RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL

Honored Twice: John Martin, chairman and chief executive officer of the Taco Bell Corp., is being honored for his innovative ways by two diverse organizations.

He will be honored by the Multi-unit Foodservice Operators group today during its annual meeting in New Orleans. Martin will speak at the meeting on “how leaders kindle entrepreneurial spirit, and how innovation often comes from the middle of organizations, not always from the top down,” said Taco Bell spokeswoman Janice Page.

Last week, Martin won the first Innovation In Hospitality Management Award presented by the Professional Development Institute of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Cal Poly Pomona.

“I think it’s a real indication of John Martin’s creativity that he’s being honored by both academia and the industry,” said institute spokesman Tarun Kapoor. “We honored John for his innovations and as a person who’s brought the concept of value to the hospitality industry.”