LAS VEGAS—Cambria Suites, the upscale all-suites hotel brand from Choice Hotels International, Inc., launched a new food and beverage program that will be rolled out across the brand’s 18 franchised properties in the next few months. The program focuses on meals featuring American comfort cuisine, delivering fun, fresh and familiar foods to travelers that will enhance the customer dining experience. The new menu, kitchen setup and offerings all focus on embracing food trends across the country while encouraging cross-utilization of ingredients and making the restaurant a profit center for the properties.The new food and beverage program is a result...

CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the launch of Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served., a global philosophy focused on sourcing and providing food and beverage options that are good for Hyatt guests and associates, good for the planet, and good for local communities. This philosophy will guide food and beverage planning at Hyatt properties from the operational level to the guest experience. With this new global identity, Hyatt properties will work to anticipate and satisfy the evolving preferences of its guests, ensuring that travelers have more options to fit their lifestyles while staying in Hyatt hotels around the world.Driven by insights...

TROY, OHIO—The Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS) has awarded a $5,000 grant to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, in recognition of foodservice sustainability initiatives that educate and benefit visitors to the conservatory as well as the Pittsburgh community. This marks the fifth year for the HCFS grant, which is awarded to a business or organization judged to have the best-executed foodservice sustainability project. “It’s very encouraging to hear about sustainability projects taking place across North America in foodservice operations of K-12 schools, colleges and universities, businesses, healthcare facilities, and community and nonprofit organizations,” said Rick Cartwright, vice...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association announced that exhibit space at its 2012 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show has completely sold out. The newly redesigned exhibit floor will showcase more than 1,900 exhibitors, including more than 500 new exhibitors that will offer thousands of products and services to restaurant and foodservice operators. NRA Show 2012 will be held May 5 to 8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. “A sold-out exhibit floor means NRA Show 2012 will be buzzing with thousands of new products and services that can make a difference in operators’ businesses,” said Jack Crawford, convention chair and president and CEO of Ground Round...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added a Continental Girbau Vendor Case Study to its website. The case study profiles the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, and its replacement of aging, inefficient washers with more efficient Continental Girbau models and a water reclamation system. The installation is saving the hotel from 300,000 to 350,000 gallons of water each month. As part of the washer purchase, the hotel’s owners took advantage of a $29,000 rebate from the San Antonio Water System.The Westin’s laundry now features two 130-pound capacity Continental E-Series soft-mount washers; a 55-pound capacity Continental E-Series soft-mount washer;...

INWOOD, N.Y.—Laundrylux announced that Great Lakes Commercial Sales is now an authorized Electrolux and Wascomat distributor for coin and on-premises laundry equipment. “We are pleased to welcome Dan Naumann and the Great Lakes team to the Electrolux and Wascomat distributor network,” says Laundrylux president Howard Herman. “After 20 years in the business, industry leader Great Lakes is a super addition to our family. Everyone at Laundrylux is looking forward to working with Great Lakes to further expand the business and our relationship.”“I’ve worked with Dan Naumann and the Great Lakes team for many years now,” says Bryan Rausch, regional...

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—TRSA has launched its Hygienically Clean certification program to recognize textile services companies’ commitment to cleanliness through third-party, quantified biological testing and inspection. The certification process eliminates subjectivity by verifying that textiles cleaned in these facilities meet hygiene standards appropriate for any type of business that uses garments, linens, towels, floor mats, mops and other professionally laundered items. A specific designation for laundries with medical work (Hygienically Clean—Healthcare) is available and another will soon be offered for those who serve restaurants and other businesses where food safety is paramount (Hygienically Clean—Food Service). To attain a Hygienically Clean certification, a laundry...

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.—On Saturday, May 5, Charles Court restaurant at The Broadmoor is going back to its roots to host a “Farm to Table Experience” by partnering with Colorado farms, wineries and distilleries. The event includes a Saturday afternoon farmer’s market followed by a Farm to Table Dinner at Charles Court that evening.Arkansas Valley Organic Growers (AVOG), a group of farmers who have come together to create a distribution system for restaurants, schools, and other businesses in the Colorado Springs and surrounding areas, will sample and sell their fresh produce to at the market. The Broadmoor’s chef Barnhill will...

CHICAGO—An independent panel of judges has selected the finalists for the National Restaurant Association’s inaugural Operator Innovations Awards. Three finalists in each of five categories—Sustainability, Technology, Food Safety, Health & Nutrition, and Menu Development—will be brought to Chicago for the Association’s 2012 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show this May. The winners in each category, plus an Innovator of the Year selected from all finalists, will be announced live during Destination: Celebration on Saturday, May 5. “The Operator Innovations Awards is designed to celebrate and encourage continued advancement in the restaurant industry, while shining a spotlight on industry-leading innovators who inspire other...

SEATTLE—The menu at the remodeled Aquaterra restaurant at the Seattle Airport Marriott reflects more sustainable seafood and local Pacific Northwest ingredients, according to chef James Neighbor. He said fine dining in Seattle has been taken up a notch with the introduction of Marriott’s “Future Fish” program which works with local produce vendors to help reduce the restaurant’s carbon footprint.“‘Freshness embraced’ is the philosophy of our kitchen,” Neighbor, who has been with Marriott for 18 years, said. “Our focus is on fresh local items prepared simply, seasoned correctly and not over-sauced.”Signature items now include Cascioppo Bros. chorizo and clams and...