Fred “Biff” Bearden, a partner with E-Source Inc. of Irving, Texas, passed away on March 17. He was 58. Bearden worked for his father’s business, Fred B. Bearden Co., Food Service Representatives, before launching his own company, B&L Marketing, in 1986. After selling the company in 2004, he became a partner with E-Source. Service have been…

PRIDE Marketing & Procurement hosted its annual marketing and sales conference in Denver in April. There, it presented its Dealer of Year Award to one of the buying group’s newer members, CuliQuip LLC. The kitchen equipment and design company has retail showrooms in Delaware and Maryland; its affiliated company, Zephyr Hardware, sells restaurant POS systems.

Thermo-Kool has named two new marketing agents. Carolina Foodservice Solutions, Raleigh, N.C., will represent the walk-in refrigeration maker in the Carolinas. Two-decade industry vets Frank Bonavita and George Greene are principal partners. TBA Sales, Lansing, Mich., takes on the Michigan territory. Principals David Lawrence and Chad Buckeles head up a team with more than 30…

Penn Jersey Paper has begun operations in its newly built 255,336 sq.-ft. headquarters and distribution center in northeast Philadelphia; the company says the building will receive official LEED Silver Certification by summer. The building is Penn Jersey’s first new facility since it was founded by the Furia family in 1963. The full-line packaging, paper and…

How often have you heard people talk about “leading from the front”? The idea pops up all the time, a popular platitude among consultants and seminar lecturers and self-help gurus of all kinds. It’s a thing we can all agree on, in theory, but how many leaders really do it? Not enough. Most higher-echelon executives,…

It’s a year of anniversaries for many manufacturers and dealers. Among the celebrants is U.S. Cooler, now marking its 25th year manufacturing walk-in coolers and freezers. The family-owned company, a division of Craig Industries, produces custom cold storage equipment. U.S. Cooler is based in Quincy, Ill., in a state-of-the-art, 58,000-sq.ft. plant two hours north of…

Fewer chain restaurants are opening in Utah, and the slowdown is a direct result of restrictive liquor laws that can force changes in floorplans and business models, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The newspaper reports that the state’s laws make it time-consuming and cost-prohibitive for national chains to open a restaurant there. The report…

An ordinance championed by outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and approved by the City Council’s License Committee would create a new licensing category for chefs who “time-share” commercial kitchens for catering businesses. Chicago is currently home to three shared kitchens, which rent out space to cooks and caterers who can’t afford the cost of opening…

Operators are getting a stronger voice on issues with the National Restaurant Association’s newly unveiled initiative. The Restaurant Advocacy Fund will help support and advocate on legislative and regulatory issues important to restaurants. The initiative builds on the success of the Save American Free Enterprise fund, which has raised and spent nearly $7 million since…

Yum! Brands announced its intent in late April to acquire all outstanding shares of Little Sheep, which owns and operates casual-dining hot-pot concept restaurants, primarily in Asia. Little Sheep, based in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, operates about 480 restaurants serving Mongolian hot pot, a cook-it-yourself concept in which customers cook meats and vegetables in broth at…