Hospitality

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation penned a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, asking Congress to pass a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate.  

The impending House vote follows the Administration’s announcement earlier this month of a one-year delay of the employer mandate provisions.

Greenwood Village, Colo. -- Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has named Cathy Cooney as senior VP and chief people officer of the burger chain. Cooney will be responsible for leading the development and execution of human resource strategies.

Before joining Red Robin, Cooney served as executive VP of human resources for Carefusion, a $4 billion medical technology company.

Chicago -- Home meal replacements or prepared foods from supermarkets, drug stores and other retail outlets will continue to capture share of the meal/snacks market by stealing visits from restaurants, according to a recent study by The NPD Group.

Its recent foodservice forecast through 2022 indicated that instances of prepared food purchased at retailers for at-home consumption will increase by 10% over the next decade compared to a 4% increase forecast for commercial foodservice traffic.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s has signed a contract with Vietnamese businessman Henry Nguyen to serve as a developmental licensee for the company in Vietnam.

Nguyen, founder of Good Day Hospitality and managing partner of IDG Ventures Vietnam as well as a former part-time McDonald’s store employee in the U.S., is expected to open Vietnam’s first McDonald’s restaurant in Ho Chi Min City in early 2014.

Eagan, Minn. -- Steak buffet chain Buffets Inc. said that it has appointed Keith Kravcik as its CFO. The company also created a new position – director, office of the CEO and corporate administration – and promoted Jackie Fiebelkorn to the slot.

Kravcik will be responsible for all finance, accounting, purchasing and IT functions as well as continuing to strengthen the back office services organization. Fiebelkorn will lead the office for the CEO and oversee administrators throughout the organization.  

Seattle – Twelve deaf consumers are suing Starbucks over what they claim was harassment at the hands of employees of a lower Manhattan Starbucks store on March 7, 2013.

San Jose, Calif. -- Togo’s Eateries has announced a multi-unit franchise agreement in Utah. Six new franchised restaurants will open in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area beginning in first quarter 2014. The agreement accompanies Togo’s commitment to grow from 250 to 400 restaurants.

Togo’s average unit sales exceed $633,000 with more than half of the restaurants averaging over $799,000.

IRVINE, Calif. — Sanuk, a division of Deckers Outdoor Corporation, has made changes to its sales and marketing teams. The company has appointed Jeff Booth as its core national sales manager and Tommy Campagne as its core marketing manager.