Investments Blog

An airline food provider will cease its operations at the Orlando International Airport where it does business with JetBlue, resulting in a mass layoff.

Chicago-based Flying Food Group LLC — which provides services for more than 80 airlines nationwide — gave its 60-day notice to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity on May 7 that it plans to lay off 86 Orlando workers on July 16.

The layoffs will take place at 8813 Bear Road in Orlando, the address of the JetBlue Airways Corp. warehouse.…

Two Jacksonville restaurants were closed this week after inspectors found 400-plus rodent droppings in one location and no running water in another.

Sha-Garee's Seafood & More at 1156 E. 21 St. was temporarily closed on May 2 after inspectors found at least 400 dry rodent droppings throughout the establishment. The restaurant was also cited for grease accumulation, a hole in the ceiling, an expired restaurant license and expired food manager certification. A follow-up inspection found 170 rodent…

Red Bicycle Coffee and Crepes, a Germantown-based cafe, is taking over the home of Nations restaurant House: A Social Eatery.

Red Bicycle announced its plans to expand to the West Nashville neighborhood on Facebook Wednesday. In a brief interview, Red Bicycle owner Dave Trett, said he expects to open his coffee shop in the 712 51st Ave. N. building next month.

House opened in 2016, taking over the home of well-known hangout The Stone Fox. In the years since, the West Nashville neighborhood…

Two local restaurants were recently on opposite sides in a legal dispute, but on Wednesday they appeared side by side.

An ad ran in the Albuquerque Journal's Wednesday paper, headlined “No two seasons are the same,” with dishes from Seasons Rotisserie & Grill and Seasons 52 depicted side-by-side and an in-depth description of each restaurant.

“Don't be confused,” the ad read. “Although their names are similar, these two innovative Albuquerque eateries have two different owners, and have two different…

The Anchor Bar is coming to the Big Apple.

The Buffalo restaurant that created the chicken wing in 1964 has signed a franchise agreement to open its 11th location — this one on West 57th Street in midtown Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. The restaurant, located near Columbus Circle, is set to open May 17.

“New York City has always been a dream location for us since we began franchising,” said Mark Dempsey, vice president and partner of the Anchor Bar Franchise & Development Company. “It…

Chef’d is expanding into brick-and-mortar stores and selling its meal kits at more than a dozen retailers nationwide, including Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Harris Teeter, Tops, Hy-vee, Weis and Gelson’s Markets.

Helping with the retail push is meat processor Smithfield Foods, which invested $25 million in El Segundo, Calif.-based Chef’d last year. In the same round, the e-commerce company also raised $10 million from Campbell Soup Co. and $200,000 from online grocer Fresh Direct.

Chef’d said…

2017 revenue: $400 million

FLAT

While commodity prices kept revenue flat for Branding Iron Holdings, a Sauget-based manufacturer of beef and pork products, CEO Scott Hudspeth said the company was able to grow sales volume in 2017.

“Our retail channel grew, and we saw growth in our institutional channel as well,” he said. “Our franchise chain segment decreased a little.”

Hudspeth said it was a successful year for the company despite a challenging commodity period. The company’s revenue…

2017 revenue: $253 million

-33.6%

Declining commodity prices led to a drop in revenue at grain milling firm Italgrani in 2017 despite record volume.

The company is in the midst of a $37 million expansion at its south St. Louis location, which included 19 new storage tanks, a new 8,000 hundredweight daily capacity durum mill, and the growth of its bagging capabilities. The latest expansion is one of several over the life of the facility, which was first built in 1987.

The firm is owned by the…