Franke Foodservice Solutions, the Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturer, has selected 4 Star Representatives for its network of independent marketing agencies. The firm will provide full marketing and sales support throughout eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. The six-person firm is owned by Karen VanPelt-Higgins, a registered dietitian with more than 20 years of multiunit foodservice management…

Cian Hickey has been named Managing Director of Micro Matic Dispense Division. He succeeds John Soler, who has stepped into a new role as Senior Director-Strategic Partnerships. Micro Matic manufactures and supplies keg valves and dispensing equipment in more than 120 countries. Hickey, hired three years ago by the Brooksville, Fla., company, brings to the…

Domino’s Pizza is on the move, establishing a footprint in Italy and launching a delivery vehicle that includes a warming oven behind the driver’s door. The warming oven in Domino’s “DXP” car can hold two heat-retention bags and is accessible to drivers with the touch of a key fob. The vehicle’s interior includes both front…

Kahala Brands has acquired Maui Wowi, giving the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based franchisor its fourth smoothie brand. Terms of the deal, which expands Kahala’s smoothie footprint to more than 800 locations, were not disclosed. Denver-based Maui Wowi serves coffee and smoothies from 400 mobile carts and 29 standalone units and has 200 franchisees. Kahala operates smoothie chains…

Top awards and the unveiling of the new board capped events at the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management’s 36th Annual Conference, Oct. 28-30 in New Orleans. More than 400 people attended the meeting, which focused on the future of corporate foodservice and workplace hospitality and showcased educational seminars for professional development and industry issues.…

Austin, Texas, is the place to be in January if you are a multiunit operator or foodservice equipment specifier. The lists of speakers and presentations are set, registrations and sponsors are signing up, and there are dozens of networking and educational opportunities available at FER’s Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium, Jan. 23-25 at the Omni Barton Creek…

The Manitowoc Co., parent of Manitowoc Foodservice, has named board member Kenneth Krueger as Interim Chairman, President and CEO, succeeding Glen Tellock in those posts. Hubertus Muehlhaeuser remains as CEO of Manitowoc Foodservice, which the company had previously announced will be spun off in the first quarter of 2016. Additionally, John Stewart has been appointed…

Arby’s is opening a store in Manhattan, not too far away from Chick-fil-A’s first full-service outpost in the city. Arby’s last had a presence in New York in 2008, when it closed a store in the Manhattan Mall food court. The new store will debut this month in Midtown. The 3,400-unit chain is on a…

After a couple months of tepid jobs growth, the U.S. economy added 271,000 net new payroll jobs in October, according to the latest employment report released Nov. 6 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate also fell slightly to 5%. In addition, the BLS revised up the number of jobs created in August…

The annual New York hotel show, rebranded this year as HX: The Hotel Experience, ran Nov. 8-10 at the Javits Center in New York City. It comes as the hotel business in the U.S. market is booming. According to the real estate investment and research firm Marcus & Millichamp, based in Calabasas, Calif., average hotel…