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For the first time in three years, a majority of operators reported they plan to make a capital purchase during the next six months, according to the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index data for February. The component for such intentions reached a 40-month high at 100.4, with 52% of those surveyed saying they plan…

Wood Stone Corp. founders Keith Carpenter and Harry Hegarty are taking on new posts—Carpenter as CEO, and Hegarty as COO—and passing on some day-to-day management responsibilities to company veterans. Kurt Eickmeyer has been named president-sales and marketing and Wade Bobb president-engineering, manufacturing and IT. Phil Eaton will assume Eickmeyer’s former role as v.p.-sales and marketing. Jackie…

When our April 5 FER Dealer Report came out, the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association had just concluded its 2011 Convention in Phoenix. Here’s a recap and a bit of news we couldn’t fit in that issue. Outgoing FEDA Pres. Kimberley Gill Rimsza of TriMark Gill Marketing, Phoenix, passed the presidential reins to Stephen McGarry, president…

Meeting season is at its peak for dealer buying groups and associations. A quick roundup: Excell Marketing Group’s Annual Buying Conference is next week, April 25-30 in San Diego. Int’l. Foodservice Equipment Distributors (IFED) just wrapped up its Spring Conference, April 11-13 in Dallas. National Equipment & Supply Association (NESA) held its Spring Member Meeting…

Canadian dealers Hendrix Hotel & Restaurant Equipment & Supplies Ltd. and Longo Food Service Equipment have signed an agreement to merge. The agreement was effective March 31. The news was reported by local media, including restaurantcentral.ca. The merger between the two Ontario-based companies creates one of Canada’s largest equipment dealerships. Adding Longo’s London, Ontario, location…

The government giveth, and the government taketh away. Or maybe it taketh away first, and giveth back when forced. Bureaucracies cut both ways. And while we’ve spent a lot of time lately dealing with the folks pushing bills legislating interior design and whether dealers are allowed to do it, something more to our liking needs…

California Pizza Kitchen has opened its second restaurant in India. The Los Angeles chain has partnered with franchisee JSMGGC India Pvt. Ltd., a joint-venture between Mumbai-based JSM Corp. and Dubai-based Gourmet Gulf Co. Like CPK’s other location in the country, the new unit is in Mumbai. Located in the city’s densely commercial High Street Phoenix,…