WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association has asked the governors in five Gulf States to support their local restaurants in a quest to maintain uncompromised, year-round access to seafood fished in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In a letter sent to Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Robert Bentley of Alabama, Phil Bryant of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas, the NRA asked the Governors to “stand with us and support the commercial fishing sector that supplies restaurants in your state and throughout the country.” “In recent months, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council has proposed changing...

LOS ANGELES—Dometic Lodging, a division of Dometic Group, a global provider of leisure products for the lodging, marine, truck, caravan, motor home and automotive markets, announced the products it will be exhibiting at the 2014 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), to be held June 23 to 26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.The company will show its HiPromatic miniBar with automatic consumption monitoring, its DMS wireless handheld system for recording refreshment center usage, the GrapevinePro wireless door alert system for guestroom fridges, and the i-Calmaire Thermostat with digital sensing technology. “All of these products use innovative technology to...

ATLANTA—Farm Star Living, the new lifestyle brand that celebrates American farming and farmers, has launched an app that provides easy, quick access to hundreds of Farm-to-Table restaurants in major cities throughout the United States as well as hundreds of farms open to the public for activities and fun. The app complements the Farm Star Living website, which satisfies Americans eager to know who’s behind their food, where it’s grown, and how to support local farmers and farm-fresh food.Offering a comprehensive Farm-to-Table section, the app is perfect for those seeking a great meal at a quality restaurant supporting local communities...

TORONTO—With research indicating solitary bee populations continue to show signs of decline, and loss and fragmentation of habitat cited as a leading factor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is stepping up to provide solitary bees with a place to rest their wings with the introduction of its first pollinator bee hotel at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York.“Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is extremely excited about the addition of our new pollinator bee hotel and we look forward to providing these pint-sized ‘guests’ with the five-star treatment they so deserve for keeping our ecosystems resilient,” said Alexandra Blum, Vice President, Public Relations, FRHI...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Assn. has relaunched its Conserve website designed to educate restaurateurs about sustainability and showcase how applying greener business practices will save money and help protect the environment. The rebooted website offers numerous videos, case studies, best practices and personal accounts of becoming more sustainable, reducing energy and water consumption, decreasing food waste, recycling, composting and operating business in environmentally and economically responsible ways. “Practicing sustainability is no longer a trend, but an important aspect of the restaurant industry’s daily operations,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Assn. “With this new and...

ATLANTA—EVEN Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) newest brand, created to meet the needs of wellness-minded travelers, has introduced the Cork & Kale food and beverage platform focused on simple, natural and good ingredients. The F&B platform is based on the EVEN brand’s commitment to offering guests a variety of healthy and great tasting menu options that elevate their hotel experience while helping them maintain their routine on the road. The Cork & Kale platform is a consistent F&B offering, which will be available at all EVEN Hotels properties, the first of which are set to open before the end...

CHICAGO—Xylem, a leading global water technology company, launched Filtration by Flojet at the 2014 National Restaurant Association (NRA) show. The system uses integrated membrane pre-activated carbon technology to improve water taste and appearance, better protects dispense equipment and mitigates health concerns in foodservice applications. Filtration by Flojet removes chlorine and chloramine odor and taste from municipal water by leveraging carbon block technology, proven to have more than four times the capacity to remove unwanted water characteristics as competitive pre-coat filters. Carbon block enables users to activate the filtration cartridge almost immediately, eliminating the flush out process associated with carbon powder...

CHICAGO—Master-Bilt, manufacturer of a full line of premier commercial refrigeration systems, showcased its full line of glass door merchandisers with the next generation BMG/BLG Plus and Fusion Plus models at the 2014 National Restaurant Show last month. These new glass door merchandisers provide extensive flexibility that businesses require for growing market segments, changing floor plans and improving traffic flow.Both models are designed with energy saving features, superior system performance and optimum merchandising. All glass door merchandisers are Energy Star qualified with standard LED lighting and four shelves per door. Both the Fusion Plus and BMG/BLG Plus offer an industry...

NEW YORK—1 Hotels, a new hotel brand from Starwood Capital Group launching in fall 2014, will feature “farm-to-table” restaurants from critically acclaimed chefs Jonathan Waxman, Tom Colicchio and Seamus Mullen. 1 Hotels will open three distinct hotel and restaurant destinations: New York City’s Central Park; Miami’s South Beach in Miami Beach; and Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, N.Y.1 Hotels is the first luxury hotel brand to focus on sustainable living. The goal is to celebrate nature, its beauty, its perfection and purity with natural and sustainable materials. Each of the 1 Hotels will be LEED certified and every hotel...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever Energy Star label for clothes dryers. If all residential clothes dryers sold in the United States meet these new requirements, the utility cost savings will grow to more than $1.5 billion each year and more than 22 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented. Informed by extensive input from manufacturers, retailers, the U.S. Department of Energy and environmental groups, the new specifications will recognize a selection of highly efficient electric, gas, and compact dryers that will use approximately 20 percent less energy than what is required...