Northeast Distributors
Agar Food Service
HQ: Taunton, Massachusetts
Sales: $551M
Service areas: MA, RI, NH, VT, CT, ME
www.agarsupply.com
A 60-year-old company, Agar is the largest family owned distributor in New England. Agar provides executive chef support to customers through organized brainstorming and idea-generation sessions each week. Ninety percent of multiunit sales are attributable to quick serves.
Cheney Brothers
HQ: Riviera Beach, Florida
Sales: $787M
Service areas: FL
www.cheneybrothers.com
Cheney’s Green Balance Program offers nationally branded organic and environmentally friendly products. Founded in 1925, Cheney is a member of UniPro Foodservice Multi-Unit Group. The South Florida Business Journal ranked the company in 2008 as Florida’s 12th largest private company. Thirty percent of sales are to multiunit operations, with 5 percent of that to quick serves.
IFH
HQ: Hickory, North Carolina
Sales: $596M
Service areas: FL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
www.ifh.com
IFH, a 44-year-old company owned by Alex Lee Inc., is one of the top 15 largest foodservice distributors in the country. Vertically integrated, Alex Lee owns a wholesale grocery distributor and a grocery-store chain in addition to its foodservice distribution company. As a result, the company specializes in deli/bakery, meat, and produce offerings. IFH is a member of the Distribution Market Advantage and Markon organizations. Half of its business is to multiunit customers.
Maines Paper & Food Service Inc.
HQ: Conklin, New York
Sales: $2.7B
Service centers: MA, NY, MD, TN, IL, OH
www.maines.net
Maines is a 90-year-old, privately held company with 92 percent of its business in chains. More than 40 percent of multiunit sales are to quick-serve operations. A member of the Independent Marketing Alliance, the company serves 33 states from three distribution centers. Current customers include quick-service, pizza, sandwich, steakhouse, and casual- and fine-dining operations.
Pate Dawson
HQ: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Sales: $235M
Service areas: NC, VA, GA
www.pdco.com
Pate Dawson is one of the oldest independent distributors in the industry. It was founded in 1885 as a retail grocery business and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. Three-quarters of its sales are to multiunit accounts and 85 percent of these sales are to quick serves. The company recently opened a satellite distribution center in Atlanta.
Perkins
HQ: Taunton, Massachusetts
Sales: $381M
Service areas: MA, NY
www.perkins1.com
Perkins, a family owned business, was founded in 1915 as a paper company. It has been a full-line distributor since 2004. Perkins has a new, 12-million cubic foot, state-of-the-art distribution center in Taunton, Massachusetts, and a satellite center in New Windsor, New York. Twenty-six percent of sales are to multiunit accounts and 38 percent of these sales are to quick serves. In addition to product specialists, Perkins offers kitchen-design services for new facilities or the redesign of existing facilities.
