The future is now at the Wasserstrom Co. The Columbus, Ohio, dealer has opened a new, state-of-the-art IT data center to enhance and increase security for customer data and history. The 9,500-sq.-ft. facility is located two miles from Wasserstrom’s corporate headquarters. Nearly two-thirds of the building is devoted to housing all of the company’s servers,…

The Americas Division of the Foodservice Consultants Society Int’l. has named Wade Koehler as executive director. The U.S. division’s leadership unanimously approved 520 Consulting Inc., owned and operated by Koehler, to establish the association’s new America’s Division headquarters in Illinois. The division’s board also approved an agreement with Legge Executive Group to provide it with…

Ace Mart Restaurant presented the first-ever Norman Gustafson Partnership Award, named for its guiding light of more than three decades, to Mark Reilman of Gold Medal Products. The award was originated by Gustafson’s children, Norma, Paul and Carl—as a tribute to their late father, “Gus,” who purchased the San Antonio, Texas, dealership in 1975. He…

Parlour Enterprises expects to launch a new era of growth for the Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour family-dining brand. Mike Fleming, CEO of the Mission Viejo, Calif.-based company, said Parlour Enterprises plans to open two or three units in Southern California in 2011 and another three or four in 2012. A franchising program will likely begin…

Frozen dessert chain Tasti D-Lite is taking aim at the breakfast daypart. The 50-unit chain has bolstered its morning menu with such offerings as parfaits, fresh-baked goods and hot granola, as well as coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The breakfast items currently are in test at 20% of the system’s locations and are expected to…

New owners for Max & Erma’s: Denver-based Newport Fidelity Holdings has acquired the Columbus, Ohio, casual-dining chain, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall. Newport Fidelity, parent of Village Inn and Bakers Square family-dining brands, acquired Max & Erma’s for $28 million. The deal included leases for at least 51 corporate restaurants, 26…

Camille’s Sidewalk Café, part of Tulsa, Okla.-based Beautiful Brands Int’l., is paving the way for increased expansion in the Midwest with the recent appointment of a lead development agent for the region, Jason Lowman. Lowman, currently a Camille’s franchisee in Wisconsin, will serve as operations consultant for stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio…

Milestone time for Carl’s Jr., which recently opened its 500th dual-branded Green Burrito restaurant. The new restaurant, in Anaheim, Calif., is one of the chain’s greenest units, thanks to such features as Energy Star-approved kitchen equipment, a catalytic converter on the charbroiler to decrease emissions,  computer-operated electrical system to manage restaurant lighting and temperatures, solar…

In a marriage of burger and deli, Johnny Rockets and Halsted Street Deli have opened two combined restaurants in downtown Chicago. The new restaurants, which feature a wood-trimmed Halsted Street Deli on one side and the retro/modern Johnny Rockets on the other, feature walk-up registers and self-service beverage bars instead of the usual table-service model.…

Donuts for Egypt. That’s the goal of Beautiful Brands Int’l., which recently inked a deal with Egypt-based Vision Brands to franchise 25 Dixie Cream Donut Co. stores in that country over the next 15 years. The agreement represents BBI’s largest franchise agreement in Egypt and the first for Dixie Cream Donut. Egypt’s inaugural Dixie Cream…