in brief 2009

There's a new president/CEO at Centerplate, where Desmond Hague is succeeding Janet Steinmayer, who has resigned. Hague most recently served as president of IHOP Restaurants.

Jill Irvin has taken over as director of dining services at Purdue University, following the retirement of previous director Sarah Johnson. She comes from Ohio State University, where she was associate director of campus dining.

The Washington Nationals have named Levy Restaurants their new concessions and dining services operator, replacing Centerplate, which had held the account for the team's first season in their new Nationals Park home field.

AirTran Airways has begun piloting an in-flight a la carte menu of food options for coach and business class on 60 of its flights and will extend the program to its entire fleet by Mid-March. The initiative, called Sky Bites, gives customers choices ranging from combo packages selling for $4 to $6 and snacks from $1 to $4.

Aramark saw a 5.3 percent decline in revenues during its first 2009 fiscal quarter, ended January 2. Sales in the North American Food & Support Services division were off five percent over the period, with only the Higher Education segment showing a gain.

Mike Kiser has announced his retirement from Canteen Vending Services, effective at the end of the year. Until then, he will support the company in its transition as Dennis Hogan, senior vice president of finance for Canteen parent Compass Group North America, assumes responsibility as CEO.

Sodexo has concluded a partnership with healthcare call center operator Beryl Companies. It plans to use the alliance to get better and quicker feedback from recently discharged patients at the hospitals where it operates and use the information to fine-tune its services in those venues.

Tulane Dining Services has implemented a dining hall takeout program called Simply-to-Go that lets students get an entrée, side item and beverage with a meal swipe between 11 am and 3 pm on weekdays.

Aramark Parks & Recreation won a 20-year contract from California State Parks to operate the Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. The contract was previously held by Delaware North Park Services.

Ohio State University dining halls are selling reusable cloth takeout bags to students for a dollar as part of a campus-wide sustainability initiative. As an added incentive to use the bags, a frequent users program gives students a free entrée after making nine purchases using the bag.

Aladdin Food Services is piloting its organic dining program at Drury University in Springfield, MO. The program is an extension of Aladdin's operation at Maharishi University, where on-campus dining is all organic and all vegetarian (see story in the January FM).

FM is issuing a final call for entries for the 2009 Best Concept Awards competition. The deadline is April 20. To enter, go to http://food-management.com/best_concept_entry.

FM is also looking for reader input for for future stories. The topics can be found at http://food-management.com/reader-input.

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