JODI LEHR TO SUPPORT GLISSEN'S BALTIMORE - WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN EFFORTS

Brooklyn based Glissen Chemical has announced that Jodi Lehr will join the firm as a consultant and oversee Glissen's portfolio of accounts in the Baltimore - Washington Metropolitan area. As she joins the team that supports her families 69 year landmark business, Jodi will continue in her primary capacity as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Santa Lucia Estate Coffee.
..."We are thrilled to be able to call on Jodi's years of experience in the DC & Baltimore Area to assist our Glissen customers," the firms CEO Joe Lehr and President Bobbi Lehr said.
...Jodi Lehr is a partner in one of Washington DC areas first local specialty coffee companies, Santa Lucia Estate Coffee. For the past seven years she has worked side by side with her husband and company founder William Gutierrez in the marketing efforts of their 15 year old company. With the byline "From Our farm To Your Cup," Santa Lucia's integrated program supplies Restaurants, Hotels and Retail clients with a sustainable, premium coffee from a single farm in Nicaragua. The team is known for their passion and fervent mission to improve coffee in the restaurant setting.
...Glissen equally enjoys a preeminent reputation in the Washington DC marketplace and is a featured product in the areas Restaurant Depot units. "Jodi will enable us to enhance our ability to serve the needs of Restaurant Depot's local managers," Joe Lehr continued.


Jodi Lehr
Glissen Chemical

...The Long Beach NY native has spent the last 25 years in the nation's capital. Prior to Santa Lucia, she was Personal Assistant to Italian Mega Chef Roberto Donna and over this 13 year tenure played a great part in the rise of the Celebrity Chef era in Washington, DC. A veteran of Washington, D.C.'s hospitality industry, Jodi is also an active board member of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and Les Dames d'Escoffier. She supports numerous other organizations in the community such as the DC Central Kitchen, St. Jude Hospital, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.
..."The opportunity to merge the passion I have for our family's business and our industry in the Baltimore - Washington Metropolitan area was an irresistible combination," noted Jodi Lehr
...In addition to many of DC's great dining establishments Jodi has placed the coffee in the Washington Convention Center, the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, Great American Restaurants, and is found in Whole Food Markets in the Mid Atlantic region as one of their local roasters.
We're convinced Jodi's track record of success will be invaluable to our continued support of our key customers in the region" Joe Lehr concluded.
...Joe Lehr CEO of Glissen Chemical will be celebrating his 60th Anniversary with Glissen Chemical in April 2010. The firm's line of quality detergents for hand-washing and sanitizing of bar glassware have set an industry standard.

 
 

The December '09 TFS Issue included all sorts of interesting news.
We enjoyed Joe Connoly's view on the restaurant and hospitality industry in Metro New York Foodservice scene.

Other Features Included:
• Blueprint on The USS New York
•IH/M&RS Show Coverage from the Javits

Click here to download the latest issue of Total Food Service as a PDF file

 

Can't wait to see the new Vita-Mix XL at STARCHEFS in September and the IHMRS SHOW in November. The premium blender featuring a powerful 4.2 peak horsepower motor and unparalleled 192-ounce real blending capacity.

The XL’s design allows for reduced prep time and increased efficiencies, as you can now create multiple servings in one batch (up to twenty-four 8 oz. servings), while making preparation faster by reducing unnecessary chopping.

With its variable speed and pre-programmed timed cycles, as well as a pulse function for any selected speed, the XL allows for expanded menu and meal options never before considered. The high-performance blade design provides a superior blend with consistent results and improved taste and nutrition, and clean up is a snap with the XL’s ergonomically designed container.

Above is one of many demonstration videos of the XL in action on Vita-Mix's foodservice website. I was impressed by the product's strength and versatility.

..The Vita-Mix XL’s
..features include:

  • 1.5 gallon real blending capacity, which allows for up to twenty-four 8 oz. servings in a single batch, for reduced back-of-the-house prep time and improved staff and workflow efficiency, process elimination and labor and time savings
  • 4.2 peak horsepower motor and high-performance blades yield consistent and quality results with improved taste and nutrition
  • Variable speeds, pulse function at any speed and pre-programmed timed cycles allow for endless menu and meal options and control over the consistency and texture of the finished product for flexibility in blending techniques
  • 192-ounce capacity clear container that is ergonomically designed for ease-of-use; also includes 64-ounce container for smaller jobs and tamper for whole food processing while blending
  • Lower profile for better countertop space management
  • Reliable and durable for long machine life, with a 3-year limited parts and labor warranty, including a 1-year service contract

Vita-Mix's website contains several examples of the XL's abilities. I recommend checking it out. Any foodservice operation worth it's salt should at least look into one of these. It's versatile, easy to clean and it's footprint isn't going to take over your kitchen, either.
Aside from the chef demo videos on the site, there's also an option for a free 30 day trial to see how the Vita-Mix XL accents your restaurant operation and a savings calculator to see the financial difference this standard setting product can make.
Check it out by clicking the link below or clicking on the picture of their site to the right.

http://www.vitamix.com/xl

 

JUST HEARD THAT THE TAVERN ON THE GREEN CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO DEAN POLL: HERE'S THE LATEST:

 

Tavern on the Green License Goes to Boathouse Manager

It will be reconceived as a conservatory-style dining space.
It could now be called Boathouse on the Green. The Department of Parks announced that Tavern on the Green, the landmark restaurant in Central Park, will have a new operator: Dean J. Poll, who runs the Central Park Boathouse restaurant.

Mr. Poll has taken the franchise away from the current license holder, the family of the late restaurateur Warner LeRoy, which also sought to maintain its control of the license, which expires Dec. 31.

The department said Mr. Poll will make a $25 million capital investment in Tavern, as it is called, including new heating and ventilation systems, kitchens and slate roofs. New landscape designs will open up views of the Sheep Meadow.

The current Crystal Room will be reconceived as a conservatory-style dining space. And the Loewy Room will feature leather banquettes and wood paneling reflecting the 1950’s, when that room was originally renovated.

The proposal also calls for an outdoor cafe, bike racks and new public restrooms. The renovations will be conducted in phases so the restaurant will remain open.

In a statement,the parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe, said that Mr. Poll “has done an outstanding job for eight years at the Loeb Boathouse.”

The statement did not say whether Mr. Poll would be paying a hefty increase for the privilege of running Tavern. Under the current contract, the LeRoy family was required to pay only 3.5 percent of the restaurant’s gross receipts to the city, though more recent Parks Department licenses have required more than 10 percent to run properties like Mr. Poll’s Boathouse, which pays 16.5 percent.

For years, the restaurant, near West 67th Street, was one of the highest-grossing independently owned restaurants in the United States. But its fortunes have declined in the recession.

In May, a handful of bidders submitted $50,000 certified checks to the department to compete for a 20-year operating license of Tavern. Among them were Seth Greenberg, owner of Capitale and Espace in Manhattan.

But a Who’s Who of restaurateurs declined to make bids in May. Among them were the caterer Glorious Food, the restaurateurs David Liederman, Danny Meyer and Alan N. Stillman, the Cipriani organization and Donald Trump. Another restaurant that kicked the tires but decided not to make a bid was Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Ti Adelaide Martin, co-proprietor of the restaurant, said that “the expense of the renovation and operation are going to make it very complicated and risky.”

A decision had been expected by July, but as the summer wore on, some of the participants expressed frustration that the process had been delayed. Mr. Benepe’s statement did not explain the delay.

In June, Jennifer Oz LeRoy, the current owner of the license, started a public relations effort to keep the license for another 20 years. In a campaign called “Keep Tavern on the Green,” customers at the restaurant were given “Keep Tavern on the Green” bracelets and pins - and yo-yos for children - in an attempt to build support for Ms. LeRoy’s bid, and to attract traffic to its Web site. And a lobbying effort was aimed at City Hall, to influence the choice of a bidder.
Ms. Leroy also encouraged current and former Tavern habitués to register their support for the current restaurant on its Website.

The union representing Tavern’s workers, Local 6 of Unite Here, had no comment on the decision.

The parks department said in its request for proposals last February that ”the incoming concessionaire shall retain existing employees by seniority within each job classification.” At the time, John Turchiano, a spokesman for Local 6, said the union had expressed its concerns to the parks department ”about the future of the employees at Tavern” under the new license. The restaurant has 500 employees in the Christmas season and the summer and some 250 at other times.