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Cary Miller Presents: PEOPLE SELLING THE FOOD INDUSTRY

This month I am proud to be pictured with Chef Corey Grupe,

with HMS Host. Cory is a longtime reader and supporter of Food Industry News. His responsibilities include overseeing the HMS foodservice operations at O’Hare Airport and other venues, while helping to develop new menu ideas and improving efficiencies to result in a fantastic experience for each of the tens of thousands of guests they serve each day.

Christine Clavenna is the Business Development Manager with Capitol

Construction. Christine’s firm has extensive experience in the food industry, and has been serving the Chicago market since 2003. From ground-up new construction projects, to expansion projects to remodel and re-concept projects, Capitol Construction has the team and expertise to get your project done on-time and on-budget with no surprises or delays. The firm also has an office in Nashville which is also focused on serving their restaurant, hospitality and food supplier clients. You can see their ad on page 2 of this issue. Kate Sickery is the Midwest Regional Manager for Texas Pete, a brand of delicious bold, balanced and legendary products, made from formulas dating back to 1929. Kate is passionate about helping independent and chain foodservice operators bring out the flavors on their menus with the great line of products that her company offers. The Texas Pete line-up of products include Hot Sauce, Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce, Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce, Sweet Flame BBQ Sauce, Traditional BBQ Sauce, Sriracha Hot Chile Sauce, Sabor Mexican Style Hot Sauce, Salsa, Wing Sauce, Pepper Sauce, their Original Dust Dry Seasoning and others. Be sure to contact the company for samples of their delicious products. You can see their ad on age 17 of this issue.

Patrick and Bianca Letens are the founders and owners of

Indiana-based Dutch Waffle Company, a firm manufacturing authentic Dutch Stroopwafels. These “syrup waffles” are a delicious snack or entrée made without artificial flavors or preservatives. The products are baked by hand using fine ingredients. Their products are sold to foodservice and retail outlets, wrapped individually or in a pack of 8. You can sample their product at our next Shmoozefest on Tuesday March 7th. Cristiana Crin is a gifted interior designer with Perpetuum Designs, creating cost-effective, creative and memorable experiences through interior design. Her expertise is in helping her customers to create memorable spaces which create a buzz and bring guests back. Cristiana was born in the mystical land of Transylvania, in a beautiful little fairytale town called Simleul Silvaniei. Cristiana splits her time between her two offices in Chicago and London, where she works closely with hospitality clients to make a difference in their business and success.

Curtis Newborn is the Chief Creative Officer and photographer at Elk Grove

Village, Il based Food Photo Studio. In today’s business climate, every food brand needs striking imagery that connects, disrupts, and engages prospects, which is the focus of this firm. From packaging design to photography, their team applies design thinking to every project, creating winning imagery that sells. Their 5400 square-foot full service photo studio is easily accessible to food vendors, restaurants and agencies throughout the Chicago area.

The Chicago market Outfront Media team dedicated to helping restaurants, food and beverage brands get exposure consists of Pat Carey, Ben Lewis, Quadri AladeLambo, Paige Lucin, Alyssa Sterczek,

Maria Kays and Stephen Petrick. Outfront is one of North America’s most innovative media companies, leveraging the power of billboards, with creative excellence, unbeatable locations, and smart audience data to change the game for advertisers. 43% of consumers want messages that are “reassuring” from brands that they know and trust. Outfront is in the business of growth. Their purpose is to help drive stronger relationships between brands and buyers with their strategically placed billboards in every major city across the US.

Saving Money On Your Forklift Maintenance

One of the most critical long-term values of planned maintenance is that it will save you money. One main contributing factor is avoiding repair costs and downtime, catching issues early before they become problems. But there are others, as explained here.

More important than these cost savings can be the long-term benefit of planned forklift maintenance on the safety and security of operators. Worn-out components can lead to accidents, but a technician can replace these components during planned maintenance before they become too worn to function.

Increased efficiency is also a benefit. Your forklifts will see increased uptime because of frequent maintenance and because you can plan for downtime during a regularly scheduled inspection.

Planned forklift maintenance can also have additional, unanticipated benefits. For example, Your operation might avoid interruption to your daily schedule caused by a forklift breaking down with planned maintenance. Instead of calling around to locate a service tech, a Voss Equipment Certified Technician will be on site regularly to help prevent such problems from occurring.

Signing up for a maintenance plan is a great way to save yourself money down the road. Downtime will be the first cost reduction you’ll see with a maintenance plan. Downtime is the single most expensive cost associated with a forklift. Maintenance plans facilitate early catches and easier access to technicians, increasing your uptime. Second, a maintenance plan will ensure your forklift gets the care it needs, improving its lifespan. Third, there are always options, depending on your chosen maintenance plan, making your maintenance easier to budget.

Kitchen Exhaust 101: What Managers Needs To Know

Food Industry News along with Donald Pfleiderer, owner and founder of enVIROmatic Corp, Inc. will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday February 7th, 2023.

The seminar will be based on the newly release IKECA M-10 Maintenance Standard and what it means for your kitchen and fire safety. We will also touch on the NFPA96 and the 2 related IKECA C-10 cleaning standard and I-10 inspection standard. In addition to the basics, Learn what your inspectors are looking at and what the expectations are or should be. And why. We will include timely hints and basics from 48 years of experience in the KEC field. Basics like knowing ahead of time how to keep your restaurant operating when things go south and how to address and assess some common issues. Knowing when to call someone or when you can perform a simple fix. Saving potentially thousands of dollars both short and long term. And maybe even someone's life. Watch for an eblast with a link for this free webinar.

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Gala Corp Buys Rusty Taco

The Atlanta-based owner of giant chains Dunkin’, Arby’s and Sonic on Monday announced that it has sold the smallest of its six chains to Gala Corp., arguing that it would be better off in the hands of an operator more experienced with emerging chains. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Inspire’s tightly integrated shared services model is optimized for brands at scale, and all our scaled brands have ample runway for continued growth,” Christian Charnaux, chief growth officer for Inspire, said in a statement. “Therefore, we concluded that an owner focused on emerging brands would be the best partner for Rusty Taco’s next chapter of growth.”

It found a buyer in Gala Corp., the Southern California investment firm that either owns or has invested in Cicis Pizza, Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes and Dunn Brothers Coffee.

Full-Service Eateries Are Embracing Bowls

The popularity of customizable bowls at fast-casual restaurants has some full-service eateries adding them to the menu. Bartaco created customizable bowls using ingredients that the 24-unit chain already features elsewhere on the menu, a strategy that didn’t require changes to the supply chain and resulted in dishes that held up better than tacos in delivery and takeout orders.

– FSR Magazine