Jon Luther Grabs the Gold

The CEO of Dunkin' Brands was named IFMA's 2007 Foodservice Operator of the Year.

By Christine Lafave, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 5/23/2007

Jon Luther, chief executive officer of Dunkin’ Brands, was named the 2007 Gold Plate winner by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association on Monday. He was picked from the field of nine 2007 Silver Plate winners from across the industry’s segments. The announcement was made at the Gold & Silver Plate Celebration, held in Chicago during the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

Luther advanced to the Gold after being named the Silver Plate winner in the Chain, FastService Category in February. Nominations for the award come from throughout the industry and final selections are made by a judges’ panel that is comprised of the previous year’s Silver Plate Society as well as editors of industry trade magazines.

In accepting the award, Luther said that only three other designations would be more meaningful to him than Operator of the Year: Father of the Year, Husband of the Year or Grandfather of the Year. Luther’s speech was peppered with thanks and he noted at various points throughout his comments that, “No one gets here alone.”

Other Silver Plate winners for 2007 include:
• Susan Feniger, co-chef/owner of Border Grill Santa Monica, Border Grill Las Vegas and Ciudad restaurants, in the Independent Restaurants category.
• John Holeman, Consolidated Food Manager for Monroe Correctional Complex, Washington State Department of Corrections in the Specialty Foodservices category.
• Niki Leondakis (r.), Chief Operating Officer, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in the Hotels & Lodging category.
• Pavel Matustik, chief administrative officer for Santa Clarita (Calif.) Valley School Food Services Agency in the Elementary and Secondary Schools category.
• M. Cameron Mitchell, President of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants in the Full Service Chains category.
• Rick Post, CEO, Contract Foodservices, Compass Group North America in the Business & Industry category.
• H. Michael Rice, Director of Auxiliary Services, Michigan State University for the Colleges and Universities category.
• Kris Schroeder (r.), director of nutrition services, Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, for the Healthcare category.