Gordon Food Service
| Private | |
| Industry | Food distribution |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Headquarters | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Products | Bulk food, delivery |
Number of employees | 17,000 [1] |
| Website | gfs.com |
Gordon Food Service is the largest privately held foodservice distributor in North America with sales of $5.5 billion in 2007 and expected to finish 2012 with over $10 billion. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gordon Food Service has Gordon Food Service Stores in the states of Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Gordon Food Service also distributes to portions of Wisconsin, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Gordon Food Service was founded in 1897 by Isaac van Westenbrugge, a 23-year-old Dutch immigrant, by his son-in-law Ben Gordon. It was started by Van Westenbrugge with only 300 dollars borrowed from his brother to start an egg and butter delivery service. In 2009 Gordon Food Service opened a new distribution center in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and opened a warehouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin the next year. The company continued expanding by building a distribution center in Kannapolis in 2016,[2] and now has warehouses in twelve states. According to Forbes Magazine, GFS is the 26th largest privately-held company in the United States, a list that excludes publicly traded corporations.[3]
Stores
Started at the Gordon Food Service warehouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the first "cash and carry" was a way for local restaurants to replenish their stock between deliveries. As these stores expanded, they all were first located in industrial areas with very little emphasis on the "retail look." As the stores became more popular, Gordon Food Service Stores started to emerge on busy streets and strip malls; not only to put them in the public eye, but also to be more convenient for customers. In 2003, Gordon Food Service purchased 7 retail locations and a distribution network from a similar retailer called Smart & Final. Gordon Food Service opened their 160th store in Daytona Beach, FL in the summer of 2013. They now have over 170 locations along the eastern half of the US. Each store is between 15,000–25,000 sq ft.
Effective June 2015, Market Day was sold to World's Finest Chocolate. Gordon Food Service Stores phased out the sales of Market Day items, as well as most of the World's Finest fund raising items.
Canada
Gordon Food Service also distributes under the name Gordon Food Service Canada and has Distribution Centers in much of Canada:
- GFS Ontario - portions of Ontario
- GFS Atlantic - Atlantic Canada
- GFS Prairies - Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the remainder of Ontario
- GFS Quebec - Quebec
- GFS British Columbia - British Columbia
Technology
GFS has automated distribution centers located in Shepherdsville, KY. and Wyoming and Brighton, MI. With GFS Marketplace stores developing in other states the company continues to grow year by year. The company has over 11,000 employees.
The company also sponsored the NASCAR Nextel Cup GFS Marketplace 400 race from 2003 to 2006.
References
- ↑ http://www.grbj.com/articles/78548-gordon-food-service-not-surprised-by-sysco-merger
- ↑ "Gordon Food Service opens Kannapolis distribution center", Salisbury Post, January 12, 2016, retrieved 12 February 2016
- ↑ "#26 Gordon Food Service". Forbes.com LLC. Retrieved 12 February 2016.