In a first for American restaurant chains, KFC has opened its debut unit in East Africa. The Nairobi outlet is the first American fast-food restaurant in the region’s most developed economy. The 100-seat unit opened in August. Creating a KFC unit in Kenya had been in the works for more than a year; it took…

Win-Holt Equipment Group has purchased Commercial Stainless Fabricators, located in Marietta, Ga. The acquisition gives Win-Holt the ability to offer refrigeration, heating, ventilation, customized millwork and woodwork and full on-site factory installation services. CSF’s 60,000-sq.-ft. facility will join operations with Win-Holt’s custom stainless steel fabrication arm. It will be supported by the Syosset, N.Y., manufacturer’s…

Wendy’s is moving back to its original Dublin, Ohio, headquarters, and testing four new restaurant designs in four American cities. Two new units in nearby Columbus are among the prototypes. “These new remodels are part of a multi-year strategy to reinvigorate our brand and the way our customers interact with us,” according to David Karam,…

Some years ago, at one of the big association meetings—might’ve been FEDA, or maybe NAFEM—one of the speakers made a really salient point about manufacturer competition. “We used to say my equipment competes with your equipment,” or something to that effect, the speaker said. “Now, we say my channel competes with your channel.” That’s a…

NAFEM’s Food Service Equipment Technical Advisory Group has received the 2011 division medal from Canadian Standards Association. The award recognizes a technical committee or technical advisory group for significant contributions made in the development and advancement of safe standards practices, both nationally and internationally. The group is led by Terry Wiseman, chief electrical engineer-gas and…

Luciano Berti, chairman of Ali S.p.A (

Who needs a desktop or a printed menu these days? Operators, dealers and specifiers and consultants are being freed from desktop devices with a wealth of apps and the devices they operate on. Sometimes that freedom doesn’t even have a price tag, since many apps are free of charge. Kochman Associates, for example, has released a…

Check your mailboxes, both electronic and snail, if you’re a member of the