Dick Bestany

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.

Congratulations to Safeway’s customers and employees who have achieved a spectacular milestone. By donating a total of $11,010,953 to the 2010 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, the extended Safeway family has raised more than $50 million dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Safeway executive vice president Larree Renda presented MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Abbey Umali with the check during the last hour of the almost 22 hour telethon in Las Vegas.

MDA CEO, president and telethon executive producer Jerry Weinberg said Safeway’s ongoing commitment to MDA has enabled the association to enhance funding for its worldwide research programs.

This is the eighth year that Safeway has been an MDA national sponsor, raising money through donations at the checkout stands and a cause marketing campaign called “Aisles of Smiles.”

The food industry of the Mid-Atlantic and nationally was saddened by the loss of two very fine people last month, Bob Burris of Burris Retail Logistics, and John Kluge of Kluge, Finkelstein and Company/ Metromedia.

Bob Burris, president and CEO of Burris, passed away on September 19 of cancer. Bob had been diagnosed with the disease in June 2009. We first met Bob in 1978, the year Food World was bought by Best-Met Publishing. At that time Bob was forming a committee to set-up a frozen food organization to help promote frozen foods to the consumer and to the trade. It eventually became known as the Baltimore-Washington Frozen Food Association. Bob served as the first president and was very instrumental in getting support for the group from retailers, wholesalers and brokers. The organization became of the best in the country.

Bob was also active in other food organizations and cared deeply for the food industry and all the people who worked in it. He will be missed in the food industry not only in the Mid-Atlantic but nationally.

Bob is survived by his wife of 42 years, Susan Roland Burris; his mother, Lillian Marshall Burris of Milford; a son and daughter-in-law, Connan R. and Amy Burris of Lewes; two daughters and sons-in-law, Robin and Darren Shelburne of Turnersville, NJ; and Megan S. and Dr. Kahlib Fischer of Lynchburg, VA.; two brothers and sisters-in-law, John and Cathy Burris of Wilmington and Howard and Debbie Burris of Milford;a sister and brother- in-law, Lillian and Bob Hoopman of Kiawah Island, SC; and eight grandchildren. He will be missed.

John Kluge was one of the founding partners of Kluge, Finkelstein & Co. – David Finkelstein was the other – which became one of the largest and most respected food brokerage companies in the United States. Although John never forgot the food industry and would always refer to it in speeches and gatherings, he went on to become one of America’s “Titans of Industry.” It could be said if you ate it, watched it on TV or at a movie theater or purchased it for your home, John Kluge owned it at one time or another. John’s ideas and influence have touched the lives of most of the people living today in one way or another.

He owned movie companies, beverage companies, lawn mower companies, medical research companies and on, and on, and on. You name it, one way or another John Kluge’s imprint was on it. John Kluge came to America with his mother when he was eight years old. He always had a job even while attending public schools. Through hard work and a teacher who befriended him, he won a scholarship to Columbia University. Along the way he learned to play poker and was very good at it.

In future years he repaid Columbia many, many times with generous donations, the last a donation of $400 million plus his winter mansion in Palm Beach, FL.

He was one of the richest men in America according to Forbes Magazine and for a couple of years, he was number one on the list of America’s richest people.

Kluge’s generosity was not limited to Columbia University. He donated millions to hospitals, schools and many, many other charities. He was a very generous person and a very caring person. One story told about a British boy named Craig Shergold, who was suffering from what was thought to be a fatal brain tumor, is that somehow Kluge found out about the boy who could not afford the medical care it would take to remove the tumor. Kluge knew a neurosurgeon, Dr. Neal Kassell, who was working with a then-experimental device called a gamma knife. Thanks to Kluge’s generosity, the boy was able to come to Virginia and Dr. Kassell removed the tumor and saved the boy’s life.

Throughout his entire working life, John Kluge never lost touch with his food background. When his partner, David Finkelstein had a heart attack, Kluge who was by then well established in business and on Wall Street, came to Columbia, MD and took over the helm at Kluge, Finkelstein and ran the company until David was able to get back to work.

The billionaire whose TV stations became the Fox network and whose money has benefited millions of people in the United States, at the time of his death was, according to Forbes, the 35th richest American.

It was a pleasure and an experience to have known John Kluge and an experience I will never forget.

Sympathy is also extended to the family of Gordon L. Kennard Sr. who passed away last month. Gordon was known as “the old grocery guy” and he loved being called that.

He spent years with Campbell’s and later was employed with the Baltimore Orioles. He is survived by his sons Gordon L. Kennard Jr. and his wife, Linda, Davis S. Kennard and his wife, Joanne, and daughter Jill Holtschneider and her husband Wayne and seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital, 7501 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204.

Here’s an interesting little tidbit I’d like to share with Food World readers. While I’m very familiar with the food brokers in the United States, I never gave much thought to food brokers in other countries other than when at the FMI and we would run into some from an exotic country. This summer while vacationing on Cape Cod, I got talking to a very nice lady, Jean Kuhn, who lives in our condominium complex year round. One day she asked what I did, and I told her I’m with a food trade newspaper. Thinking she would not have any idea of what a food trade newspaper was, I started to tell her about retailers and food brokers. She told me that she knew all about the food industry. It turns out that her father, Archie McNicol and her great uncle James McCurrach, started a food brokerage in Glasgow, Scotland in 1898 and that the company, McCurrach & Co. is still around and is probably one of the largest food brokers in Europe. Over the years McCurrach & Co. has represented companies like Chase and Sanborn Coffee, Campbell’s, Royal Baking Powder, Nestle, Pepsico, Unilever and other large food manufacturers.

The managing director of McCurrach & Co. today is David Bremner and the chief executive officer is Jean Kuhn’s nephew, Neil McNicol. Her brother, Archie McNicol is also still employed with the company. So when in Scotland, Ireland or England and you want visit a food broker, visit McCurrach & Co.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, October 27, 2010 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. as the Food Institute partners with the NDP Group and PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers Association) to bring you an up-to-the-minute webinar on private label. This webinar will delve into the world of private label and explore perceptions, usage patterns and intentions as it navigates marketers and manufacturers alike through the complexities of this increasingly popular market. For more information contact The Food Institute at 201-791-5570.

Birthday wishes go out this month to: Policy Solution’s Barry Scher; Best-Met Publishing’s CFO, William Speakman; Andy Metzger, son of Best-Met’s Jeff and Audrie Metzger; Shaw’s Supermarkets Carl Jablonski, (retired); Bell Sales’ Paul Bell; Children Cancer Foundation’s Shirley Howard, her 86th; and marketing consultant Ron Fish. Anniversary wishes go out to Safeway’s Roger and Phyllis Herding, their 43rd; Food World’s Lou and Mimi Rosenthal, their 62nd; Maryland Department of Transportation’s Richard and Caryn Scher, their 14th; Academy of Food Marketing, St. Joseph’s University’s (retired) Charles and Pat Mallowe, their 37th.

You too can have your birthday and/or anniversary date published in this column by e-mailing your names(s) and dates to [email protected].

Many in the food industry both locally and nationally have heard of The Griffin Report of New England, the paper Jeff Metzger and I worked for before forming Best-Met Publishing and purchasing Food World in 1978. That paper was owned at that time by John Griffin who has a son, Jack Griffin. Jack worked for the paper for a short time after Jeff and I left to take over Food World. Jack was just entering college at the time.

Jack went on to become the president of the national media group, Meredith Corp. which publishes such well known publications as Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and Parents Magazine.

Last month we learned that Jack Griffin had been named CEO of Time Inc., the country’s largest consumer publishing company.  Time Inc. has 21 magazines and 25 websites, including such titles as Time, Fortune and People. We are very proud of Jack and wish him well in his new position.

Congratulations are also in order for the folks at Rutter’s Farm Stores, Rutter’s Holdings – the parent company of Rutter’s Farm Stores, Rutter’s Dairy and real estate holding company M&G Realty – on being number three in the 2010 rankings of the Top 100 Companies in Central Pennsylvania.

Rutter’s Holdings ranked second among private companies in York County. Rutter’s Holdings ranked fifth in 2009. Family-owned and third generation-managed, the York PA based Rutter’s companies employ more than 1,400 people in central Pennsylvania.

Rutter’s traces its roots to 1747, when William Penn’s grandson deeded farm land in York County to the Rutter family. Rutter’s Dairy, which began in 1921, serves Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Rutter’s Farm Stores, which debuted in 1968, has 55 stores in six Pennsylvania counties.

Congratulations to the Restaurant Association of Maryland, the only statewide trade organization operated solely for the purpose of helping Maryland restaurants succeed, entered its 75th year in operation last month. On August 24, 1936, the Restaurant Association of Maryland was officially incorporated in the State of Maryland by a small group of restaurateurs who realized it was beneficial to band together for the overall good of their industry. Today the Association boasts a membership of more than 2,000 restaurant locations and other members of Maryland’s foodservice industry.

Paul Hartgen, president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, said during ceremonies marking the event, “Our association was created by restaurant operators, for restaurants, a tradition that lives on today.”

Don Reynolds, Bruce Foods, has announced his retirement after 55 years in the grocery business.

Don started in the business as a sales rep with the Kellogg followed by Ralston Purina. Then he had a short stint with the old H.B. Cook Company and the last 22 years with Bruce Foods where he held various positions including “being the first non-family vice president”. Don spent all those years responsible in some way for the Baltimore/Washington market.

He says, “…the best part of the business has been the great people I have been exposed to through the years such as Gerson Barnett, Pete Manos and Hans Rosenfeld” among others. He also mentions “other standouts like the Finkelsteins—both father and son, Mac McCullam and many others too numerous to mention.”

If you would like to contact Don via e-mail, his address is [email protected].

The Network of Women (NEW) will sponsor two Leadership Summit 2010 sessions: Retail Safari, a guided tour of five innovative and influential stores, and the Deep Dive Career Day, a workshop featuring the world-renowned Birkman assessment survey. Both one day sessions will take place on September 29 in Charlotte, NC.

The post-Summit Retail Safari includes visits to Bloom, a “different kind of grocery store;” Family Dollar, one of the nation’s largest convenience and value retailers; IKEA, the self-service home products retailer; Trader Joe’s, a chain that combines shopability with competitively priced store-branded products; and a remodeled Wal-Mart SuperCenter, featuring products arranged by price, wider aisles, better lighting, low-profile shelving and easy-to-read signage.

If you’re interested in attending this event, contact Carol Cherington at Food World, 410-730-5013 for details. Carol is a member of NEW.

Our sincere sympathy goes out to the family of John J. Daras, who for many years owned a grocery store in Southeast Washington. Mr. Daras died last month at the age of 88 at his son’s home in Scotland, MD. He had lived for more than 40 years in the Prince George’s County community of Fort Foode Village.

In the mid 1950s, he bought the Wheeler Supermarket on Wheeler Road SE and employed 20 people before the store was burned down during the 1968 Washington riots. Afterward, he became a meat cutter at the commissary at Bolling Air Force Base. He retired in 1987. He served in World War II as an Army medic and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores (MACS), an investment platform backed by Catterton Partners, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm in North America, announced that it has acquired 58 convenience stores/fuel stations, located in Northern Virginia and Maryland, from the Exxon Mobile Corporation.

MACS is a leading convenience store operator in the Mid-Atlantic region and one of the largest ExxonMobil branded wholesalers in the United States. MACS was formed by Catterton Partners to acquire convenience stores in the highly fragmented convenience store industry. In June 2010, MACS acquired a majority interest in Uppy’s Convenience Stores, Inc. and 170 convenience stores’ fuel stations from ExxonMobil in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. MACS currently has 3000 convenience store operations across the Mid-Atlantic operating primarily under the Uppy’s and On the Run banners. MACS is a leading convenience store operator in the Mid-Atlantic region and through its operating subsidiary, Southside Oil, is one of the largest ExxonMobil fuel marketers in the U.S.

In today’s climate of flu and communicable disease scares, hygiene and wellness education is more imperative than ever. According to a 2009 study by the Soap and Detergent Association, 39 percent of people seldom wash their hands after coughing and sneezing. Because Georgia-Pacific Professional believes everyone should wash their hands with soap and dry them them with a paper towel, the company is launching Spread Wellness, a campaign aimed at teaching people proper techniques for washing and drying hands when away from home. The campaign also encourages everyone to be a Spread Wellness ambassador by sharing the importance of hand hygiene practices wherever they go.

The Spread Wellness website (www.spread-wellness.com) is a resource center that provides links, tips, education materials, news and tools to share with those around them. The website also offers an interactive hygiene poll and downloadable signs that promote hand washing. Additionally, visitors can sign up to be a Wellness Ambassador and receive a welcome kit with a Spread Wellness wristband.

“With the easy transfer of germs and diseases, we all need to be more aware of our surroundings,” said Bill Sleeper, president of Georgia-Pacific Professional. “We need to practice good hygiene habits ourselves and share these tips with those we interact with. This campaign is about educating the public on how to use the best hand washing practices to stay healthy and potentially take steps to help improve cleanliness and wellness wherever they go”.

For more information on this wellness program visit www.spreadwellness.com

USA Today, in its August 11 issue, did a story on chef Tony Geraci, the director of food and nutrition for Baltimore City Schools, who on his first day on the job two years ago, brought in 40,000 pounds of tree-ripened , Maryland-grown peaches for students. He passed them out in the cafeteria to several second-graders who then ate the fresh peaches for the first time in their lives.

Chef Geraci, whose family was in the restaurant business in New Orleans and who has owned several successful restaurants himself, revamped schools meals in Baltimore, where about 88 percent of children receive free or reduced-cost lunches.

The story goes on to say that Geraci serves only Maryland-grown fresh fruits and vegetables, buys healthful fare from food suppliers and offers meatless Mondays. He even started a 33-acre self-sustaining farm where some of the produce goes to schools and some is sold to local restaurants to support the project.

Today Geraci and hundreds of other chefs across the country are signing up for the government’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative (letsmove.gov/chefs.php), which encourages culinary experts to share their expertise with local schools.

First lady Michelle Obama launched the chefs program this spring as a part of her broader Let’s Move! Campaign to reduce childhood obesity. So far 1,600 chefs have signed up to help.

Anniversary wishes go out to Super Rite’s retiree Matt and Mary Toback, their 61st; Metromedia’s David and Harriett Finkelstein, their 51st; the world renowned marketing consultant Mike and Linda Wilson; Safeway’s Greg and Carolyn TenEyck, their 27th; and the food industry’s roving ambassador, Pat and Lee McCarthy, their 45th.

Whoever says that food retailing is not a “tough, rough business” should read this article, which appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently.

“The signs barring the carrying of concealed weapons inside Schnucks (a 90 store chain headquartered in St. Louis, MO with stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin) quietly came down earlier last month – more than six years after they first went up in the grocery chain’s Missouri stores following the passage of a state law allowing individuals to carry concealed weapons.”

Lori Willis, a Schnucks spokeswoman, said the company’s policy change came about during a routine review of its policies.

Schnucks has not barred weapons in four other states – Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee – where the company has stores and where there are concealed-carry laws on the books. And there haven’t been any problems in those states, she said.

“We decided to make the change in policy based on the idea that any customer who has a valid license to carry a concealed weapon should be allowed to do so,” Willis said. “It really seemed to us as if it were a non issue.”

The signs were removed without fanfare on June 1, 2010.

In 2003, the Missouri Legislature passed a law allowing residents with permits to carry concealed weapons, but court challenges delayed implementation until the following year. Under the law, private businesses were allowed to ban firearms on their premises. The law was greeted with a mixed response from retailers. Some, like Schnucks, decided to prohibit firearms in their stores.

So sales people who work in the Schnucks stores, be careful when a customer complains about a product or the service in the store!

If you’re a retailer in the Mid-Atlantic area, you might be interested in the Human Resources/Training and Development Conference FMI (Food Marketing Institute) is holding in Baltimore September 26-28, 2010 at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.

The conference will, according to FMI, enhance professional partnerships and gain new insight on critical business issues, such as diversity management, compensation and benefits trends, development of workforce skills and leadership development. General sessions and workshops provide an opportunity to work with industry experts and peers to develop innovative approaches to human resources and training and development. Several structured forums for idea exchange are included in the program.

If you’re interested in this conference, contact the Food Marketing Institute at www.smartbrief.com/news/FMI/associationNews.jsp

The Network of Executive Women (NEW) will present ways for industry executives and their organizations to leverage today’s new business landscape at the NEW Leadership Summit 2010, September 27-29 in Charlotte, NC.

More than 700 executives are expected to attend the summit, which will feature a new format with three SuperSessions and keynote addresses by Lt. Col. Consuela Kickbusch, U.S. Army retired, futurist and author Edie Weiner, and a “generations at work” panel moderated by Fawn Germer.

The SuperSessions will focus on change issues affecting the industry. Session leaders will include Kevin Coupe, industry journalist and co-author of The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies, and Bill Fournet, generations and workforce expert.

For more information visit www.newonline.org.

The Mid-Atlantic Food, Beverage, and Lodging Expo, sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Maryland in partnership with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center October 6-7, 2010.

This annual trade show is the largest in the Mid-Atlantic region, attracting thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibitors from New York to Florida.

For more information visit www.midatlanticexpo.com.

Kudos to former Giant/Landover president Pete Manos who last month was written up in the Bosworth Bulletin, the “VOICE” of Benjamin Franklin University Alumni Association.

The Bulletin was distributed at the 50th annual luncheon for the alumni of the university. It was quite an honor for Pete to be featured in that publication. Pete is one the distinguished business leaders in the Mid-Atlantic to have graduated from BFU.

For the many food sales people who travel to and from points all over the country from BWI every week, there is a new restaurant at the BWI Marriott for those who spend overnights in Baltimore-Washington, Chesapeake, which is named after and offers cuisine of the region. Chesapeake is a “seafood lover’s dream” and offers an upscale casual dining establishment.

Located just a few steps from the hotel’s lobby, the restaurant is a modern American bar and grill, featuring Eastern Shore decor including a floor-to-ceiling mural of the Chesapeake River. Chesapeake also features a number of local ales and an impressive wine list.

We were saddened to learn at presstime of the sudden death of Elliott Friedman. Elliott was known to many in the food industry of the Mid-Atlantic and throughout the East Coast. He worked many years in frozen food for Giant/Landover and then for a frozen distributor in Florida. He returned to the Mid-Atlantic and became associated with Burris Retail Logistics where he remained until his retirement. Elliott was a member of Maryland’s Food Industry Hall of Fame. Upon retirement from Burris he became very active in his synagogue on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We extend our sympathies to his wife Elaine and his family. Elliott was a good friend to all who knew him, he will be missed.  

We learned recently of the death of Douglas M. Mox, a food broker and baseball umpire who died last month of multiple organ failure at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

He was the son of a Baltimore police officer who was born in Baltimore and spent his early years in Morrell Park.

During the early 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a sous chef and kitchen manager at King’s Contrivance in Columbia and later at the old Country Fare Inn in Reisterstown and the former Caper’s in Annapolis.

From 1987 to 2005, he was a food broker with Key Impact Sales in Odenton, and since 2005 had been employed by RPA Inc. of Owings Mills.

He also had worked part time as a supervising chef for Ridgewell Caterers in Bethesda and Linwoods Restaurant and Catering in Owings Mills, MD.

Mr. Mox began umpiring in 1994 with the Arbutus Little League, and after his son moved onto senior baseball, he continued officiating Little League games.

He also umpired minors, majors, juniors and seniors games in the Maryland district and Maryland state tournaments, as well as tournament games in New Jersey and Delaware.

He was 52.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, October 23, 2010, the date of The Children’s Cancer Foundation Celebrity Ball.

The honoree is Robin Michel, president of Gian/Landover. The event will take place at Valley Mansion by Martins. For more information call 410-486-4744.

Birthday greetings go out this month to: Michele Muckle, daughter of Safeway’s Craig and Yolanda Muckle; Nestle’s Anthony McPhail; Integrity Food Marketing’s Bob Gossweiler; the owner of America’s largest chain of Laundromats, Michael Finkelstein; Jim and Jacqueline Ukrop, formerly of Ukrop’s; retired Box’n Save’s John Sieglein; Solomon enterprises’ Esther Solomon; Sherry Rich, wife of International Food and Beverage (IFB) president, Frank Rich; and Bernadette Quinn, wife of La Famiglia mixologist Burt Quinn.

Celebrating anniversaries are: Michael and Linda Hughes, Hughes Sales, their 17th;; retired Box’n Save’s John and Penny Sieglein, their 42nd; and Pete and Barbara Manos, Giant Food retired; their 50th on July 16.

You can e-mail dick Bestany at: [email protected]

Welcome to the June 2010 issue of Food World, the Annual Market Study Issue.  This is the 32nd year we have published the Mid-Atlantic grocery industry Market Study.  It is completely researched and prepared by the staff of Best-Met Publishing Company.  And like other years, it is the most sought after issue of the year.  It is the most definitive study done on the grocery business on the East Coast.  Retailers, food marketing companies, print and broadcast media, marketing consultants and manufacturers will be quoting the facts and figures contained here for the next 12 months.  And we can proudly boast that it will be used as a source by The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications that cover the food industry.

While many in and outside the grocery industry benefit from all the research in this issue, the great companies that choose to advertise in it are the major beneficiaries.  Their ads will be seen and read by every food company and food retailer doing business or wishing to do business in the Mid-Atlantic.  No other medium can deliver such a targeted audience.  We thank all our many advertisers and we urge our readers to support them and their products.

As you can imagine, preparing this issue is no easy task.  It takes months of preparation and research from many sources.  The one person who plans the issue and puts it all together is the publisher, Jeff Metzger. He oversees all the work along the way and directs the talented team who gathers and puts it all together.

Heading up that team is our editorial director, Terri Maloney.  Assisting Terri are Jenny Jones and Matt Danielson of Electronic Ink, our production company.

Beth Pripstein, a 14-year veteran of Best-Met Publishing, has the task of preparing the invoices, maintaining our mailing list, preparing and maintaining the billing, assisting with the proof reading, and helping with the much of the research.

And without our advertising staff and marketing staff, we would never have an issue to put together.  They are the most knowledgeable food trade people on the face of the earth:  Carol Cherington, vice president of advertising for Food World; Maria Maggio, vice president/general manager of Food Trade News; Nina Weiland, advisor to the publisher; and account executives Lou Rosenthal and Mike Keba.

And a very special thanks must go to our many faithful and loyal advertisers.  They are the lifeline of our business and we are most grateful to them for their support.  Many of them have been with us for as long as Best-Met Publishing has been publishing Food World, Food Trade News, and the Grocery Industry Directory.

And HUGE THANKS to our legions of loyal readers who have been with us for many, many years.  And we welcome the many men and women who have recently joined the food industry in the Mid-Atlantic.  Our circulation keeps growing year after year.  And as people get promoted out of the region, they still maintain their subscriptions to our papers.

We learned last month, just at press time, of the death of James P. Ellis, father of AWI president Bernie Ellis.  We had the pleasure of meeting Bernie’s father a couple of years ago.  He was a delightful man and an excellent story teller.  Our sincere sympathies go out to Bernie and his entire family.

Customers at Giant Food Stores and Martin’s Food Markets once again showed their support of the men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces by raising $211,719 through the annual Support Our Troops in-store campaign.

“The work of our regional USOs  is so very important in keeping our soldiers connected to home,” said Rick Herring, president.  “We thank our customers for their generosity in helping to support our local troops who are currently stationed throughout the world.”

From May 2 through May 8, customers were invited to donate $1 at the checkout toward their regional USO, an organization dedicated to  programs that build morale and keep soldiers connected to their families.  Since the inception of Support Our Troops, Giant and Martin’s customers have donated over $945,000.

In addition to supporting regional USO s, Giant and Martin’s also reach out several times a year to the family members of associates who are serving overseas by sending care packages of toiletries, sweets, beverage mixes, soups and microwaveable meals.

The Network Of  Executive Women (NEW) will present ways for industry executives and their organizations to leverage today’s new business realities at the NEW Leadership Summit 2010 in Charlotte.  More than 700 executives are expected to attend the Summit, which will feature a new format with three Super Sessions and keynote addresses by Lt. Col. Consuela Kickbusch, U.S. Army retired, futurist and author Edie Weiner, and a “generations at work” panel moderated by Fawn Germer.  For more information contact Carol Charington at Food World, 410-730-5013.

Congratulations to DeeDee McCracken, formerly a Kluge, Finkelstein and Acosta sales executive, on being named one of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Top 100 Sales Associates for February and January 2010.

Through her career in Real Estate, Dee Dee has sold more than 17.8 million dollars of Real Estate.  Dee Dee can be at 410-739-7517 or email her at [email protected].

Dee Dee is married to former Leaman Company, KLM  and Acosta executive Kevin McCracken.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, Rutter’s Farm Stores rules all times of day in the York (PA) Sunday News’ 2010 “Best of York” rankings.

Rutter’s Stores ranked No. 1 in the categories of breakfast—quick service,lunch—quick service, and dinner—quick service.  In the process, Rutter’s bested national brands including McDonald’s, Burger King and Panera Bread.

Rutter’s Dairy also rolled to its 10^th straight No. 1 ranking in the milk category.  The dairy has won the category every year that the survey has been published.

Rutter’s Dairy has served York County since 1921.  Rutter’s Farm Stores began in 1968 as an outlet for Rutter’s Dairy products.

Rutter’s was No. 2 in coffee, just behind Starbucks and ahead of Dunkin’ Donuts.

Over in Landover, MD Giant Food is presenting close to $2 million to local schools in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. And Delaware as a result of its 2009-2010 A+ Bonus Bucks program.  A+ Bonus Bucks provides a simple way for schools to earn funds to support school programs and enrichment activities every time a customer makes a purchase in their neighborhood Giant.”Over the past 20 years, Giant has awarded more than $81 million to schools in the Mid-Atlantic region through A+,” said Robin Michel, president of Giant Food of Landover, MD.  “We’re very pleased that 2,216 schools I our area participated in the A+ Bonus Bucks program this  year.  Giant and our customers are making a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of students in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. And Delaware.

There’s a new snack distributor in the Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia area..  If you’re selling food to anyone and carry snacks in your place of business, then you should get a hold of Perry Hollins of Country Snacks, Inc. in Upper Marlboro, MD.  Perry services food stores, C-stores and all places where snacks are sold.  And we understand that he is a very good fisherman as he is allowed to go fishing with Associated Service’s Michael Finkelstein and the Mid-Atlantic’s famous and well known retailer, David Green.  Perry can be reached at 301-735-4816.

In my never ending quest for nice restaurants in and around the Baltimore-Washington area, I recommend to anyone who likes Italian Food, La Scala.  LaScala is located in the heart of Baltimore’s “Little Italy” and is a terrific place.  It has a varied menu and a very lively bar scene and is one of the places visited by food sales people when visiting the   B-W Market and entertaining “the trade”.  Nino Germano is the owner and chef and he is very interested in pleasing his customers.  If you visit, ask for him.  If you don’t see on the menu something you like, and if it’s Italian, he’ll make it.  (Even if it’s not Italian he’ll make it.  He’s good!) LaScala is located at 1012 Eastern Avenue in Baltimore.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to: Ciao Bella’s Micky Parsons; Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Cyndi Ireland; H&S Bakery’s J.R. Paterakis; Agora Internationals Jerry Shupack; and Food World’s Lou Rosenthal, Beth Pripstein, Terri Maloney, Jeff Metzger; and to my granddaughter, Kathryn Dougherty Ireland, who will be celebrating her 4^th birthday.

Celebrating wedding anniversaries this month are:  Food World’s Carol and Joel Cherington, their 16th; Edy’s John and Donna Plumhoff, their 29th; H&S Bakery’s JR and Emily Paterakis, their 29th; display consultant Mike and Jennifer Keefe, their 22nd; Utz Quality Foods’ Tom and Bekki Dempsey, their 29th; Star Sales & Marketing’s Randy and Debi Holland, their 31st; Quaker Maid Meats’ Tom and Janine Robinson, their 9th; Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Cyndi and Clyde’s Restaurants’ Bill Ireland, their 6th.