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Choice Food Group, Inc. |
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 About Us Family of Food CompaniesSenior ManagementHistory & Growth |
History of Choice Food of America, LLC
History of Nashville Cash & Carry
History of Hobson Food Service
History and Milestones of Choice Food Distributors
Historical Milestones of Vietti Foods Company
History of Choice Food Group, Inc.
January 2005
Entered the food distribution industry by investing in Nashville Egg, Inc.
June 1, 2005
Expanded the distribution business with the investment in Gibson Food Products, Inc.
September 2005
Changed the name to Choice Food Distributors, Inc. and merged the operations of Nashville Egg and Gibson Food Products, Inc.
December 2005
Entered the food manufacturing and food marketing industries with the purchase of Vietti Foods Company, a 108-year-old manufacturer and marketer of canned food products.
May 2006
Acquired a Nashville packaging plant that previously housed manufacturing operations for Portion Pac, Inc., a H. J. Heinz Corp. subsidiary. Facility was named Choice Food of America, LLC and served as company’s second manufacturing facility.
December 2006
Diversity Brands becomes affiliated with Choice Food of America as a platform for Choice Food of America to help brands that are seeking to increase their share of U.S. multi-cultural markets through consumer food products.
January 1, 2007
Acquired Nashville Cash & Carry, a retail food outlet that provides food service products.
January 18, 2007
Choice Food Group, Inc. was incorporated on January 18, 2007 as the parent company for two facets of its food service business: food distribution and food manufacturing.
March 1, 2007
Acquired Hobson Food Service, a wholesale distributor and a further processor of poultry, pork, beef and other products.
March 2007
Choice Food of America, LLC and Vietti Foods Company, Inc. were merged to form Choice Food of America, LLC to better align business operations among the two companies.
July 2007
Ranked among the Top 100 fastest growing privately held companies in Tennessee by Business Tennessee Magazine.
April 2008
Became a majority owner in American Seafood Company, Inc. of Memphis, Tenn. which allowed Choice Food Group and its companies to expand its distribution operations into West Tennessee, Eastern Arkansas and Northerrn Mississippi. The partnership with American Seafood also completes Choice Food Group's "center of the plate" protein offerings of poultry, pork and beef, by adding fresh seafood which is processed right in Tennessee.
July 2008
Ranked for its second year among the Top 100 fastest growing privately held companies in Tennessee by Business Tennessee Magazine.
August 2008
2008 Future 50 award winner by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce - Recognized among the top 50 fastest-growing privately held companies in the Nashville, Tenn. area.
History of Choice Food of America, LLC
1967
Packaging plant at 189 Spence Lane in Nashville, Tenn. opened and was formerly named Mike Rose Foods.
1972 - 1999
Over the years, the business went through several changes, becoming home to: Shoney’s, Levmark Holdings, J.W. Childs, then IDF Holdings, a parent company to International Diverse Foods.
2000
IDF Holdings sold to Portion Pac, Inc., a H. J. Heinz Corp. subsidiary. The plant manufactured portion control and bulk food service items at this 155,000 square foot facility.
March 2006
H.J. Heinz Corp. announced that they we closing Portion Pac, Inc. at their Nashville packaging plant at the end of April, eliminating 200 jobs.
April 30, 2006
Choice Food Group acquired this Nashville packaging plant that previously housed food manufacturing operations for Portion Pac, Inc. A plan emerged to organize a new subsidiary of Choice Food Group called Choice Food of America, LLC, specializing in customer food solutions. The new company employed over 50 skilled manufacturing workers from Portion Pac’s Nashville workforce.
December 2006
Diversity Brands, a platform for brands seeking to increase their share of U.S. multi-cultural markets through consumer food products, becomes affiliated with Choice Food of America.
February 2007
Retains approval for a new national brand. Its "Mayberry Supper" product line proposal was approved by movie star Andy Griffith of the 1950's syndicated television show "Mayberry", and by the senior management of the television network CBS for distribution throughout the United States for all business channels, and for any food products, initially for three years.
March 2007
Choice Food of America, LLC and Vietti Foods Company, Inc. merged to become Choice Food of America, LLC. The merger collapsed the business entity, Vietti Foods Company, but its products were continued under the Vietti brand as part of Choice Food of America. To learn more about Vietti's rich history since 1989, click here.
May 2007
Launched its new product line "Mayberry's Finest" at the May 2007 Food Marketing Institute Show in Chicago. Products included baking mixes (cornbread, muffins, brownies, breadings and batters); table syrups and dressings; frozen yeast rolls; canned southern-seasoned vegetables and canned beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and chili.
History of Nashville Cash & Carry
1870s
Established as a dry goods and grocery supplier to Middle Tennessee
1970s
Opened its first “cash & carry” outlet store to dispose of “salvage” merchandise.
1997
Moved cash & carry outlet store to 5001 Charlotte Pike and change format to carry only first-run merchandise.
July 15, 2004
Arthur “Buddy” Best and Les Coble purchased the business, changing the store name to Nashville Cash & Carry.
January 1, 2007
Choice Food Group acquires the business and retains the store name.
History of Hobson Food Service
1944
H.L. Decker Sr. founded the company as Decker Poultry & Produce at 1808 4th Avenue South in Nashville, Tenn. H.L. Decker Jr. inherited the business.
1982
Don Hobson offered equal partnership in Decker Poultry & Produce with H.L. Decker Jr., changing the name to Decker & Hobson Poultry & Egg.
May 1985
H.L. Decker Jr. retired and Don Hobson purchased Mr. Decker’s share of business and became the sole owner of company, changing name to Hobson Food Service. Wife, Barbara, and son, Rick, joined the business.
1986
Developed company’s cheese program.
1987
Recipient of the Tennessee Restaurant Association’s 1987 Purveyor of the Year
1991
Changed focus of business to “further poultry processing” and offered deboning, customizing (sizing) and marinating according to customers’ specifications.
Started its first USDA further poultry processing operation on 2nd Avenue & Broadway in the old T.G. Tillman & Son Meat Company building.
1995
Moved to a bigger facility, located on Franklin Road at Moore’s Lane in Brentwood, Tenn., and offered products under the label of “Farm Fresh”
Computerized company’s operational systems
1998
Launched the company’s Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) Program to meet requirements as a USDA facility
September 2001
Acquired S.R. Smith Meats to expand business services by “moving to the center plate,” offering further processing of beef and pork. S.R. Smith Meats was established in 1917 by Samuel Richard Smith, Sr. Changed ownership over the years to his sons, Norton and Sam, to Doug Doty and then in 1985 to longtime salesman Otis McDaniel whom Mr. Hobson purchased the business from.
Second processing facility established from S.R. Smith acquisition, located at 202 Howerton Street in East Nashville.
January 2004
Consolidated operations under one roof to its current Howerton facility. A new warehouse with cooler and freezer space was built and additional property was purchased for office space and parking.
March 2004
Mr. Hobson passed away after seven years of illness with cancer. Wife, Barbara, and son, Rick, continued to manage the business.
September 2004
Completion of expansion at Howerton facility.
December 2006
S.R. Smith merged with Hobson Food Service, becoming the largest further processor of fresh meats in the Nashville area.
March 1, 2007
Choice Food Group acquired Hobson Food Service.
April 2007
Recipient of the Tennessee Restaurant Association’s 2007 Purveyor of the Year, exactly 20 years from receiving same award in 1987.
2007
Recipient of the Tennessee Restaurant Association’s 2007 Purveyor of the Year.
History and Milestones of Choice Food Distributors
1946
Choice Food Distributors' early beginnings began as an egg business on the side by the late Paul Bracey, founding member of Bi-Rite Grocery cooperative, who peddled eggs from the back of his grocery store. The grocery was located at 818 South 6th Street. His opened an egg farm in the 1950s called Bracey Egg Farm.
1950s
Paul Bracey closed Bi-Rite Grocery Store and his egg farm but retained his egg distribution business.
1974
Jim Fesmire acquired Paul Bracey’s egg distribution business with an investment of $500 as the beginnings of his Nashville Egg, Inc. business. He acquired its debt of $10,000.
1974 – 1978
Nashville Egg, Inc. was a wholesale distributor of only one product, eggs. Business developed with a staff of three, and grew to making $1 million in sales a year.
1978
Mr. Fesmire decided to broaden his product line and shift to food service distribution to restaurants, hotels, day cares, country clubs, hospitals, and institutions.
1979
Nashville Egg, Inc. introduced fresh poultry products to its product line.
1980
Nashville Egg, Inc. added a freezer to accommodate offering frozen food products.
1983
Gibson Food Products, Inc. of Hendersonville, Tenn., founded by owner and president Charles “Butch” Gibson, became a broadline distributor and specialized in catering to the limited menu restaurants because none of the larger distributors were interested in this niche market.
1987
Nashville Egg, Inc. moved its offices and distribution operations from 818 6th Street to 6167 Neighborly Avenue in West Nashville. Sales doubled from $1 million a year between 1974 to 1978 to $10 million in 1987. Strategies to growth were: expanding product lines, sales force and facilities as well as being customer-oriented.
1998
Sales continued to soar for Nashville Egg, doubling in 11 years.
1999
Twelve years later, Nashville Egg, Inc. finally outgrew its current facility of 7,000 sq. ft. at 6167 Neighborly Avenue with no land available to properly expand. So Mr. Jim Fesmire built a new facility at 6167 Cockrill Bend Circle, which today is the headquarters for Choice Food Distributors. The business went from: 7,000 sq. ft to 30,000 sq. ft.; from 12 trucks to 20 delivery trucks; and from one dock and one drive in door to six docks and one drive in door.
January 2005
Choice Food Group entered the food distribution industry by investing in Nashville Egg, Inc.
June 1, 2005
Choice Food Group expanded its distribution business with the investment in Gibson Food Products, Inc.
September 2005
Choice Food Distributors, Inc. established as a merger between Gibson Food Products Inc. and Nashville Egg, Inc.
April 2006
Choice Food Distributors became a member of All Kitchens’ unit of Progressive Group Alliance, Richmond, Va.
May 2006
Computerized all operational systems between the two merged companies, the first for Nashville Egg in the history of its company.
April 2008
Expanded distribution operations into Memphis, Tenn. through the parent company's acquisition of American Seafood Company, Inc.
Historical Milestones of Vietti Foods Company
The diary of Giuseppe Vietti, the great grandfather of the Vietti family heritage , says that the Vietti family got into the food business when they started feeding the Roman Legions, and has continued to feed people ever since.
1898
Giuseppi Vietti, the great grandfather, brought the family business of meat packing over from Torino, Italy to the United States.
1927
Perfecting the family recipe. Pete Vietti, the son of Giuseppi Vietti, was one-third owner of Cascade Plunge, a swimming pool at the Tennessee Fairgrounds. At the concession stand, he would sell food that included his home-made chili soup and hot dogs with chili. He would make the chili at the fairgrounds’ site and store it in sealed cans he made by hand, a trade he learned from working in the family business during his younger years.
1936
Vietti’s manufacturing plant was born. Business incorporated. Pete Vietti and his investors opened the Vietti Foods’ plant on Franklin Street and produced canned BBQ beef, pork and chili with and without beans.
1950s
Vietti Foods’ plant moved to Bransford Avenue for expansion where other family members joined in the business.
1957
Pete Vietti retired from the business and son, Joseph Vietti took over running the business.
1960s
Diversification of the Vietti brand started. Vietti Foods introduced hot dog chili sauce.
1968
Built a new facility where Vietti Foods currently occupies today on Southgate Avenue.
1979
Second brand introduced as Southgate product label and named after the street the plant was located on.
1985
Joseph Vietti retired from the business and son, Brad Vietti, took over running the business.
1987
Third brand acquired. Vietti Foods bought a locally-owned canned goods packing company, Varallo Foods of Nashville, Tenn., from owner Jim Varallo, which included the rights to its brand name.
1991
Established as a USDA facility. Vietti facility was refurbished and became a training facility for federal USDA inspectors.
1996
Changed from a family run business to professional management. Brad Vietti resigned and the board of directors took over the administration of the business. Vietti Foods’ board of directors elected to hire a professional management team to run the business instead of being maintained by the family leadership of the Vietti name. This decision was a bold move but one the board of directors realized necessary to take the company to a new level.
1997
Their search found Bob Cook who served as president for four years until an unexpected death on May 8, 2001.
2001
The board led another executive search for a president. They identified veteran Philip Connelly from the consumer packaged goods industry who joined the company in July 2001. Their directive was to develop and execute a long-term strategic plan.
2002
Pivotal year of change. Management staff re-aligned and new strategies were implemented. Phase I launched the redesign of Vietti’s canned labels. Vietti was beginning to be transformed from a latent manufacturer to an innovative marketer.
2001 – 2004
Launched over 200 new items during a three-year- period and broadened its portfolio of brands; those were the first new retail products Vietti Foods had launched since 1994. Used guerilla marketing tactics to attract attention to their products. Included were introductions of biblical verses and select country music artists on the labels to promote Nashville as the Music City that it was. Distribution was within 30 states in the southeast.
Upgraded the production infrastructure by acquiring new manufacturing equipment to maximize output from the existing facility built in 1968.
September 2005
With company’s broadened capabilities, Vietti was able to respond to feeding disaster relief opportunities after Hurricane Katrina. The company continued to gain respect in the industry.
December 31, 2005
Acquired by Choice Food Group.
2006
Launched Phase II of redesign of labels for Vietti brand, including bold all natural designation and launch of “Vietti Vinyl” promotion that features emerging country music artists on cans and on website.
January 18, 2007
Choice Food of America, LLC and Vietti Foods Company, Inc. merged to become Choice Food of America, LLC. The merger collapsed Vietti Food Company.
Sources for Vietti History:
Brad Vietti, Pete Vietti’s grandson; Jim Varello, and Philip Connelly.
