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.
SPECIALTY FOOD THE NEWS UPDATE FOR SPECIALTY FOOD PROFESSIONALS NEWS
WALMART GROCERY OPENS IN OREGON A Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Beaverton, Ore., set to open in May will be the first of its kind on the West Coast. The 43,000-square-foot store will primarily offer groceries, including fresh produce, frozen foods, meat, dairy and organic foods, along with a pharmacy and some household items.
Williams-Sonoma Sponsors Market
In Portland, Ore., on the third Saturday of every month, retailer Williams-Sonoma is hosting an artisans market. The offer- ings include handmade chocolate brownies made by Blissful Brownies, cranberries from Bouncing Berry Farms, authentic Brazilian food by Brazi Bites, confections from Chocolate Craft, a variety of salts from The Meadow, creative foods from NW Elixers and cheese from Urban Cheesecraft.
NEXT-DAY DELIVERY FOR ARTISANAL PRODUCERS Chicago-based grocery delivery service artizone.com allows consumers to shop from different specialty food vendors on one website and have the items delivered the next day. Some of the popular outlets are local fish markets, meat markets, a green grocer, a confection shop and a pasta store. Founded by busy parents who love to cook, artizone.com is already a hit in Dallas, where city residents shop from more than 20 local vendors and artisanal food producers.
Baltimore Coffee Goes Upscale The high-end coffee scene in Baltimore is growing. Lamill Coffee, which opened in the new Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East, offers only five blends of coffee at a time and grinds beans on the spot before brewing them using the hand-drip method. Coming next is Artifact Coffee to the Union Hill Development in Hampden.
HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCH COMPANY MAY GO NATIONAL The owners of Start-up Smart Lunches, Charlestown, Mass., which delivers to 11 Boston-area schools and day-care centers, are thinking of taking the brand national. Smart Lunches currently focuses on students in private and parochial schools that don't have cafeterias. Parents have the choice to order a month's worth of hot or cold lunches online, which are delivered to the school by contract caterers. A sample lunch is a turkey
LEGISLATIVE REGULATORY NEWS
asked the Institute of Food Technologists to lead two pilot programs to test and study various product-tracing systems. A simple food (e.g., tomatoes) and a complex food (ready-to-eat or non-ready-to-eat product containing meat, spices and peanuts) will be in the pilots. Among items IFT will analyze are traceability systems, technology and costs. Results are expected in 2012 and will be linked to the implementation of the new Food Safety Modernization Act.
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Marsha Echols, NASFT's legal advisor in Washington, D.C., is available to counsel members. Reach her at 202.625.1451 or echols@marshaechols.com.
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BY ROBYN PFORR RYAN
A look at industry happenings, store and restaurant openings, legislative and regulatory updates and more
half-sandwich with cheese, baby carrots and an oatmeal cookie.
NYC Grocer Makes Major Investment
Online grocer FreshDirect is investing $112.6 million in a 500,000-square-foot facility for its headquarters in the Harlem River Yards in the Bronx. The company is set to receive $84 million worth of tax exemptions and financial assistance from New York City after the Industrial Development Agency approved
the package.
TATER TOTS HIT THE ROAD The Tot Boss, a new food truck in St. Paul, Minn., may be the first food truck to spe- cialize in tater tots. The menu includes a Tater Tot hot dish, Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots, Tater Tot Nachos, Chili Tots and a Tot 'n' Beef Burrito. The truck even offers gluten-free options, prepared separately.
Traceability and Food Safety Pilots … The FDA is looking to develop tools to help trace tainted foods quickly and to prevent or minimize outbreaks of food illness. The agency
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