Rapids Foodservice Contract & Design Co. has hired Steve Grosshans as a new contract sales manager in their St. Paul, Minn., office. Grosshans, who joined Rapids earlier this month, brings 27 years of experience with Superior Products and US Foods in their Minnesota location. Rapids also has offices in Marion, Iowa; Earth City, Mo.; and…

FEDA’s 2015 Convention kicks off a month from today at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix. Among the many educational and networking opportunities at the March 25-29 event are two panel discussions. The first will be held during FEDA’s annual members’ meeting on Thursday morning, March 26. The breakfast meeting is…

Last month, Middleby Corp. acquired the assets of Marsal & Sons Inc., a Lindenhurst, N.Y., manufacturer of deck ovens. Founded in 1969, the company has annual revenues of approximately $5 million. “Marsal has an outstanding reputation for quality and innovation with a broad product offering of deck, hearth-bake and brick-fired ovens,” said Selim Bassoul, Middleby’s…

The Wilbur Curtis Co., the family-owned maker of commercial coffee and tea brewing systems, has promoted two key executives. Kevin Curtis is the Montebello, Calif., firm’s new president and CEO; his brother, Michael Curtis, is the newly named executive v.p. The announcement was made by company chairman Bob Curtis. “Kevin has proven himself an invaluable…

Determining that its two divisions will be stronger as separate, autonomous companies, The Manitowoc Co. has announced it is splitting its Cranes and Foodservice businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies. The Manitowoc, Wis., company plans to carry out the separation through a tax-free spin-off of its foodservice business to be completed early next year.…

Carlos “Charlie” Rodriguez, a veteran of the foodservice service industry, has been hired by Heritage Foodservice Group as v.p.-U.S. service operations. Rodriguez will oversee the Fort Wayne, Ind., firm’s service operations in New Orleans, Oklahoma City and South Florida to enhance Heritage’s aftermarket footprint and strengthen relations with critical OEM partners in support of those…

Automated Equipment LLC, a Red Wing, Minn.-based maker of foodservice equipment such as automated French-fry makers and ice-cream-topping dispensers acquired neighboring Acrotech in January. “We are very excited by the addition of Acrotech to our product family. The focus on tools for safety, quality and productivity improvements fit right into our core competencies,” stated Richard…

James Walker, chief development officer at Johnny Rockets, has been promoted to president-operations and development at the Aliso Viejo, Calif., company. Walker, who joined the 330-unit chain in December 2013, will oversee development strategy, including construction, design and real estate, as well as domestic and international operations. Prior to joining Johnny Rockets, Walker was chief development…

Alto-Shaam will receive the 2015 Gas Foodservice Equipment Network Blue Flame Product of the Year Award for its CT PROformance 7-20 Combitherm oven during this week’s The NAFEM Show in Anaheim, Calif. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., manufacturer was honored for its ability to address leading commercial kitchen equipment challenges with advancements in speed, energy efficiency…

Ruby Restaurant Group is hoping to make a splash in the fast-casual market and add 20 franchises of its smaller “dinette-style” stores this year. The smaller units have half the footprint and half the startup costs of a standard Ruby’s Diner outlet. Ruby’s has been testing the 1960s-vibe dinette concept for about eight months in…