October was a busy month for the “food world” in the Mid-Atlantic, capped off by the opening of Wegmans’ second Maryland location in Woodmore, MD on October 25. The 130,000 square foot store employs about 650 people and has a 32-seat, full-service restaurant. It is Wegmans’ 76th location, and its second and final store opening for 2010.
We understand that people started lining up at 4:00 a.m. for the 9:00 a.m. opening. Jo Natale, Wegmans’ spokesperson, estimated that a line of 1,500 people “snaked around the building before the sun rose.” She told us that it took about 20 minutes for the entire line to get into the store.
The new store is in the Woodmore Towne Centre at Glenarden off the Capital Beltway and about a mile from FedEx Field. Pictures of the opening can be seen on page 19 of this issue.
Lori Proctor, retail supply leader for Proctor & Gamble, and the Network of Executive Women’s Cincinnati regional committee have been awarded NEW’s 2010 “best of the best” regional award for advancing the organization’s diversity goals and extending its reach.
Proctor, co-chair of the northern California region, was presented with the Bobbie O’Hare Award as the year’s outstanding committee member during the NEW Leadership Summit, September 28 in Charlotte, NC.
The award is named for former NEW regional chair Bobbie O’Hare, vice president of sales development for the Johnson O’Hare Companies. O’Hare, who helped lead the creation of NEW’s 15 regional groups, joined current NEW regional chair Maria Edelson in presenting the award to Proctor in front of 800 members attending NEW’s annual summit.
Each year, members of the organization’s 15 regions nominate one person as their best of the best committee member. These members are honored during each region’s fall event and are eligible for the Bobbie O’Hare award. From this list of women and men who have been recognized by their own regions, NEW officers select one to receive the Bobbie O’Hare award.
Smartrend, a company whose software employs price-pattern recognition technology to analyze more than 5000 securities traded on the major U.S. exchanges, recently listed the top five companies in the retail food industry as ranked by gross margin. Gross margin tells you how many of your sales dollars are profit.
The five they listed are: Whole Foods Market, which has gross margin of 35.1 percent, a sales growth of 15.2 percent, and trailing 12 months sales of $8.75 billion; Ruddick, parent of Harris Teeter, which has gross margin of 29.5 percent, a sales growth of 7.2 percent and trailing 12 months sales of $4.3 billion; Winn-Dixie Stores, with gross margin of 29.1 percent, a sales growth of 1.8 percent and trailing 12 months sales of $7.2 billion; Weis Markets, which has gross margin of 28.2 percent, a sales growth of 2.7 percent and trailing 12 months sales of $2.6 billion; and Village Super Markets, with gross margin of 27.4 percent, a sales growth of 10.2 percent, and trailing 12 months sales of $1.3 billion.
Writing in the Baltimore Sun, columnist Michael Dresser reminds us a new Maryland law was recently enacted by the legislature with little or no publicity and went into effect October 1.
The new law requires motorists to move over by a lane or to slow down when passing an emergency vehicle on the side of the road with its red or blue lights on.
If stopped for not moving over and slowing down, the fine carries a $110 fine and two points. If there are two or more cars involved in the accident, you could be fined $110 for each vehicle that was pulled over.
The very first inductees of the National Frozen Refrigerated Food (NFRA) Hall of Fame as well and the 2010 Golden Penguin Award winners were honored at the Grand Awards Reception and Banquet October 19 at the association’s national convention in San Francisco.
This year’s ceremony marked the debut of the Refrigerated Hall of Fame, recognizing individuals who have made significant positive contributions to NFRA and the refrigerated foods industry. Three were selected for the inaugural induction: J.L. Kraft (deceased), founder of Kraft Foods; John Bottomley, senior director of retail and merchandising for Sargento Foods, Inc.; and Johnny L. Harris, dairy category manager for Harris Teeter, Inc.
And speaking of awards, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington named Bob Madigan, WTOP’s “Man About Town,” as the 2010 recipient of the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. The award was presented to Madigan at a reception held at Bourbon Steak in Washington.
Named in honor of the legendary Washington restaurateur Duke Ziebert, the award is given to a member of the community whose dedication and leadership have contributed to the success of Washington’s vibrant restaurant industry. Madigan recently celebrated 35 years in radio broadcasting.
Past honorees of the Ziebert award include: the late Dimitri P. Mallios, Central Kitchen; the late chef Jean-Louis Palladin; John Laytham, Clyde’s Restaurant Group; Paul Cohn Sr., Capital Restaurant Concepts; and former Washington Post restaurant critic Phyllis Richman.
On a personal note, we have many wonderful memories from having been regulars at Duke Ziebert’s back in the late 70s. We got to know Duke himself, but more importantly we became very good friends with his maitre d, Mel Krupin. Mel was also a character in his own right. It was a lovely restaurant and any night you went there, you would see many leading politicians, local sports figures and of course, the “Who’s Who” of the retail food industry.
The Baltimore Ravens are asking their fans to donate to the 15tj annual Family Food & Funds Drive to assist those in need during the 2010 holiday season. In conjunction, Baltimore Giant/Landover stores will be accepting donations of canned goods and other non-perishables from November 1–28.
Donations via the Maryland Food Bank’s virtual food drive before November 24 will have two opportunities to win two tickets to the Ravens vs. Buccaneers game November 28. For more information visit www.mdfoodbank.org.
Congratulations to Michael Goetz, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Goetze’s Candy Company, on being elected chairman of the board of trustees of the National Confectioners Association.
Baltimore based Goetze’s Candy Company manufactures all of their candies in the “good old United States.” Their factory has been located in Baltimore since 1895 and is currently the fifth generation of operation and ownership. The Goetze family takes pride in the fact that they “purchase materials from the United States whenever possible, regardless of price.”
Anniversary wishes go out to: Mars Supermarkets’ Ted and Kathy D’Anna, their 24th; International Food and Beverage’s Frank and Sherry Rich, their 44th; and Metromedia’s Ed and Carol Hopkins, their 32nd.
Celebrating birthdays are: Kathleen Ellis, wife of AWI president Bernie Ellis; King’s Contrivance general manager, Richard Ackman; Goya Food’s Jeff Ghajar; Mimi Rosenthal, wife of Food World’s Lou Rosenthal; Food World’s New England correspondent, Dave McElroy; and Maryland Food Bank’s Mike D’Agro.