FOODSERVICE NEWS

Legacy Foodservice Alliance To Promote Better Trade Practices
Legacy Foodservice Alliance of Virginia held an opening webinar press conference last week to share details about the formation of a new distributor procurement and marketing group. Stephen Push, formerly Progressive Group Alliance, and Donald Hughes are top executives in this group and their goal is to break with past and leave behind practices that have not contributed to growth for distributors and supplier partners. The group plans to focus on effective communication strategies to create an engaged member and supplier base.
The first wave of charter distributor members include: Cedar Farms Co. of Philadelphia, Pa., Colony Foods of Lawrence, Mass., Maple Leaf Foods of Buffalo, N.Y., Thomsen Foodservice of E. Providence, R.I., Todd Distributors of Laurens, S.C., Van Bennett Food Co. of Reading, Pa., and William George Co. of Lufkin, Texas.

Bob Galvin Named Key Executive At KeyImpact Sales & Systems
KeyImpact Sales and Systems has named Bob Galvin as its executive vice president of strategic development. He was formerly the chairman and chief executive officer of The Market Dynamics Group which merged with KeyImpact in July. Mr. Galvin will also support the company’s branding and communications program by overseeing the marketing department
“When our companies merged, it was clear that Dan Cassidy (KeyImpact President and CEO) and KeyImpact’s senior team created a solid foundation for a successful and growing organization,” said Mr. Galvin. “With our collective knowledge and resources we will accomplish our strategic initiatives and set the tone for the rest of the industry through a vigorous regionalization strategy and a commitment to best-in-class service to all of our business partners.”
Mr. Galvin has been a member of the GMA Board of Directors and sits on several broker advisory councils. A recipient of the IFMA Spark Plug Award, Galvin has chaired the IFMA Broker Advisory Committee, ASMC/NFBA Foodservice Steering Committee and a committee that helped form IFBA. For his efforts on behalf of the agency community, he was awarded the Jerry Waxler Award from FSMA. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the New England Wholesale Food Distributors Association (NEWFDA).

Dominos Gives Itself A Pizza Makeover
Approaching 50 years in the business, Domino's Pizza announced last week it is changing its core pizza recipe. With a new garlic seasoned crust, robust sauce and more shredded cheese, Domino's new hand-tossed pizza has been reinvented to deliver more taste -- and Domino's is backing it up with a guarantee. Rolling out over the course of the next few weeks, Domino's new pizza will be in all U.S. stores beginning December 27.
The primary changes include: A garlic seasoned crust with parsley baked to a golden brown; sweeter, bolder tomato sauce with a medley of herbs and a red pepper kick; and Shredded cheese made with 100 percent mozzarella and flavored with a hint of provolone.
"The fact is, we love our pizza, but as times change, so do consumer tastes," said Russell Weiner, Domino's Chief Marketing Officer. "We've created a pizza to reflect what consumers are looking for. We're not talking about a slightly-altered version of our previous pizza. It's a completely new pizza reinvented from the crust up, and we are proud of it. To us, it's as big as McDonald's changing the Big Mac, or Burger King reinventing the Whopper. We spent the last 18 months reinventing the brand in anticipation of our 50th anniversary."

Food Service Latest Word…
The New Jersey Senate recently approved a measure that would require restaurant franchises with 20 or more locations nationwide to display calorie information on food and drinks. The move was opposed by the New Jersey Restaurant Assn. Both the U.S. House and Senate versions of the new proposed federal health care bill carry similar menu labeling requirements.

Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Shangai China last week. The Camden Harbour Inn and Natalie’s Restauirant in Camden, Maine were awarded the Four Diamonds Award from AAA for the second consecutive year.

UMass Boston has signed a letter of intent to buy the Bayside Expo Center. It opened again for some trade shows in the fall. UMass wants to use the building and adjacent parking to house school operations while the university rebuilds its campus.

C-STORE NEWS

7-Eleven Acquires New England Pantry C-Stores
7-Eleven increased its presence in New England as it announced the purchase of New England Pantry, a company that operates 58 convenience stores under the White Hen Pantry brand, from affiliates of Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc., a Houston-based wealth management firm. 
The acquisition significantly expands 7-Eleven’s presence in the greater Boston area, bringing the number of outlets 7-Eleven operates and franchises to more than 170.
“This acquisition significantly strengthens our convenience offering in greater Boston,” said Bob Cozens, vice president for 7-Eleven’s Northeast Division.  “White Hen Pantry has a 40-year history of providing good customer service and high-quality products to consumers in the Boston area and we want to continue that tradition.”
Andy Brothers, who has served as the New England White Hen Pantry stores CEO, joins 7-Eleven’s management team and will support the transition. He said, “The acquisition of New England Pantry by 7-Eleven will provide our customers, franchisees and employees with additional opportunities by joining the leading convenience retailer’s store network.  Franchises will be able to capitalize on 7-Eleven’s brand strength, extended line-up of proprietary and private label products, and proven business system.” 
Mr. Brothers and the New England Pantry management team will continue to work out of their Norwood, Mass., office. The company anticipates that stores operating under the White Hen Pantry brand will begin converting to stores to the 7-Eleven brand in 2010.

Tedeschi Food Shops Opens Its 189th convenience location
Tedeschi Food Shops, Rockland, Mass., last week opened its 189th location in Everett, Mass., marking the company’s fourth location in the town. "We have been privileged with the opportunity to serve the Everett community for nearly 35 years," said Peter Tedeschi, president and CEO, Tedeschi Food Shops, Inc. “We’ve built a reputation for providing our customers with convenience shopping while delivering value and we’re excited to be able to serve them even more."
In addition to wide assortment of snacks and beverages, the new facility will offer customers fresh food items like the TD’s Deli Express lines of premium sandwiches, wraps, and freshly made salads. The store will offer Green Mountain premium coffee in a variety of flavors, such as Our Blend (regular and decaf), Columbian Supremo, REV, Hazelnut, French Vanilla and the company’s seasonal coffee flavor, Gingerbread.
As a part of the celebration Tedeschi Food Shops will be making two separate donations: one to the City of Everett's Department of Human Service, which helps needy children with food and clothing, and the other to Dare Family Services, which helps abused and neglected children with counseling and support.

Connecticut Going After Online Cigarette Buyers
Connecticut officials have begun pursuing more than 900 state residents who purchased cigarettes on the Internet without paying state sales tax, Connecticut’s Department of Revenue Services announced last week that it had mailed sales tax bills to 928 people, based on information that it obtained pursuant to a federal law that governs companies that sell cigarettes online. The bills mailed are for sales tax and interest owed for online cigarette purchases made between 2007 and 2008.Connecticut’s cigarette tax increased from $2 to $3 a pack on October 1, the second highest in the country.
The National Assn of Convenience Stores ( NACS) is supporting legislation in Congress that would strengthen the ability of states to pursue collection of excise taxes from online sales. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act was passed by the House of Representatives in May 2009 and a similar bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in November.

C-Store Latest Word…
Florida gas stations have until Dec. 31 to upgrade underground and aboveground storage tanks or face fines from the state.

Blockbuster has announced a “Good Grades, Free Fental Prgram" where children in K-12 who earn an A or B average on their report cards can receive a Blockbuster Favorites movie rental.

Sheetz was listed at number 25 on the list of top 50 large companies on the state’s Best Places To Work.

Circle K is upping its promotion of franchising in Florida with extensive training and promotional tools.

NEW CHANNELS

Whole Foods Launches Website For Mobile Devices
Whole Foods Market recently launch a specific website for web-enabled mobile devices. The site was created to provide customers the features of wholefoodsmarket.com while on the go.
Users can access Whole Foods Market's selection of over 2,000 recipes, store information including hours, driving directions, store specials and a calendar of events for their local store.
"Whether they are at home, work, or out and about, our customers can now easily access store information and what's on sale at their local Whole Foods Market," said Bill Tolany, global coordinator of integrated media for Whole Foods Market. "Shoppers can also use their handheld devices to create shopping lists and save their favorite recipes to 'My Recipe Box,' a popular feature on our website."
The mobile site also features a store locator where customers can use a ZIP code search to find the nearest Whole Foods Market store. It is available at www.wholefoodmarket.com.

CVS, Duane Reed Announce Plans For H1N1 Shot Program
CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic health care centers located in select CVS/pharmacy stores are now offering H1N1 vaccine in 20 states and Washington, D.C. While in some locations priority restrictions for receiving H1N1 vaccines continue, many states have lifted restrictions, allowing all patients to be eligible to receive the shot while supplies last. In addition, seasonal influenza vaccine has been restocked and is available at MinuteClinic locations across the country on demand seven days a week. Separate vaccinations are needed for H1N1 flu virus and seasonal influenza. Patients are able to get both vaccinations in a single visit where available. . Based on high demand, H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine availability cannot be guaranteed at time of a customer visit.
H1N1 immunization vaccines will be offered at select Duane Reade pharmacies in the near term, pending the release of the H1N1 vaccine by the New York City Department of Health. Customers may also sign up to receive mobile alerts that will inform them of specific Duane Reade store locations where the vaccine will be available. Interested parties can simply text "flu" to 63103 and follow the instructions when prompted.
In December 2008 New York became one of the most recent states to enact laws and regulations permitting pharmacists to administer vaccines. In an effort to adapt quickly and to prepare its organization for the H1N1 immunization program, Duane Reade collaborated with the American Pharmacists Association to certify a large number of its pharmacists to administer the H1N1 vaccine

Food Lion Opens First Green Store In Columbia, S.C.
Food Lion LLC recently opened the company's first and South Carolina's first environmentally friendly grocery store in Columbia S.C. Food Lion's first green store is approximately 35,000 square feet and employs approximately 50 associates. In South Carolina, Food Lion has 146 stores and employs more than 7,700 associates. The store features energy-efficient services, such as: high-efficiency lighting that dims lights based on natural sunlight in the store; LED lighting in the frozen food cases; low-flow and sensor-activated water fixtures in restrooms; bathroom partitions made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material, such as juice, milk and water bottles; and waste management plans, which diverted more than 85 percent of construction waste from landfills through recycling; and customer and associate recycling programs at the store.

New Channels Latest Word…
Coca Cola Co. and Costco settled a pricing dispute and all Coke products will be back in the warehouses’ 560 stores.

Bayer last week voluntarily recalled Alka-Selzer Plus Day and Night Liquid Gels after identifying that the labeling on certain packages were printed with the label reversed.

Target Corp. admitted to wrongly advertising soy milk as organic. The Cornucopia Institute filed with the complaint with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Three Morton ice melting products have received the Good Housekeeping Seal.

Procter & Gamble has purchased Ambi Fur from Sara Lee. Ambi Pur is a global air care brand with presence in 80 countries and manufactures several toilet care products in Western Europe and Asia.