President Obama is expected to formally announce a new rule from the Department of Labor (DOL), raising the salary threshold under which employees must be paid overtime rates for hours worked. Currently, that salary threshold is $455 per week, or $23,660 per year. The proposed DOL rule would dramatically increase that amount to a number […]
Category: Northeast
The Shelby Report of the Northeast covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Posted in, Northeast
IGA Launches New Wellness Initiative, And More…
Supermarket News In Brief… IGA has rolled out IGA Better Choices, a new health and wellness program designed to provide IGA shoppers with information to make informed and balanced decisions about their health and wellness needs and IGA retailers with insights into topics. The Better Choices program, which includes informational components for both IGA shoppers […]
Posted in, Northeast
Cambridge Petroleum Corp. Readies Eight Sites For Bid, And More…
Convenience Store News In Brief… Cambridge Petroleum Corp. (CPC) plans to sell the leasehold rights title and interest in seven gasoline service stations (along with commission contracts with the existing lessees) and the fuel supply on one location through a sealed bid sale to be coordinated by The Energy Exchange of Chicago. The sealed bid […]
Posted in, Northeast
Vermont Farm Is Big Winner At Summer Fancy Food Show, And More…
New Channels News In Brief… Raspberry Rhubarb Goat Milk Caramels from Fat Toad Farm in Vermont is the winner of the sofi Award for outstanding new product of 2015. The confection is one of 33 winners in the annual competition that honors excellence across all specialty food categories, from appetizers to pastas to vinegar. The […]
Posted in, Northeast
Arbor Investments Purchases Massachusetts-Based Concord Foods
Concord Foods LLC of Brockton, Massachusetts, a supplier of retail food products and custom ingredients to nationally recognized supermarkets, food service operators and manufacturers, recently was purchased by Arbor Investments, a Chicago private equity firm. Concord’s four divisions—Concord Foods, Oringer, Red-E-Made and Tempo—serve retailers, food manufacturers and food service establishments across the country. Concord’s retail division […]
Posted in, Northeast
U.S. Senators File Bill To End Online Lotteries
Several U.S. senators have filed a bill that would end online lotteries. These senators include Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Dan Coats (R-Indiana) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). The senators noted that, in December 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published an opinion […]
Posted in, Northeast
Sysco Terminates Merger Agreement With US Foods
Sysco Corp. has terminated its merger agreement with US Foods, days after the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to block the proposed Sysco-US Foods merger. This action also terminates an agreement with Performance Food Group (PFG) to purchase US Foods facilities in 11 markets. […]
Posted in, Northeast
N.Y. Consumer Affairs Probes Whole Foods For Alleged Overcharging Of Prepackaged Foods
The New York Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is investigating Whole Foods after allegedly finding that the company’s New York City stores overstated the weights of its pre-packaged products—including meats, dairy and baked goods—resulting in customer overcharges. DCA says it tested packages of 80 different types of pre-packaged products and found all of the products had packages […]
Posted in, Northeast
Cumberland Farms Scholarship Program Surpasses $1M Mark, And More…
Convenience Store News In Brief… Cumberland Farms has awarded 130 high school seniors from nine states “Believe and Achieve Scholarships” to help them attend college this fall. Since the program began nine years ago, the company has provided more than $1 million in financial assistance to more than 1,000 people. This year, Cumberland Farms also […]
Posted in, Northeast
Brinker International Acquires 103 Franchised Chili’s Restaurants, And More…
Food Service News In Brief… Brinker International has acquired Pepper Dining Holding Corp., a franchisee of 103 Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurants primarily located in the Northeast and Southeast for $106.5 million. Overall, Brinker owns, operates or franchises 1,629 restaurants under Chili’s Grill & Bar (1,580 restaurants) and Maggiano’s Little Italy (49 restaurants)… Rhode Island […]
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Former Trader Joe’s Chief To Speak At Summer Fancy Food Show About New Venture
Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe’s and CEO of Conscious Capitalism Inc., will speak about his latest venture, “Daily Table,” a new Boston supermarket format, at the Summer Fancy Food Show. Daily Table is a pioneering retail venture designed to provide healthy, ready-to-eat meals at fast-food prices, fresh produce and other items to individuals […]
Posted in, Northeast
Private Bottled Water Recall Expands To 14 Brands
A California bottling firm has announced a voluntary recall of multiple bottled water brands sold in many Northeast supermarket retailers after one of its sources was found to be contaminated with E. coli. Niagara Bottling, based in Ontario, California, said it was voluntarily recalling bottles of water produced at its Pennsylvania manufacturing facilities between June 10 […]
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Anheuser-Busch To Invest More Than $1.5B In U.S. Operations
Anheuser-Busch plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in its U.S. brewing, agriculture, packaging and distributing operations by 2018. The beer company plans to spend an estimated $850 million on brewery and packaging expansion projects, $220 million on product innovation initiatives and $720 million in sustaining and increasing efficiency of its existing footprint. In 2015, […]
Posted in, Northeast
CVS Health Opens Digital Innovation Lab In Boston
CVS Health has opened its new Digital Innovation Lab in Boston, a facility that is focused on developing cutting-edge digital services and personalized capabilities that offer an accessible and integrated personal pharmacy and health experience. The lab will serve as a hub for the growing digital team at CVS Health, which will remain headquartered in […]
Posted in, Northeast
General Mills Removing Artificial Flavors And Colors From Cereals, And More…
Supermarket News In Brief… General Mills Cereals will remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from the rest of its cereals in response to consumers’ changing preferences. Today, more than 60 percent of General Mills cereals are already without artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources. According to a survey conducted by Nielsen on […]
Posted in, Northeast
Dairy Queen Adds Hot Food Items To Menu, And More…
Food Service News In Brief… Dairy Queen is introducing an updated menu that it’s calling “the largest new menu rollout in its 75 years,” adding new hot sandwiches and hot desserts. In a major change for the purveyor known for frozen treats like Blizzards, Dairy Queen has added ovens to its locations to create its […]
Posted in, Northeast
Price Chopper Leader Explains Cigarette Sales Decision On Market 32 Stores
Price Chopper CEO Jerry Golub says the decision not to sell cigarettes in Market 32 stores is based on fulfilling a brand vision for the new format stores. While Price Chopper will not sell cigarettes at its new Market 32 supermarkets, cigarettes will continue to be sold at regular Price Chopper stores; however, they will […]
Posted in, Northeast
Federal Menu Labeling Bill Delay Included In House Spending Bill
House Republicans are proposing a one-year delay on new FDA menu labeling rules that require restaurants, convenience stores, pizza chains and grocery stores to display the calorie counts of their food items. Without a delay, the requirements are scheduled to take effect in December. The proposed delay was included in an agriculture spending bill. Earlier […]
Posted in, Northeast
Institute Of Culinary Education Moves To Lower Manhattan
The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) has opened its new location at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan. The historic move marks the school’s 40th anniversary and follows record-high career student enrollment. It also is the largest culinary education facility built in a major American city in more than a decade. The new 74,000-s.f. facility is considerably […]
Posted in, Northeast
Specialty Food Association Launches Consumer-Retail Ad Campaign
The Specialty Food Association is launching its first-ever ad campaign and retail test designed to build consumer awareness and engagement with specialty food. The theme is “Celebrate Specialty Food. Craft. Care. Joy.” The campaign is built around the upcoming 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show, June 28-30 at the Javits Center in New York City. The consumer […]