— Interview With Kristen Nowak —
R&R: Where are you based?
Kristen Nowak: “Unlimited Service Group is headquartered in Addison, Illinois, just outside of Chicago; we operate through 40 locally operated service companies and more than 140 branch locations across the U.S. and Canada.”
R&R: What services do you offer?
Nowak: “We provide commercial kitchen food equipment repair, installation and maintenance. We service hot, cold, beverage and, in most of our branches, HVAC equipment. We acquire companies with great teams and great leaders, and when they come on board, they continue to provide the services that made them strong locally. Our goal is to support their next chapter of growth. They know their market and what their markets need. Our job is to support them in what they do best.”
R&R: Are you regional or nationwide?
Nowak: “We are nationwide. Our geographic footprint allows us to cover roughly 80% of the U.S. and Canadian markets.”
R&R: What makes your “signature service” stand out?
Nowak: “What sets us apart is the combination of local expertise, national resources and a commitment to technician training.
“Across our network of more than 140 locations, we self-perform service through local companies that have been serving their communities for decades. When a customer calls us, they are working with technicians who know their market, know their equipment and are invested in the success of the businesses they support because they live there too.
“At the same time, those local teams are backed by the resources of the largest commercial foodservice equipment service group in North America. That combination of local accountability and national scale is difficult to replicate.
“We continue to invest in technology that gives customers greater visibility into equipment performance and service activity, helping facilities managers make smarter maintenance and capital planning decisions.”
R&R: What kind of feedback do you receive from clients?
Nowak: “Our customers consistently tell us they value three things most: responsiveness, expertise and partnership.
“Customers value our technicians’ professionalism, technical expertise and proactive communication, along with the confidence that comes from working with people who understand how critical equipment uptime is to their operations.”
R&R: Why should owner/operators choose USG to be their next partner?
Nowak: “Our companies have been serving their local markets for more than 50 years on average. That kind of longevity is earned. It comes from consistently delivering for customers and building trust over decades.
“Commercial foodservice equipment is our specialty. It is what we do every day. While many facility service providers spread their focus across a wide range of trades, our teams are dedicated to helping customers maintain, repair, install and optimize the equipment that powers their foodservice operations.
“Today, facilities teams are being asked to accomplish more with fewer resources. They need partners who can help reduce risk, simplify operations, protect opening readiness and deliver consistent results. That is where we believe we create meaningful value.
“And no matter which of our 140 branches a customer works with, they can expect the same commitment to our core values: safety, integrity, community, passion, courage, and innovation. Those values guide how we serve our customers.”
R&R: How many retail/restaurant clients do you have, and is that sector growing for you?
Nowak: “Having serviced more than 180,000 locations, it’s difficult to find a multi-unit commercial kitchen we haven’t supported at some point. Restaurants represent the largest customer segment across our family of brands. While we work with several well-known retail organizations today, retail is an area where we see significant opportunity for growth.
“As retailers continue to expand their prepared and fresh food offerings, they are facing many of the same equipment reliability and operational challenges that restaurants have managed for years, often across much larger footprints.”
R&R: Tell me about a recent project you are most proud of.
Nowak: “One of the fastest-growing chicken-focused QSR brands in the U.S. wanted a single partner who could support both their hot-side and cold-side equipment needs. We committed to building a deeper partnership, including stocking critical parts and operational supplies. As a result, we’ve improved response times, reduced disruption in their restaurants and earned one of the highest vendor performance ratings within their organization. More importantly, their teams are spending less time managing equipment issues and more time focusing on serving their customers.
R&R: What are some of the latest trends you see in the FM industry?
Nowak: “There is a much stronger focus on uptime, reliability and overall asset performance. Organizations are looking beyond reactive maintenance. The goal is not simply fixing problems faster, it’s preventing them from happening in the first place.
“We’re also seeing increasing demand for consolidated service solutions. Multi-site operators, especially in retail and foodservice, want to simplify how they manage their service partners. They are looking for providers that can support multiple equipment categories across broad geographic markets.
“At the same time, labor remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges.
“Facilities leaders are being asked to deliver more with limited resources. They’re looking for partners who can improve uptime, manage costs and support operational goals.”
R&R: What predictions do you have for the rest of 2026 and into 2027?
Nowak: “Commercial kitchen equipment will continue to become more advanced and increasingly technology-enabled and, the next generation of service technicians will need to be comfortable diagnosing software-driven systems, connected devices and complex control technologies.
“We believe artificial intelligence will help service organizations operate more effectively.
“Third, we expect retail foodservice to remain an important growth area.
“For Unlimited Service Group, these trends reinforce the priorities that are already guiding our strategy.”
— Kristen Nowak is president, field service, of Unlimited Service Group. This Q&A originally was published in the June/July 2026 Goldbook issue of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business magazine. For more information in having your company profiled in a future Signature Vendor Spotlight, please contact Scott Royal at sroyal@francemediainc.com.