As the food service industry continues to mainstream gluten-free foods and menus, the Gluten Free Resource Education and Awareness Training(GREAT) program has become a decided advantage for businesses looking to enter the
market.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, “The National Restaurant Association’s monthly Restaurant Performance Index hit a 22-month high in December, driven by improving sales and traffic trends, as well as operator optimism that hit its highest level in two years.”

According to Gazette.net, “Daniel Foster can make pizza with his eyes closed. To prove it, the owner of Vocelli Pizza in Lanham once blindfolded himself and had an employee watch as he slapped dough, spread the sauce evenly and piled on the crispy pepperoni slices.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, “In the 1970s, Joe Perrino worked the dough, making the foundation for pizzas at Home Run Inn, the restaurant owned by his father, Nick. Back then, Home Run Inn made frozen pizzas, too, but they were a sideline. Nick Perrino’s passion was his pizzeria.”

According to WGNTV.com, “A Chicago area organization wants to ensure servicemen and women overseas enjoy the Super Bowl. Pizza for Patriots is sending the largest-ever big game care package to Iraq.”

Pizza Inn, Inc. (Nasdaq:PZZI), an international pizza chain recognized for serving a variety of fresh, high quality products at affordable prices, announces the opening of its newest buffet-style restaurant at 1249 Sunset Boulevard in Jesup.

As the teams from New Orleans and Indianapolis are huddling up to play the biggest game of the football season on Feb. 7 in Miami, the Pizza Hut team of more than 120,000 employees will be calling plays from the kitchens at over 6,000 restaurants across the country to fill pizza orders on the company’s busiest day of the year.

According to MailTribune.com, “Wild River Brewing & Pizza will donate a portion of its sales today and Wednesday to help find a cure for cancer.”

According to QSR Magazine, “Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the quick-service industry has become active in the relief effort. By Jordan Melnick”

According to the Chicago Tribune, “Hit by a recessionary drop in consumer spending, the parent company of pizzeria chain Uno Chicago Grill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday as it pursues a $142 million debt-for-equity deal.”

According to NY1.com, “Manhattan’s Famous Famiglia Pizzeria held a candlelight vigil and prayer service Tuesday for the victims of the Haiti quake.”

With the economic downturn easing, the restaurant industry is expected to show gradual improvement in 2010, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast released today. Industry sales are projected to reach $580 billion this year, a 2.5 percent increase in current dollars over 2009 sales. When adjusted for inflation, 2010 sales will be essentially flat, which is an improvement over the 1.2 percent and 2.9 percent negative growth in real sales that the industry experienced in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Pizza Inn (Nasdaq:PZZI), an international pizza chain with more than 310 restaurants in 10 countries, announced today a new financing agreement with Amegy Bank of Texas. The agreement provides Pizza Inn with improved financial flexibility to execute its long-term strategic plan to develop new Company-owned restaurants.

Pizza Fusion (http://www.pizzafusion.com), an organic pizza franchise based in Fort Lauderdale, was recently awarded LEED certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for its North Miami Beach restaurant. This recognition makes Pizza Fusion the first LEED certified restaurant in Miami.

Under the new restructuring plan recently announced by CiCi’s Pizza, CEO Michael R. Shumsky promoted Forbes Anderson to Chief Strategic Officer, Tim Alba to Chief Financial Officer and Chris Patterson to Director of People Development. The restructuring has resulted in new organizational re-alignments to better support the CiCis franchisees, provide an industry leading experience for its guests and ultimately own the value position in the pizza segment.

Central Restaurant Products’ 2010 Master Catalog will be in mailboxes this week, featuring 24 new pages and 1,922 new items from the industry’s top vendors.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, “Huntington Meat Packing Inc. is recalling 432 tons of ground beef shipped to restaurants, hotels and distribution centers in California because of possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination, federal officials said Monday.”

According to ABC News, “‘Scandaloso!’ Italians were upset to discover that their favorite mozzarella cheese — Mozzarella di Bufala, made from buffalo’s milk — was being watered down with cow’s milk”

Boboli® Pizza has teamed up with party professional and football fanatic, the Hostess with the Mostess, Jennifer Sbranti, to help home entertainers make the most of their sport soirees. Jennifer has created 10 fun and simple get-together guidelines and a custom Boboli pizza recipe, perfect for putting the pep into your party just in time for the big game.

According to LAist.com, “around three to four hundred hardcore Conan O’Brien fans braved the drenching rain to rally for the Tonight Show outside Universal Studios this afternoon. ‘Jay Leno sucks!’ the crowd chanted in between screaming at passing by cars as horns were honked. Packed to capacity, people spilled out onto Lankershim Boulevard before police calmed and spread the crowd out.”

Nation’s Restaurant News has reached out to its sources and gathered numerous industry efforts from phone calls, e-mails, Twitter feeds, Facebook postings and published reports. They are listed here via region with contact information to encourage participation. This list will continue to be updated with new information when available.

Mocapay, a mobile experience platform, has developed a strategic relationship with zpizza, a national gourmet pizza, sandwich and salad chain. Through the relationship, zpizza will leverage the Mocapay platform to mobilize its gift and customer loyalty program to support its marketing and sales initiatives.

Mandy’s Pizza, with locations in both the Northside and West View areas of Pittsburgh, PA., has developed what they believe is the best-tasting allergen-free pizza in the North.

According to the New York Times, “One of the shrines for pizza aficionados in Connecticut, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, has had the audacity to open its fifth outpost smack in the middle of Central Park Avenue in Yonkers, where Ricky’s Clam House once stood. “Central Av,†as it is affectionately called by people who are particular about the tenderness of their mozzarella, is the source spring for Italian-Americans in Westchester, and the folks at Frank Pepe — the original owner’s grandchildren, to be exact — have taken a calculated risk in putting their thin-crusted, coal-fired pies right under the noses of a distinctly discerning audience.”