Fifty years is a long time, and a lot has happened during that time period to contribute to MUFSO’s rich past. Here’s an opportunity to test your MUFSO knowledge and see just how much you remember about one of the restaurant industry’s leading events.
Granted, knowing the answers to these questions may never win you a million dollars on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” but they do offer a snapshot of MUFSO’s history. We can’t present any sort of prize for correct answers, but maybe these blasts from the past will help you reflect on the people and places that built foodservice into the industry we know today.
Q: Who gave the opening welcome at MUFSO 1959?
A: Harold Bode, director of restaurant operations, F.W. Woolworth Co.
Q: What was the theme of the first MUFSO?
A: Keeping Pace with Changing America.
Q: Which is older, MUFSO or Nation’s Restaurant News?
A: MUFSO.NRN began publishing in 1967. Before that, Lebhar-Friedman Inc., NRN’s parent company, published a magazine called Chain Store Age, Restaurant and Fountain Executive Edition, which covered the foodservice industry.
Q: When was the first Operator of the Year awarded?
A: In 1971, to Warren Rosenthal of Jerrico’s.
Q: As the country celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, where was MUFSO held?
A: Philadelphia.
Q: Which former president gave an address at the 1986 event?
A: Gerald Ford.
Q: In what year did an entire state win the Pioneer Award?
A: 1990. California, whose restaurateurs are globally recognized for their innovations and creativity, won for its trendsetting style.
Q: What former news correspondent presented a keynote address two years in a row?
A: Sam Donaldson, in 1998 and 1999.
Q: In what year was the Pioneer Award first given to a woman?
A: In 2004, when Jackie Trujillo of Harman Management Corp. won the prize. However, Ella Brennan of Commander’s Palace was a co-winner with her husband, Dick, in 1994.