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Staff and members of the North American Food Equipment Manufacturers Association are wearing big smiles with the announcement of official attendance figures for February’s NAFEM Show. The numbers bear out the optimism felt on the show floor. Attendance was up 8% over `09. With manufacturers and reps, more than 18,500 foodservice professionals participated in the…

April may be tax month, but there are still eight months left this year to secure some important tax perks for purchasing or selling equipment. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, signed by President Obama last September, provides tax relief for foodservice operations and small businesses and assistance in gaining access to…

As part of its multiyear focus on conservation, the National Restaurant Association has teamed up with Chicago’s Kendall College School of Culinary Arts to explore restaurant waste reduction and sustainability efforts. The Int’l. Foodservice Sustainability Symposium will hold its inaugural meeting in Chicago immediately after the NRA Show, on May 24-25, 2011. IFFS is billed…

Chick-fil-A’s growth plans call for some 90 new stores in 2011, including 71 stand-alone locations, four mall/in-line restaurants and 15 licensed outlets. In ’10, the fried chicken franchise debuted some 80 new units, including its first three restaurants in the Chicago market. Chick-fil-A expects to expand further in the Chicago area this spring, and will…

Chili’s made its Russian debut with the February opening of a restaurant in Moscow’s city center, Novy Arbat. This store marks the first of more than two dozen Chili’s stores planned for Russia during the next six years. Chili’s has also recently entered the Indian market by opening four restaurants in that country. The casual…

McDonald’s is one of many chains making inroads in feeding India’s fast-growing fast-food appetite. The Oak Brook, Ill.’s Indian franchisee Hardcastle Restaurants Private plans to set up 30 restaurants in the southern and western parts of the country this year. In 2010, McDonald’s opened 33 Indian restaurants. Hardcastle will invest $111 million in India over…

The rapidly expanding 600-unit pizza, pasta, salad and dessert buffet chain has inked agreements for the addition of 16 units over the next five years in the Houston and San Antonio areas. The moves are part of CiCi’s growth initiative, with the goal of adding 500 restaurants in the next eight to 10 years. Wingstop…