FOODSERVICE NEWS

NRA Presents Top Community Service Award To Alex Ray of Common Man
The National Restaurant Association last week named Alex Ray, owner of The Common Man Family of Restaurants in Ashland, N.H., this year's Cornerstone Humanitarian as part of the association's Restaurant Neighbor Awards. The award, along with a $5,000 donation to his designated cause, Webster Place Recovery Center in Franklin, N.H., was presented to Ray during an award ceremony in Washington, D.C.
National Restaurant Association President and CEO Dawn Sweeney said Mr. Ray has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to serving his community, helping friends and neighbors, and giving back to those in need. “Perhaps most admirable is that Alex passes on this sense of community to the employees of his restaurants, encouraging each of them to participate in service projects,” she said.
Specific work highlighted in the award ceremony was Mr. Ray’s purchase of the endangered Daniel Webster homestead in Franklin, N.H. where he formed the non-profit Webster Place Recovery Center, a residential treatment facility for drug and alcohol dependency. Also noted was the 38-year dedication of Ray's Common Man family of restaurants and its more than 1,000 employees to hundreds of fundraisers and company-wide community-service events like spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts, and catered meals for non-profit associations and fundraisers. Ray reimburses employees at his 17 restaurants for community service and allows them to choose their projects. He’s also assisting with the construction of a cooking school in Honduras.

Cecilware Acquires Grindmaster Corp.
Cecilware Corp, has acquired Grindmaster Corp. a global beverage equipment company. The combined entity will be known as Grindmaster-Cecilware Corp. Grindmaster’s brands and product lines include: Grindmaster’s Coffee Grinders, Crathco’s Cold and Frozen Beverage Dispensers, Espressimo Espresso Machines, and Precision Brew Coffee Brewers & Coffee Urns.
Richard Moore, chief executive officer of the new Grindmaster-Cecilware group said, the addition of Grindmaster will mark a pivotal step in the history of the company. The combined company will have ith locations in New York, Kentucky, Illinois, and Thailand, and over 375 employees. Company officials said with the demand for beverage products increasing dramatically throughout the foodservice industry, especially in the convenience store segment, the combined company will aggressively pursue new and innovative product.

Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival Honors Jacques Pépin and Joanne Weir
Food & Wine magazine and American Public Television (APT) will sponsor the fourth annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival set for Sept. 25-27. The festival is set in the historic mansions of the legendary Vanderbilt family, The Breakers and Marble House—in the seaside resort of Newport, R.I.
Celebrity chefs, Jacques Pépin and Joanne Weir, will be featured through the weekend. Also appearing in the Celebrity Chef Cooking Tent over the weekend will be Chef David Burke of David Burke Prime at Foxwoods and Townhouse in New York, as well as other culinary experts. The Saturday and Sunday Grand Tastings will feature more than 100 of the world's finest wineries pouring 400-plus wines for tasting. The Celebrity Chef Cooking Tent will also feature free demonstrations by Annie Copps of Yankee Magazine, For more information, log onto www.NewportMansions.org.

Food Service Latest Word…
“Small Plates Equals Big Profits” leads the opening of the Mass. Restaurant Assn. Fall Education Seminar Series on Sept. 30 at Tastings Wine and Bistro at Patriot Place in Foxboro, Mass. Last week the National Restaurant Assn and the U.S. Centers For Disease Control have come up with suggestions that food service operators can implement to help control the spread of the virus. For more information log onto www..restaurant.org/fluinfo.

The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Assn. will sponsor a a social media webinar on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 1 to 2:30 pm. To register, call Jennifer at 603-228-9585 or email her at jruffing@nhlra.com.

Chock Full O’Nuts plans to open its first full service restaurant in New York City.

C-STORE NEWS

N.Y. Court Order Freezes Tobacco Reg. Fee at $100 Per Store, For Now
New York Assn. of Convenience Stores (NYACS) Chairman Michael Newman announced last week that in a lawsuit filed by NYACS and its allies, State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Feinman issued a temporary restraining order barring the state Tax Department from implementing -- for now -- the astronomical increase in retail tobacco registration fees for convenience stores. This permits retailers to file their 2010 registration renewal forms with the Tax Department with payment of the old fee of $100 per store. It is understood this is only a temporary ruling and if the court ultimately decides a permanent ruling, the retailer will have to pay the higher fee. NYACS attorneys expect a final decision after December. NYACS President Jim Calvin said the ruling allows the organization time to lobby the New York Legislature to pass a NYACS-backed bill that would roll back the fee hike to a more reasonable level.
NYACS attorneys advise that retailers should now proceed with filing the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance Form DTF-719-MN, known as Renewal Application for the Registration of Retail Dealers and Vending Machines for Sales of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products, with a $100-per-store flat fee by the September 21 deadline.

FDA To Enforce Flavored Cigarette Ban
Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products sent an open letter to the tobacco industry reminding them that cigarettes “containing certain characterizing flavors are considered adulterated under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA).
“The FSPTCA…establishes a tobacco product standard special rule for cigarettes that states in part…a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.
“As of the September 22, 2009, effective date, cigarettes and their component parts that fail to comply with the special rule established under section 907 are deemed adulterated under section 902 of the Act. Under the Act, adulterated products sold or held for sale in the United States may be subject to seizure under section 304 of the Act. In addition, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may be subject to injunction actions, civil money penalties, and/or criminal prosecution for violating the requirements of the Act. The FDA intends to use the full range of enforcement tools within the agency’s authority to ensure compliance with the new requirement.”

PCATS Hosts Industry Wide Meeting on Data Security Standards
The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) last week hosted a kick-off meeting of a newly established Data Security Standards Committee to address and resolve security-related issues specific to the petroleum convenience retail channel “The preliminary meeting of the PCATS Data Security Standards Committee will ascertain the industry’s key data security drivers, establish short-term committee goals and lay out a plan to meet their objectives to help position members in the forefront of data security-related issues,” said Bob Sleeper director of technology of The Rutter’s Companies who also serves as the PCATS Implementation Committee Chair.
The PCATS Data Security Standards Committee will inpart provide the industry with a technical focal point on data security and data security standards/mandate and keep the industry informed of Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) initiatives and provide clear guidance on best practices and deadlines.

C-Store Latest Word…
The judge in the New York Bottle Bill case issued a new ruling last week that said the state capture of unredeemed deposits was not intended to be retroactive. Harold Levinson Associates has announced its 2009 Fall Buying Show will be held Nov. 12 at the Westchester County Center, White Plains, N.Y. For more information log onto www.hladist.com. or contact Annette Sanchez at 1-631-962-2400, ext. 1125.

Publix recently opened its 13th gas station and convenience stores in Florida to attract the non-Publix customer to shop at Publix supermarkets.

Interstate Brands, owners of Hostess Cupcakes, is celebrating the product’s 90th anniversary.

NEW CHANNELS

Natural Products Expo East Show Comes To Boston This Week
The next big event of the natural products industry is the Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America set for Sept. 23-26 the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC).
Newsworthy additions at Expo East 2009 include the following:
World Tea East. The new regional conference and pavilion will be co-located at Expo East, and will host the World Tea Championship Winners Tasting on the evening of Sept. 23.
Urban Farm Tour: This year’s new farm tour visits Garden Girl Farms, a sustainable urban farm in the heart of Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist and award-winning author as keynote speaker.
Education and events are Wednesday through Satuday, Sept. 23-26. Show floor hours are Thursday and Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm.. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more info, logo onto www.expoeast.com.

Mass. Family-Business Honorees Announced
Food companies such as Kelly’s Roast Beef, Kayem Foods, AGAR, and Catania Spagna are among this year’s finalists for the Mass. Family Business Awards.The awards are given out by the Family Business Association Inc., an independent, nonprofit which recognized family businesses statewide. This year the association received more than 200 nominations from which it narrowed the field to 16 finalists in three categories. Entries were judged by officials from Suffolk and Clark universities. The awards will be given out Oct. 15 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.
Food and hospitality finalists include the following:
Mid-Sized Business Category – 51 to 250 employees
Kelly’s Roast Beef – a restaurant chain headquartered in Saugus, Mass.
Lafrance Hospitality – a Westport, Mass. based functions and hotel services provider
Catania-Spagna Corp., an olive oil provider located in Ayer, Mass.
Large Business Category – 251-plus employees
AGAR – a food distribution company located in Taunton
Kayem Foods – a meat processing company located in Chelsea

Retail Sales Post First Monthly Increase
In spite of the “Cash for Clunkers” program taking money away from traditional retail, companies still managed month-to-month gains in August.  August retail sales released by the U.S. Commerce Department show total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased a solid 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted from the previous month but declined 5.9 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
Sales at electronics and appliance stores increased 1.1 percent seasonally adjusted over July and decreased 10.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Clothing and clothing accessory stores sales increased 2.4 percent adjusted from the previous month and decreased 5.9 percent unadjusted from last year.
Health and personal care store sales also saw solid increases with sales increasing 0.4 seasonally adjusted from last month and 2.7 percent unadjusted over last August. Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores sales increased 2.3 percent adjusted over last month and decreased 1.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

New Channels Latest Word…
A&P Waldbaums is offering free flu shots to those who purchased $100 worth of health and beauty care products excluding baby items. Those who meet the $100 requirement by Oct. 29 get a free flu shot that can be redeemed when another person purchases a flu shot for $30.

A federal appeals court has ruled the city of San Francisco can ban drugstores from selling tobacco as it rejected an argument by tobacco companies that a ban violated a constitutional right to free speech.

Toys ‘R” Us plan to open nearly 350 Holiday Express toy locations in malls and shopping across the country by early October.