
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is partnering with Sodexo,, an integrated facilities management services company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and Gazelle the nation’s largest online consumer electronics reCommerce service, to launch a special trade in and recycle program.
From August 31 through October 2, employees at Sodexo-managed office buildings and hospital cafés across the country can go to coke.gazelle.com to trade in items from 20 electronics categories. For their trade-ins, customers may receive cash or donate to charitable organizations, such as: The Ocean Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity, Keep America Beautiful and the Sodexo Foundation to STOP Hunger. For more information on how customers can participate in the trade in and recycle program, visit coke.gazelle.com.  

New Channels Latest Word…
One of the largest New England Whole Foods stores opened at Legacy Place last week in Dedham, Mass. The 60,000 square food market is the 20th in Massachusetts for the Texas chain. The store has one of the chain’s largest selections of organic produce and one of the largest bulk food sections. It is the third Mass. location to sell beer and wine. The Dedham store will be the first in the region to launch Whole Foods new healthy eating initiative which flags nutritional l food.

Sodexoplans to source all of its contracted wild-caught seafood purchases from the Marine Stewardship Council fisheries by 2015.

Wakefern is testing a new item portal intended to eliminate paper forms and manual keypunching for suppliers bringing new items to market.