FM's 2011 Top 50 Management Companies

MIKE BUZALKA

Almost half of the 2011 Top 50 (23 companies)exceeded $100 million in revenues over the past year, the second most ever. There were 24 in 2009, of which three (Boston Culinary Group, Lackmann Culinary Services, Next Generation Vending) have been acquired in the interim. Last year, there were 20. The low for $100 million companies in the Top 50 was 13, posted in both 2003 and 2004. Joining the nine-figure club for the first time this year are Metz Culinary Management (#18) and Unidine Corp. (#20).

While the past year has been difficult for the economy as a whole, it is instructive to note that revenues for the Top 50 as a whole grew by almost $1.5 billion, or 4.6%, led by the Big Three of Compass, Aramark and Sodexo. But even the other 47 still added a net of around $165 million (2.4%) with only a half dozen posting actual revenue declines for the year. This illustrates the ability of Top 50 companies to manage operations and fiscals in even a difficult financial environment, as well as the way contractors manage their “portfolios,” balancing stable but slow-growth institutional segments with more volatile commercial ones like B&I and Recreation. It should be noted, though, that even contractors heavily in B&I have managed for the most part to hold their own while those concentrating on schools, colleges, healthcare and other institutional segments have generally done even better.

FM's Top 50 is limited to firms that operate significant manual foodservice operations, so companies that are, for example, exclusively vending specialists or caterers are not included. Onsite foodservice is a remarkably varied industry encompassing operations in a wide variety of environments, from school lunchrooms to football stadium skyboxes. Given this diversity, one should review the business summaries for each company to get a more accurate picture of its market activity and avoid drawing conclusions about any particular firm based simply on its position on the Top 50. Another complicating factor: contract terms that affect the revenue a contractor derives from a particular operation may obscure the scope of what is being managed. For clarity's sake, we use the gross revenue number that reflects the dollars companies put on their top line, believing that this best reflects a firm's size.

Click here for Top 50 results at a glance.

Click and read about the Top 50 Management Companies

1. Compass Group North America

CHARLOTTE, NC
compass-usa.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $9,900
2009: $9,100

LOCATIONS
2010: 12,740
2009: 8,686

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (29%), Healthcare (26%), Education (24%), Recreation (14%), Other (7%)

Compass North America is a division of London-based Compass Group PLC. It accounted for 44% of the parent company's revenues in fiscal 2010, the same as in 2009, and expanded 5.8% organically. Meanwhile, operating profit grew 11% on a constant currency basis (the parent company reports in British pounds).

B&I remains the largest U.S. business segment but dropped significantly from 37% to 29% of the total as Education (encompass both college and K-12), Recreation and minor segments like defense and offshore/remote expanded, while Healthcare remained steady at 26% of the business. The B&I business did have some major contract wins such as the Gates Foundation's new campus site, Amazon and Sun Microsystems. New Healthcare accounts include the Northeast Health System and HCA in Florida, while the Education business has added the Adams County (CO) School District, Rochester (NY) Community Schools, Andrews University and, most recently, Beverly Hills (CA) Schools. Compass' fast-growing recreation business, spearheaded by its Levy unit, has picked up the Boston Convention/Exhibition Center, the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention center, the Amway Center in Orlando and the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.

The acquisition of Southeast Service Corp., a major support services provider, has bolstered Compass' nonfoods offerings across all major segments. Other recent deals include Coffee Distributing Corp. and BW HLS Holdings, a laundry services provider. The company says it will focus on OCS and expanding support services in the coming years and these deals seem to reflect that goal.

One major new concept rolled out by Compass is Whole Sum, which offers customizable meals with 600 or fewer calories. More recently, it launched Carbon FOODprint, a web-based toolkit that helps users reduce their carbon expenditures.

Among the individual operating units, Restaurant Associates is developing Global Street Foods with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, and launching a wine and spirits consulting service. Chartwells introduced Chefs 2 School, which has guest chefs “adopting” local school districts, while Canteen's 2bU all-natural vending machine program encompasses local, organic, vegan, gluten-free and kosher offerings.

Compass made an addition to its leadership team when it appointed a new CFO, Adrian Meredith, last fall.

2. Aramark Corp.

PHILADELPHIA
www.aramark.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $8,605
2009: $8,394

LOCATIONS
2010: 3,647
2009: 3,524

SEGMENTS SERVED(e)
Sports/Entertainment (21%), Healthcare (18%), College/University (17%), B&I (15%), K-12 (11%), Corrections (7%), Conf. Ctrs. (6%), Vending/OCS (5%)

The sales volume shown is for Aramark's domestic Food & Support Services business for fiscal year 2010. It includes revenues from both foodservice and the many non-food-related support services the company offers. In addition, the international Food & Support Services unit generated another $2.487 billion and the Uniforms unit added $1.479 billion. Three quarters of the contracts operated by the Food & Support Services unit are P&L deals of one kind or another.

Highlights of the past year include spinning off the company's SeamlessWeb remote ordering unit into a separate enterprise that is still majority owned by Aramark, the launch of an Environmental Internship Program in partnership with the Student Conservation Association and the start of a relationship with Monterey Bay Aquarium for purchasing of sustainable seafood.

In its Corporate Services unit, Aramark rolled out the results of its partnership with Cooking Light magazine in the form of a series of healthier recipes. The Refreshment Services unit introduced Javia, a platform that allows smaller business sites to order OCS services efficiently while the Campus Services unit inked a deal with Salad Creations to bring its branded concept to Aramark-managed campus dining operations, and with the IHOP restaurant chain on a two-year test program to develop five IHOP Express and/or IHOP U concept restaurants on college campuses.

Aramark Healthcare bolstered its array of outsource offerings with a number of acquisitions including Masterplan, a clinical technology management and medical equipment maintenance company, and ReMedPar, a leading independent provider of parts and refurbished medical equipment parts. Late last year, it also launched its Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) Toolkit to help its dietitians partner with hospitals to improve patient care through outpatient nutritional counseling provided under Medicare Part B.

The Sports/Recreation unit launched a food ordering app for iPhones at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park that allows in-seat ordering.

Currently, Aramark manages dining and food services for 1,500 B&I locations, 503 healthcare facilities, 487 colleges/universities, 355 school districts, 500 corrections facilities, 210 sports/recreation/convention facilities, 44 conference centers and 48 university sports stadiums.

3. Sodexo, Inc.

GAITHERSBURG, MD
www.sodexousa.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $8,000
2009: $7,700

LOCATIONS
2010: 6,000
2009: 6,000

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (29%), B&I (24%), College/University (22%), K-12 (11%), Senior Dining (9%), Military (2%), Government (1%), Other (2%)

Sodexo, Inc., is the North American division of a Paris-based world-wide contract management company that offers a variety of support services to businesses, institutions and public entities in 80 countries, realizing $21 billion in revenues in its most recent completed fiscal year. The North American division generated around 38% of that total.

The unit posted an organic revenue increase of 4% (6.4% total) in the first nine months of the 2011 fiscal year, which ends August 31.

Over that nine-month period, revenues were up in all four of the company's major operating segments, with Healthcare (including Senior Dining) leading the way with a 5% increase. Organic growth of 1.1% in B&I was driven by the start-up of comprehensive service solutions contracts for clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, Henkel, British Aerospace and Colgate. Recent contract wins include General Electric Aviation in Ohio, Discover Financial Services and Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America.

The Healthcare segment growth was mainly driven by strong client retention rates and higher comparable unit growth. Among recently won contracts are Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida, Crozer Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania and Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Florida.

Organic revenue growth of 4.1% in the period in Education was mainly from increasing enrollment in both K-12 and colleges. Most recently, Sodexo started a major new contract for Detroit's 136 public schools to provide various nonfood support services. This is one of the largest Education contracts ever won by Sodexo in the U.S.

The company also partnered with celebrity chef Mai Pham on the Star Ginger concept and with the Cafe Spice casual Indian concept to bring its offerings to Sodexo managed venues.

The Jazzman's Cafe unit launched an online store and it as well as another Sodexo branded concept, SubConnection, debuted mobile apps for their concepts.

4. Delaware North Companies

BUFFALO
www.delawarenorth.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $1,900
2009: $1,900

LOCATIONS
2010: 200
2009: 135

SEGMENTS SERVED(e)
Stadiums/Arenas (32%), Parks/Recreation (18%), Airports (14%), Other (36%)

DNC operates in the travel and recreation segments. Its Sportservice unit manages premium dining, catering and concessions at more than 50 stadiums, ballparks and arenas in the United States, including the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, Soldier Field in Chicago, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Comerica Park in Detroit, Target Field in Minneapolis and TD Garden in Boston. It also jointly operates The Plaza hotel's historic Grand Ballroom in New York.

The Parks & Recreation unit has contracts with high-profile clients like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sequoia and Grand Canyon national parks, the Kennedy Space Center and Niagara Falls State Park. The Yosemite contract is the largest in the National Park Service and includes managing the historic Ahwahnee lodge and all other lodges and accommodations within the national park.

The Travel & Hospitality Services unit operates over 300 food and retail outlets at more than two dozen airports around the world.

Recent highlights have included a partnership with the Food Network to develop new menu, restaurant and retail concepts, and a strong focus on local foods and local/regional brands (director-level positions have been added at airport and sports venues for this purpose). Part of the brand enhancement program has been a deal with Jay-Z's 40/40 Club sports bar concept to bring it into select airport locations.

DNC has also published a formal announcement of its company-wide sustainable seafood pledge, continued its focus on its GuestPath customer service program and strengthened its internal chef support network with more training and feedback modules.

5. Centerplate

STAMFORD, CT
www.centerplate.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $750
2009: $741

LOCATIONS
2010: 250
2009: 250

SEGMENTS SERVED
Stadiums/Arenas (51%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (27%), Other (22%)

Centerplate operates in 250 North American sports, entertainment and convention venues, including six of the top 10 most active convention centers following its 2010 merger with Boston Culinary Group. It also bolstered its management team with the promotion of EVP Chris Verros to COO and Marketing Leader Bob Pascal to CMO, and launched a new hospitality division, Centerplate Stir.

Centerplate Stir launched a series of brand concepts, including Hamburg & Frites (gourmet burgers), Tortugas Voladoras (Mexican sandwiches), Apizza (pizza) and La Creperie (authentic Parisian crepes).

Among highlights in the field in the past year are major deals with the University of Notre Dame for concessions at three campus sports facilities, including the 80,000-seat football stadium, with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, the nation's sixth largest convention facility, and with the new Santa Clara Stadium, scheduled to become the home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers in 2015.

6. Thompson Hospitality

HERNDON, VA
www.thompsonhospitality.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $351
2009: $321

LOCATIONS
2010: 160
2009: 140

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (37%), College/University (30%). K-12 (14%), Hospitals (7%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (5%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (4%), Arenas/Stadiums (3%)

Thompson is one of the country's largest minority-owned businesses. It operates both franchised commercial restaurants and onsite dining sites.

It operates campus dining at almost two dozen higher education accounts, many of them historically black colleges and community colleges. It also partners with various business units of Compass Group on corporate dining and K-12 school contracts, including Chicago Public Schools.

Thompson continues to develop and expand its restaurant brands with the addition of Be Right Burger, a gourmet burger concept that features kiosk locations, mobile ordering, interactive social media connections and instantaneous tabulation of nutritional information for each order. It has also introduced its Austin Grill branded wings into retail distribution and expanded its business in Canada and Mexico.

7. Guckenheimer Enterprises, Inc.

REDWOOD SHORES, CA
www.guckenheimer.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $350
2010: $345(e)

LOCATIONS
2011: 220
2010: 200(e)

SEGMENTS SERVED(e)
B&I (80%), College/University (10%), Museums/Perf.Arts Ctrs. (10%)

Guckenheimer has grown from a West Coast regional player to being a national company that is the largest provider to the corporate dining segment outside of the “Big Three” of Aramark, Compass and Sodexo. It currently operates in over two dozen states, though Northern California remains its strongest territory. Around 85% of the company's business is in managing dining operations for its clients, with the rest coming from OCS (10%) and concessions (5%).

8. Guest Services, Inc.

FAIRFAX, VA
www.guestservices.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $350
2009: $330

LOCATIONS
2010: 111
2009: 105

SEGMENTS SERVED
Government (45%), B&I (30%), Parks/Recreation Centers (10%), Military (8%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (5%), Senior Dining (1%), College/University (1%)

Originally founded in 1917 to provide government facilities in Washington with foodservices, Guest Services today operates in multiple segments. It manages cafes in public institutions (National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Holocaust Museum, National Museum of the Marine Corps), operates concessions in public spaces (National Park Service on the National Mall), at state and National Park accounts (Big Sur State Park, Bear Mountain Inn, Mt. Rainier National Park), government accounts (HUD, Bethesda Naval Hospital, GSA's Regional Office Building, Defense Intelligence Agency) and at private businesses (Northrup Grumman, General Dynamics, numerous prestigious Washington law firms).

In the past year, the company introduced Guest for Life, a multi-faceted program for all business lines that focuses on health, community and sustainability, as well as Healthy Course, a menu program with items consistent with different defined nutritional criteria. Guest Services has also inked a partnership with Tara Thai, a local restaurant chain, to use its menu offerings at catered special events.

9. Ovations Food Services

TAMPA, FL
www.ovationsfoodservices.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $200
2009: $188

LOCATIONS
2010: 115
2009: 110

SEGMENTS SERVED
Stadiums/Arenas (40%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (21%), Casinos (13%), Fairgrounds (10%), Amphitheaters (6%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (5%), Racetracks (4%), Parks/Rec. Ctrs. (1%)

Ovations is part of the Comcast-Spectacor entertainment conglomerate. The parent company also owns several major and minor-league sports teams and arenas, a 24-hour sports programming network and several public assembly management, marketing and ticketing firms. Ovations operates in convention and exposition centers, fairgrounds, parks, amphitheaters and over 50 sports stadiums and arenas.

These include EverBank Field, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as minor league and spring training ballparks and sports venues at Wright State, San Jose State, Colorado State, Temple and George Mason Universities.

It has been expanding its casino business, with seven new contracts bringing its total to 11 accounts in the segment. It also has been increasing its focus on sustainable farm-to-table cuisine, as with its new locally inspired concession stand, Oregon's Own, at the Rose Quarter arena in Portland.

10. Valley Services, Inc.

JACKSON, MS
www.valleyinc.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $189
2009: $185

LOCATIONS
2010: 300
2009: 300

SEGMENTS SERVED
Senior Nutrition/Frozen Meals (50%), Hospitals (22%), Corrections (9%), College/University (9%), B&I (7%), K-12 (3%)

Valley realizes half of its revenues from manufacturing and distributing meals for senior nutrition programs. Traditions, the frozen meal division, doubled its capacity several years ago and is now generating growing revenues by expanding its business to include corrections, healthcare and senior dining facilities that see frozen preprepared meals as an increasingly viable option in the face of increasing food, labor, supply and fuel costs.

Valley's Senior Services and Corrections Services divisions also continue to see growth opportunities in niches where economic budget constraints have impacted self-operated programs. The company is also researching ways to better meet those customers' increasing needs for health and wellness focused menus.

A comprehensive back-office system has allowed Valley to keep costs manageable despite rising raw food prices. Technology has also helped control production to reduce food waste.

On the menu front at the units, Valley's Choice Matters program offers attractive combo meal choices that have under 550 calories and 550 mg of sodium and less than 15 g of fat.

11. Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA
www.hcsgcorp.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $178.3
2009: $159.8

LOCATIONS
2010: 380
2009: 350

SEGMENTS SERVED(e)
Senior Dining (99%), Hospitals (1%)

The volume above is foodservice only. HSG derives most of its $770 million in annual revenues from housekeeping, laundry, linen and facility maintenance services. It operates in 2,500 nursing homes, rehab facilities, retirement centers and hospitals in 47 states and Canada.

Clients include the Golden Horizons nursing home chain, which accounts for about 11% of total company revenues, and 9% of foodservice revenues. Overall, HSG concentrates on marketing its services to long term care clients whose facilities have over 100 beds.

12. AVI Food Systems, Inc.

WARREN, OH
www.avifoodsystems.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $175(e)
2009: n/a

LOCATIONS
2010: 70(e)
2009: n/a

SEGMENTS SERVED(e)
College/University (60%), B&I (25%), Healthcare (15%)

Privately held AVI is one of the nation's largest vending and office coffee services providers. Recently, it has been concentrating on building its manual foodservice business.

The manual foodservice operations are divided between two divisions. One serves institutional clients like colleges and hospitals. The other operates in B&I in conjunction with the much larger vending group, which reaches across Ohio and into contiguous states. Onsite dining clients include Kenyon College, Hiram College, Tiffin University, Slippery Rock University, Wayne State University, the Cleveland Clinic retail operations and Shaker Heights (OH) Schools.

13. Xanterra Parks & Resorts

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO
www.xanterra.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $175(e)
2009: n/a

LOCATIONS
2010: 22(e)
2009: n/a

SEGMENTS SERVED
Parks/Recreation (100%)

Xanterra (known as Amfac until 2002) was formed in 1995 through the acquisition of TW Recreational Services, a business that traced its history back to 1905. Then, as the Fred Harvey Co., it began managing concessions operations in national parks like the Grand Canyon. Today, it operates in national parks like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Mount Rushmore, Bryce Canyon and Crater Lake, as well as several resorts and eight Ohio state parks.

Xanterra was acquired by the Anschutz Corp. in 2008.

14. Gourmet Services, Inc.

ATLANTA
gourmetservicesinc.com

MGD. VOL.
2010: $172
2009: $184

LOCATIONS
2010: 19
2009: 20

SEGMENTS SERVED
College/University (46%), B&I (29%), Arenas/Stadiums (21%), Other (4%)

Gourmet Services began in 1975 as a campus dining services provider to half a dozen historically black colleges. It expanded rapidly in that segment and into other segments, especially B&I. To serve customers better, it also secured branding alliances with a number of notable street restaurant chains, including McDonald's, Cinnabon, Chick-fil-A and Subway.

The company's most prominent business initiative over the past year has been the launch of a wellness program that incorporates various facets of healthy dining and overall lifestyle wellness to its higher education accounts. A modified version has also been developed for B&I clients.

The company also bolstered its management ranks with a new VP-marketing/sales, Kristen Hoffman, who has spearheaded GSI's wellness and social media initiatives.

15. CulinArt, Inc.

PLAINVIEW, NY
www.culinartinc.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $160
2010: $146

LOCATIONS
2011: 128
2010: 122

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (52%), College/University (27%), K-12 (12%), Parks/Rec. Ctrs. (4%), Senior Dining (2%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (2%), Corrections (1%)

CulinArt launched a senior dining services division with Williamson Hospitality Services, a company acquired in 2007, becoming the firm's senior dining services brand. To bolster both client retention and cultivate new business, the company added two sales professionals, one on the East Coast and one on the West, as well as a dedicated eMarketing specialist.

This past January, CulinArt increased its emphasis on retail food concept marketing with a sophisticated new promotion program designed to boost check average. It also relaunched its 500-calories-or-less meal program in several accounts with dedicated stations and worked with several clients on on-premise gardens as part of its Sustainable Solutions program.

In the higher education segment, the new All-Halal Asian Stir Fry concept was debuted while the K-8 market received new health emphases with an All About Hue campaign highlighting the benefits of eating colorful foods, and an interactive demo program focused on make-your-own “frushi” that combines sticky rice and fruit for dessert and snack options.

16. Whitsons Culinary Group

ISLANDIA, NY
www.whitsons.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $133.9
2010: $110.3

LOCATIONS
2011: 180
2010: 209

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (65%), Food Manufacturing (27%), B&I (7%), Senior Dining (1%)

About a quarter of Whitsons' revenues come from the production of meals for the company's various dining operations as well as for independent senior dining programs and, most recently, for the consumer market. Most of the rest is generated by the management of onsite dining operations, mostly in K-12 schools.

Just recently, the company scored a major coup with a three-year contract to provide ready-made meals to 86 schools in the Boston Public system that lack kitchens. It has also expanded its Nu-Life gluten/casein/soy free meal line to include homestyle foods such as Cheese Lasagna and Baked Ziti. Also new are a pair of concepts: the Grilled Cheese Bar, featuring various cheese, breads and fruits/vegetables, and Spice Bites, featuring special menus themed around specific cuisines to provide variety.

17. Trusthouse Services Group

CHARLOTTE, NC
www.trusthouseservices.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $124
2010: $118

LOCATIONS
2011: 208
2010: 210

SEGMENTS SERVED
Senior Dining (44%), College/University (32%), K-12 (20%), Transportation (2%), B&I (1%), Corrections (1%)

The above listed volume will grow about 75% following Trusthouse's merger deal with A'viands (#24 below), which was announced just after the end of Trusthouse's 2011 fiscal year in July. It will also expand the company's reach into 10 additional states. The two companies are listed separately here because they operated independently for the past year.

Trusthouse itself was formed through the 2008 acquisitions of three formerly independent foodservice management companies and is headed by former Compass Group CEO Michael Bailey. The firm concentrates on the institutional market, believing that segments like healthcare, education and corrections (which will receive a major boost with the A'viands deal) provide more stability than market-dependent ones like B&I and recreation.

The year also saw a major management change as Wayne Burke, longtime CEO of the Aladdin division, has moved up to chairman, replaced by former Sodexo executive Tom Cusimano.

On the culinary front, Trusthouse has introduced several street food concepts into its education business, encompassing Mediterrranian, Mexican and Indian cuisines that highlight the company's focus on exhibition cooking.

18. Metz Culinary Management

DALLAS, PA
www.metzltd.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $108
2009: $97

LOCATIONS
2010: 129
2009: 125

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (44%), B&I (19%), Senior Dining (11%), Hospitals (8%), College/University (7%)

Metz rebranded itself as Metz Culinary Management from its previous Metz & Associates identity, including a logo change that emphasizes the company's chef-driven approach and culinary expertise.

That culinary approach is manifested in a series of new major concepts developed by Metz, including Bowl Cuisine (Asian bowl dishes), Chopping Block (personalized salads), Even Better Biscuits (stuffed biscuits and chili bowls), 50 Sandwiches (weekly special sandwiches themed by states), Oatmeal Bar and Flatbread Fare.

19. Taher, Inc.

MINNETONKA, MN
www.taher.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $105
2010: $102

LOCATIONS
2011: 234
2010: 229

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (67%), B&I (12%), College/University (11%), Senior Dining (5%), Commercial Restaurants (5%)

Taher operates primarily in the Upper Midwest, where it is a major player in the K-12 market. In all, it operates at more than 400 locations. Taher's foray into commercial restaurants, initiatied several years ago with the opening of four single-location units and augmented by the acquisition in 2008 of the Timber Lodge Steakhouse chain, continues to contribute a small part of overall company revenues.

In its onsite operations, Taher is focused meeting customer needs in a soft economy with a new line of comfort foods such as casseroles, and with smaller portion and half sandwich options.

20. Unidine Corp.

BOSTON
www.unidine.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $104.6
2009: $95.8

LOCATIONS
2010: 151
2009: 140

SEGMENTS SERVED
Senior Dining (49%), Hospitals (33%), B&I (18%)

Unidine is moving its headquarters to a larger space in Boston this fall. The growing company has also made a major technology upgrade, repositioned its marketing and sales organizations and created a new corporate director of nutrition & wellness position. The management structure has been enhanced with new district manager and regional VP positions, and training and talent development have been strengthened, all in order to keep up with Unidine's geographic expansion.

The recent technology upgrades include enhancements to the company's online catering system (U-Catering), its online recipe, menu development and nutrition information database (myU-Suite) and the systems that facilitate room service dining in its hospital locations (U-In-room Dining).

It also continues to develop and promote its healthy initiatives through programs like Hydrate for Health in senior facilities and hospitals, and Agua Fresca (fruit infused water) in retail operations.

21. Treat America Food Services

MERRIAM, KS
www.treatamerica.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $104.5
2009: $105.2

LOCATIONS
2010: 2,500
2009: 2,400

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (66%), Hospitals (10%), Government (7%), College/University (6%), K-12 (3.5%), Senior Dining (3%), Parks/Recreation Ctrs. (2%), Corrections (1%), Transportation (1%), Arenas/Stadiums (0.5%)

Treat America's revenues come almost equally from vending and dining operations except for a small amount (about 12 percent of the total) derived from office coffee, catering and concessions. The dining operations are conducted in more than a hundred facilities in multiple segments in a dozen states across the Midwest.

The most prominent recent initiative is Company Kitchen, an upscale “micro-market” for employee break rooms that delivers fresh, nutritious snack and meal choices round-the-clock through an unattended kiosk system. It is linked to Treat America's proprietary Daily Nutrition Analysis (DNA) nutritional software, which is also connected to most of the company's dining services to clients.

22. Parkhurst Dining Services

PITTSBURGH
www.parkhurstdining.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $103
2009: $94

LOCATIONS
2010: 48
2009: 45

SEGMENTS SERVED
College/University (75%), B&I (20%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (5%)

Parkhurst is one of two onsite foodservice divisions (the other is #27 Cura Hospitality) of the Eat'n Park Hospitality Group's Onsite Brands Division. The company expanded its pioneering local purchasing and sustainability program, FarmSource, with a Growers Manual, written by Sourcing/Sustainability Director Jamie Moore, that discusses how to go about starting and maintaining container gardens. FarmSource, started in 2001, now has ties with more than 150 farmers in communities near where Parkhurst operates.

The company also grew its account base by adding clients like the Andy Warhol Museum, the Powdermill Nature Reserve, Delaware Valley College, the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of the Arts, the latter two in Philadelphia. It also renewed and expanded its partnership with Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

23. Nutrition, Inc. dba The Nutrition Group

IRWIN, PA
www.thenutritiongroup.biz

SALES VOL.
2010: $102
2009: $95

LOCATIONS
2010: 358
2009: 350

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (85%), Senior Dining (12%), Corrections (2%), B&I (1%)

Nutrition, Inc., offers clients an integrated package of foodservice, catering, custodial/maintenance and vending management services, as well as dining facility design and consulting services. It currently operates at more than 1,200 individual locations.

In the past year it introduced a pair of nutrition education mascots, Molly the Cow and Calvin the Calf, and has worked with vendors to bring live animal exhibits from local zoos to schools to help students learn about the dietary needs of animals as a vehicle for understanding the importance of nutrition in their own lives. Another educational program, Is Your Tray OK? assists FSDs in providing hands-on activities for building healthy lunch trays.

24. A'viands Food & Services Management

ROSEVILLE, MN
www.aviands.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $88.2
2009: $76.5

LOCATIONS
2010: 200
2009: 200

SEGMENTS SERVED
Corrections (30%), Senior Dining (29%), K-12 (16%), College/University (15%), B&I (7%), Hospitals (3%)

In late July, A'viands announced a merger with Trusthouse Services Group (#17 above) but the company is listed here because it operated independently for most of the past year.

A'viands operates in the Midwest and Southwest, the latter through its Summit Food Service Management unit based in Albuquerque. Its largely institutional business will mesh well with Trusthouse's concentration in those segments, especially the corrections area where it has a substantial business. Among its notable initiatives over the past year has been an expansion of corrections business geographically into Georgia and Maryland. It also added a VP position to its Education and B&I group to further penetrate those markets.

In the past year A'viands has also strengthened its online presence with new website designs, a stronger social media presence and the migration of its recruitment/hiring operations to online vehicles. On the culinary front, recent initiatives include a series of new concepts like a risotto bar and a street food station, as well as Fit 4 Life, a healthy dining concept for healthcare clients, and Chef on Demand, a traveling chefs program for the K-12 market.

25. Thomas Cuisine Management

MERIDIAN, ID
thomascuisine.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $77
2009: $73

LOCATIONS
2010: 48
2009: 45

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (81%), B&I (10%), College/University (4%), Arenas/Stadiums (3%), Vending (2%)

Thomas has been adding new business in the neighboring Northwestern states of Montana, Washington and Oregon. It has also launched a local sourcing campaign with growers across the region, continued to expand “green” initaitives in all its units and advanced its staff serving training/development and web presence/social media offerings. It also bulked up its onsite offerings with more grab-and-go selections, more healthy options and and enhanced room service program for its growing healthcare clientele.

26. Southern Foodservice Management, Inc.

BIRMINGHAM, AL
southernfoodservice.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $73.7
2009: $72.3

LOCATIONS
2010: 77
2009: 80

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (57.5%), Government (17%), K-12 (9.5%), Military (3.5%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (3.5%), Parks/Rec. Ctrs. (3%), Arenas/Stadiums (2.5%), Hospitals (2%), Senior Dining (1.5%)

Southern's partnership with the Danish integrated facilities services management firm ISS for pursuit of global facilities services contracts bore fruit in the past year with the award of the Hewlett-Packard global portfolio. The company had embarked on the alliance as a way to position itself as an alternative to multinational contract services providers. Domestically, it maintains footprints in a diverse set of segments though B&I and government facilities continue to be the core of the business. On the menu front, Southern continues to expand its Smart Cuisine healthy dining package.

27. Cura Hospitality

OREFIELD, PA
www.curahospitality.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $64
2009: $54

LOCATIONS
2010: 40
2009: 29

SEGMENTS SERVED
Senior Dining (81%), Hospitals (18%), College/University (1%), Seminary (1%)

Cura is one of two onsite foodservice divisions of the Eat 'n Park Hospitality Group's Onsite Brands Division (the other is #22 Parkhurst Dining Services). Originally operating exclusively in the senior dining segment, the company branched into the hospital segment several years ago and has seen its business in that segment grow. In the past year it expanded its regional focus to Delaware and New York with contracts with Westminster Village (Dover, DE) and Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (Williamsville, NY).

Two other recent initiatives were a highly successful Chef's Challenge cooking competition at the Peter Becker Retirement Community that has now been taken to other locations, and an effort to find dining-related supports for memory-challenged seniors through meal composition, settings and even serviceware colors.

Cura also participates in broader Eat 'n Park initiatives like the Farm Source local procurement program and a recently introduced growers manual (for more, see the Parkhurst section).

28. MMI Dining Systems

FLOWOOD, MS
mmihospitality.com/dining

SALES VOL.
2010: $63.5
2009: $62

LOCATIONS
2010: 129
2009: 125

SEGMENTS SERVED
College/University (30%), Senior Dining (20%), K-12 (20%), B&I (10%), Arenas/Stadiums (10%), Corrections (5%), Hotels (5%)

MMI Dining is one of two divisions of MMI (MMI Hotel, a lodging management unit, is the other), which started as a hotel management firm in Meridien, MS, in 1956 (the original name was Mississippi Management, Inc.). The dining division was launched in 1993 to provide F&B management services to the parent company's properties but has since branched into a variety of other segments. Recent new business includes two K-12 accounts, one a boarding school.

29. Lakeview Center, Inc., dba Gulf Coast Enterprises

PENSACOLA, FL
www.gulfcoastenterprises.org

SALES VOL.
2011: $59.7
2010: $47.8

LOCATIONS
2011: 11
2010: 8

SEGMENTS SERVED
Military (85%), Government (15%)

The foodservice division of Gulf Coast serves more than 13,000 meals daily to military clients like the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater, FL, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, DC. The company has also operated units that won four Air Force Hennessey Awards and two Coast Guard Best Large Foodservice Operation awards.

In the past year, GCE has instituted a standardization process at each foodservice location that will result in ISO 9000 certification. Next year, they anticipate hiring a senior operations specialist to focus on growth in the healthcare segment. Of the more than 200 jobs the company created in FY 2011, 120 are performed by persons with significant disabilities.

30. Creative Dining Services

ZEELAND, MI
www.creativedining.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $57
2010: $54

LOCATIONS
2011: 62
2010: 58

SEGMENTS SERVED
College/University (39%), B&I (16%), Senior Dining (15%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (11%), K-12 (11%), Parks/Recreation (8%)

CDS bolstered its management team with a new VP-operations to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of a senior partner and the creation of a new VP-business development/marketing position to support sales efforts. It also held a three-day Recipe R&D workshop with eight culinarians and an RD that yielded 38 new recipes applicable to three of the company's five market segments and expanded its Mug Coffee Co. concept to include Mug Munchies.

31. Pomptonian Food Service

FAIRFIELD, NJ
www.pomptonian.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $56
2009: $47

LOCATIONS
2010: 78
2009: 74

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (100%)

Pomptonian manages cafeterias and vending operations in over 300 primary and secondary school locations. It has been busy expanding the array of healthful and appealing dining choices, including its Farm Stand concept, which expands the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables offered daily to schoolchildren.

One of its locations was one of 16 New Jersey schools to receive the HealthierUSA School Challenge award from the USDA this past year. It also won the Above and Beyond Award from the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials, recognizing its efforts to promote nutrition and encourage healthy dining habits among children.

32. Lessing's Food Service Management

GREAT RIVER, NY
www.lessings.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $55(e)
2009: n/a

LOCATIONS
2010: 80
2009: n/a

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (65%), College/University (20%), Government (5%), K-12 (5%), Parks/Recreation (5%)

Primarily a catering and restaurant management firm before it acquired the dining division of Next Generation Vending (#16 on the 2010 Top 50) this past January, Lessing's has a distinguished foodservice history in the New York metro area. It was founded in 1890 to serve the city's coffee shops with products made in its commissary near Wall Street.

The company branched out into owning its own eateries and today operates eight commercial restaurants on Long Island, including Restaurant Mirabelle in Stony Brook and View in Oakdale.

The Next Generation deal not only added 80 onsite dining accounts in the college and B&I segments but expanded the company's footprint into New England. To bolster it new noncommercial business, Lessing's has developed concepts such as Salad Central (made-to-order spin salads), Uncle Tony's Pizza, Sensational sandwiches, View Sushi, Just Grillin' and Home Zone (hot entrees). There is also Vitalities, a healthy dining database of more than 1,200 recipes with each under 600 calories.

33. LPM Holding Co. & Affiliates dba Epicurean Feast

MAYNARD, MA
www.epicureanfeast.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $54
2009: $51

LOCATIONS
2010: 98
2009: 96

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (95%), College/University (2%), Transportation (2%), K-12 (1%)

Epicurean Feast operates at over a hundred unit locations and gets three-quarters of its revenues from managing B&I dining operations. Most of the rest is from corporate catering and event management/rental services, with large/high-end functions assisted by the company's Currier & Chives unit. It also offers vending, office refreshment, c-store and kiosk management and even foodservice design services.

Over the past year, it concentrated on further developing its proprietary health & Wellness Program, instituting composting programs, offering more sustainable/local purchasing programs, expanding its branded coffee and deli meat offerings and upgrading its POS system.

34. Continental Dining & Refreshment Services

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI
www.continentalserv.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $53
2009: $38

LOCATIONS
2010: 177
2009: 157

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (56%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (13%), Corrections (10%), College/University (8%), Hospitals (6%), K-12 (5%), Museums/Perf. Art. Ctrs. (2%)

Continental has been growing its dining operations management business, which now accounts for about a quarter of revenues, while the company's traditional base in vending has dropped to less than 40 percent. Catering and office refreshment services make up most of the rest of the business. The catering arm is highlighted by two cruise ships the company owns and uses to host events.

Recent initiatives include a Reward loyalty program for cafe customers, HD menu boards at its larger B&I venues, an upgraded online catering menu, enhanced customer communication through newly designed POS signage, the Big Deal discount program for vending and an enhanced focus on offering local products.

In the cafes, new concepts include demonstration cooking platforms for various ethnic cuisines, enhancements to Continental's signature concepts like Continental Salad and Continental Breakfast Bowl, a new Breakfast Blitz morning menu, made-to-order smoothie bars, a Healthy Food Market retail concept and Market 24/7, a cashless self-checkout kiosk.

Continental also partners with Compass Group on some of the latter's concepts, such as the Outtakes grab-and-go program, 2bu healthy vending and Trim Trax, a waste management system‥

35. CL Swanson Corp.

MADISON, WI
www.swansons.net

SALES VOL.
2010: $46
2009: $48

LOCATIONS
2010: 828
2009: 836

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (91%), College/University (4%), Hospitals (2%), Convention/Conference Ctrs. (1.3%), Government (1.2%), Military (0.5%)

Primarily a vending firm, CL Swanson gets about a fifth of its revenues from dining, catering, office coffee and convenience retailing. Its major recent emphasis has been growing its Better-4-You program. In select locations, it has expanded Hispanic offerings and conducted more coordinated events with its Wellness Committee. Technology like debit/credit card payment at vending machines, social media and posting internal menus online has also been emphasized.

36. HHA Services

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI
www.hhaservices.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $42.7
2010: $38.8

LOCATIONS
2011: 17
2010: 15

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (77%), Senior Dining (23%)

The listed volume is dining service revenue only. The rest of HHA's revenues come from non-food-related support services. In the food area, HHA offers retail and patient dining and foodservice consulting services, and has developed a portfolio of patient and resident dining concepts as well as retail brands. It has recently focused on wellness initiatives and community involvement, and has seen significant sales increases and higher customer satisfaction from the introduction of its Well Being program. Last year, HHA was recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of America's 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

37. Sanese Services, Inc.

COLUMBUS, OH
www.sanese.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $40
2009: $41.5

LOCATIONS
2010: 80
2009: n/a

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (75%), Education (20%), Other (5%)

Vending accounts for about 40 percent Sanese's volume and management of dining operations for another 40 percent. The rest is from catering and OCS. Recent initiatives include more emphasis on technology, particularly remote telemetry of POS and vending data in order to streamline procurement, production and replenishment. The company operates primarily in Ohio but also maintains a branch in Lexington, KY.

38. Corporate Chefs, Inc.

HAVERHILL, MA
www.corporatechefs.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $38
2009: $37.1

LOCATIONS
2010: 74
2009: 71

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (93%), College/University (7%)

Corporate Chefs primarily operates in white collar business dining environments and colleges in New England, New York, New Jersey and Virginia. About two-thirds of revenues come from operating onsite cafés and most of the rest from catering.

39. Prince Food Systems, Inc.

HOUSTON
www.princefoodsystems.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $36.5
2009: $31.7

LOCATIONS
2010: 51
2009: 47

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (70%), B&I (30%)

Prince operates mainly in Texas but also has sites in Ohio, Louisiana, Minnesota and Tennessee. Its B&I clients include Boeing, Fujitsu, Lockheed-Martin, Samsung Semiconductor and Texas Petrochemicals. The healthcare client list encompasses Kindred Hospital in San Antonio, St. Mark's Hospital in LaGrange and four locations of the Triumph hospital chain.

In the past year, Prince focused on expanding its healthcare dietary division, creating concepts that will work with most diets and boost consumption and patient satisfaction. It also changed to a more national focus, with a goal of expanding across the continental U.S. in the next decade.

40. Brock & Co., Inc.

MALVERN, PA
www.brockco.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $35.5
2009: $33.4

LOCATIONS
2010: 54
2009: 55

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (67%), K-12 (25%), Government (7%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (1%)

A longstanding family business that has been around for more than 80 years, Brock has weathered the recent difficulties in its core B&I business by expanding in the private/independent school segment. Consequently, the portion of Brock's revenues derived from K-12 has almost doubled from 13% to 25% in the past four years, though B&I continues to contribute the bulk of the company's revenues.

41. Luby's Culinary Services

HOUSTON
www.lubyscs.com

MGD. VOL.
2011: $25
2010: $22

LOCATIONS
2011: 22
2010: 18

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (85%), B&I (10%), College/University (5%)

The onsite foodservice arm of the Luby's cafeteria chain, LCS operates mostly in Texas and Louisiana, managing cafe operations for clients like Baylor College of Medicine, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Houston and the Baylor Medical Center in Carrollton, TX. Early this year it signed a multi-year agreement with Lone Star College System to manage the foodservice for its newest location at University Park where LCS installed its first Fuddruckers Express unit (Luby's acquired Fuddruckers in 2010).

In its hospital accounts, LCS rolled out its Ambassador patient concierge program to enhance service and boost patient satisfaction. Another success: the Stealth Health patient menu program that incorporates healthy ingredients in traditional dishes.

42. Quest Food Management Services, Inc.

LOMBARD, IL
www.questfms.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $24.2
2010: $21.8

LOCATIONS
2011: 43
2010: 41

SEGMENTS SERVED
K-12 (94%), B&I (4%), Camps (2%)

A K-12 specialist operating primarily in the Chicago metro area, Quest recently introduced Quest for Life: Food and Education From the Ground Up, a program with menus designed with the help of three Chicago chefs that provides school lunches made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and educates students about food and nutrition. It also added Steve Mareno from US Foodservice to its management team as a VP.

43. Food For Thought

LINCOLNWOOD, IL
www.fftchicago.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $24
2009: $10.5

LOCATIONS
2010: 23
2009: 15

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (68%), College/University (12%), Parks/Recreation Ctrs. (10%), Museums/Perf. Art Ctrs. (10%)

Food For Thought achieved 100% client retention in the past year while adding 30% new growth. It completely re-engineered all point-of-service concepts with new marketing and customer-centric marketing collateral, as well as seasonal menus sourced from local farmers. It also launched a new Culinary Leadership Board comprised of operators.

44. FAME Food Management, Inc.

WAKEFIELD, MA
www.famefoodmanagement.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $21.5
2009: $21

LOCATIONS
2010: 28
2009: 26

SEGMENTS SERVED
Government (40%), B&I (33%), College/University (15%), Hospitals (10%), Corrections (2%)

FAME (Food & Management Enterprise Corp.) generates most of its revenues from managing dining operations. In the past year, the company added an account executive to its management team to oversee operations in the Washington, DC/Virginia/Maryland market. On the menu side, FAME has been successful with a by-the-ounce service platform in its government facility operations.

45. Nutrition Management Services Co.

KIMBERTON, PA
www.nmsc.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $21
2009: $20

LOCATIONS
2010: 38
2009: 38

SEGMENTS
Senior Dining (70%), Hospitals (20%), K-12 (10%)

NMSC divested its Collegeville Inn Training & Conference Center earlier this year and is looking to acquire healthcare and/or private school food and environemental service companies in the near future. It also launched its Neighborhood Dining program, a trayline alternative that allows residents to choose all meals “restaurant style,” which are then prepared to order and served fresh in courses on china.

46. Restaurant Marketing Associates

NEW YORK
http://restaurantmarketing.us

SALES VOL.
2010: $19.2
2009: $21.5

LOCATIONS
2010: 19
2009: 19

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (80%), Museums/Performing Arts Centers (15%), Private Clubs (5%)

Traditionally a manager of in-house dining services for law firms, publishing companies, financial institutions and brokerage firms in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, RMA has recently branched into social catering, now about 10% of the business in 2010. Dining operations accounted for 80%. RMA also operates several public restaurants, including the Theater Square Grill at the New Jersey Center Performing Arts Center in Newark.

47. Linton's Managed Services

EAST NORRITON, PA
www.newlintons1.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $18
2010: $16.2

LOCATIONS
2011: 58
2010: 52

SEGMENTS SERVED
Hospitals (29%), Corrections (22%), K-12 (19%), Community Service Programs (14%), Military (7%), Senior Dining (5%), Non-Foods Distribution (4%)

Linton's manages onsite dining and supplies preprepared meals for clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Florida. It also distributes nonfood items like disposables, office products and medical supplies. Providing nutritional information through cafe signage and displays was an emphasis in the past year, as was updating its online ordering platform for community service clients. Growth has been driven by education and corrections.

48. Food Services, Inc.

MILWAUKEE
www.fsifoodservices.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $17.5
2009: $17

LOCATIONS
2010: 31
2009: 35

SEGMENTS
College/University (78%), B&I (22%)

FSI operates in the college and corporate dining segments, with two-thirds of revenues coming from dining operations. It recently rolled out in-house branding of all of its concepts, improved its marketing materials and website and focused on sustainability, nutrition and “green” disposables.

49. Kosch Hospitality

ROCHESTER, MI
www.koschcatering.com

SALES VOL.
2010: $11
2009: $11

LOCATIONS
2010: 27
2009: 40

SEGMENTS SERVED
B&I (48%), Parks/Recreation (25%), College/University (10%), Convention/Conference Centers (5%), Hospitals (5%), K-12 (4%), Government Facilities (3%)

Kosch, which began as a commercial deli operator, now gets about half of its revenues from managing onsite dining operations. The company moved into the parks/recreation segment several years ago and that now represents about a quarter of the business. Over the past year, it added a social media director and focused more resources on internet-based strategies.

50. Metropolitan Food Service, Inc.

MASSAPEQUA, NY
www.metropolitanfoodservice.com

SALES VOL.
2011: $11
2010: $11

LOCATIONS
2011: 4
2010: 4

SEGMENTS SERVED
College/University (100%)

Metropolitan's clients include branches of the City University of New York system. A year ago, it successfully launched its Bare Planet Cafe sustainable dining concept at City College of New York, which it now plans to expand to its other sites. It is also expanding its grab-and-go selections like gourmet sandwiches on artisan and whole grain breads and lauched a marketing push using various social media outlets.