Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/195987
BY ROBYN PFORR RYAN Industry happenings, store and restaurant openings, legislative and regulatory updates and more news, targeted by trade channel 20,000 Estimated tons of food waste that the East Coast's first food-scrap digester plant will turn into energy and fertilizer. Constructed by NEO Energy, LLC, the plant is expected to open in late 2014 in North Kingston, R.I. supplier Dan Barber Brings Vegetable Yogurts to Retail Chef Dan Barber is producing for retail the savory vegetable yogurts he has served for years in his restaurants, Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The yogurts are made with milk from grass-fed dairy cows in the Berkshires and upstate New York, including at Barber's family's Blue Hill Farm. They are blended with fresh local vegetable purees like beets, carrots, tomatoes and butternut squash, leaving them brightly colored, smooth and a little tart. The yogurts are available in 6-ounce containers at select Whole Foods Markets. foodservice "Shark Tank" Appearance Grows Tom + Chee Franchise Expansion The founders of grilled cheese and tomato soup shop Tom + Chee have been inundated with about 7,000 franchise requests after appearing on ABC's "Shark Tank" reality TV show. Corey Ward and Trew Quackenbush founded the first Tom + Chee in Cincinnati in 2009. The restaurant will add franchisees in Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Atlanta; and Fort Worth, Texas. The restaurants are already located in Ohio, Kentucky and New Jersey. specialty retail Argo Tea Eyes Expansion, Seeks Investors Argo Tea, a 27-cafe chain with a growing bottled-tea business, is seeking investors to help fund a significant expansion. The privately held company, with more than $20 million in revenues, is ramping up in the shadow of Starbucks' Teavana investment in the specialty tea sector late last year. Starbucks paid $620 million for loose-tea retailer Teavana, which has more than 300 stores. supplier Palace de Versailles Launches Specialty Food Line A new line of specialty food bears a historic French royal pedigree. The Château de Versailles Epicerie Fine line is being launched by the Palace of Versailles to help fund numerous projects, including restorations, acquisitions and cultural programs. The line includes soups, sauces, fruit jams, sweets and foie gras, all made from organically grown fruits and vegetables, and is available at some of Paris' luxury food shops, like Le Bon Marché and Lafayette Gourmet. Eventually, it will be available in international boutiques and airports. The produce used is meant to reflect the refined, adventurous tastes of Louis XIV, who boasted a royal vegetable garden designed to be a "laboratory" of horticulture to provide his feasts with new flavors. For its venture, Versailles has partnered with the company Oh Légumes Oubliés. InDepth Reports: Find daily updated news, trends and business-building information targeted to your specific channel of trade at specialtyfood.com/indepthreports. Specialty Food Media's InDepth Reports focus on specialty and volume retailers, foodservice professionals, suppliers, importers, distributors and brokers. You'll also find targeted information on key industry categories, including Dairy & Deli; Natural & Organic; Chocolate & Confectionery and Condiments. Want to receive the day's full news? Subscribe to Specialty Food News, our daily email newsletter, at specialtyfoodnews.com. InDepth Robyn Pforr Ryan is a regular contributor to Specialty Food News and Specialty Food Magazine. 10 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com