Hobson Food Service, Inc.  200 Howerton Ave Nashville, TN 37213 615/255-0359

The roots of Hobson Food Service, Inc. dates back to the 1917’s. SR Smith had its beginning at that time. H.L. Decker, Sr. founded Decker Poultry & Produce in 1944 at 1808 4th Avenue South in Nashville, Tenn. Specializing in wholesale distribution of poultry, egg and produce, Decker Poultry & Produce was inherited by his son, H.L. Decker, Jr.
In 1982, Don Hobson was offered equal partnership in the business with Mr. Decker Jr., where the company name was changed to Decker & Hobson Poultry & Egg. When Mr. Decker Jr. decided to retire in May 1985, Mr. Hobson purchased Mr. Decker’s share of the business and became the sole owner, changing the company name to its present name as Hobson Food Service, Inc. But the name wasn’t all that changed.

Hobson Food Service, Inc. has grown significantly since its humble beginnings of making $396,000 a year in sales to over $15 million today. Its growth is due to the foresight and innovations of Mr. Hobson, along with the dedication of its employees and operational support from his wife, Barbara, and son, Rick, who joined the business in 1985. His company’s achievements were recognized in the industry when Hobson Food Service was awarded the 1987 Purveyor of the Year by the Tennessee Restaurant Association.

Mr. Hobson recognized that Nashville’s “white table cloth” restaurants needed more customized meat products. So, he changed the focus of his business in 1991 to “further poultry processing,” and offered deboning, customizing (sizing) and marinating according to the customers’ specifications. The process included packaging that was vacuumed packed and sealed. [See footnote 1]

The company started its first USDA further poultry processing operations in leased space on 2nd Street & Broadway in the old T.G. Tillman & Son Meat Company building where son, Rick, was instrumental in setting up their custom poultry processing program there.

“Customers would comment on how much better our chicken would taste than others they bought from,” said Rick Hobson. “We attribute our secret to tapping into an agricultural study by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.” The study revealed that poultry meat does, in fact, have an aging process like beef when left six to 10 hours longer on the bone from the slaughter house. It is those additional hours that tenderize the poultry meat and add flavors before it is further processed, he explains.

Sales in the company’s business soared as a result of Mr. Hobson’s new business strategy. It became apparent that a larger facility was needed. So, the processing plant was moved to Franklin Road at Moore’s Lane in Brentwood, Tenn. where they also started offering their products under the label of “Farm Fresh.”
Other business strategies Mr. Hobson considered were developing other new processes and systems. He engaged his son, Rick, to explore a cheese program offered by ConAgra which turned into an extremely viable and successful purchasing program for the company and still a hallmark of their business today in offering exquisite gourmet cheeses to their “white table cloth” clients.

Rick was also instrumental in launching the company’s Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) Program in 1998 to meet requirements as a USDA facility as well as computerized the company’s operational systems.

Mr. Hobson decided to additionally expand his business services by “moving to the center plate,” offering further processing of beef and pork. To give his business a jump start, he acquired an established further processor of beef and pork, S.R. Smith Meats, in September 2001.

S.R. Smith Meats was established in 1917 by Samuel Richard Smith, Sr. The business had changed ownership over the years from Mr. Smith’s sons, Norton and Sam, to Doug Doty and then in 1985 to longtime salesman Otis McDaniel whom Mr. Hobson purchased the business from.

S.R. Smith Meats, located at 202 Howerton Street in East Nashville, became Hobson Food Service’s second processing facility. But linguistics became a chronic problem with their warehouse being located at their Nolensville Road location. Mr. Hobson knew that their operations needed to be consolidated under one roof and decided that S.R. Smith’s location would be the best site. His plan was to build a warehouse at the S.R. Smith location. He purchased the abandoned restaurant and two parking lots next door.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hobson’s health was declining at that time as he dealt with three different types of cancer that had to be treated independently. The treatments and surgeries continued for seven years, before his death in March 2004.

Mr. Hobson’s spirit and enthusiasm for the business has endured with his wife, Barbara, and son, Rick, who having worked by his side all those years, were determined to keep the business operating and fulfill their husband and father’s dream.

“My husband always made it his goal to provide a good working environment for our employees, some of whom have been with us for over 20 years,” said Mrs. Hobson. “This move was one that accomplished his ideals and I was not about to let his plans falter.”

“It was hard fitting into my husband’s shoes while balancing meeting USDA’s building codes and keeping the business operational day-to-day, but we did it,” recalls Mrs. Hobson.

They sold their Franklin Road facility in August 2004 to Jim Kennedy for a new and used auto dealership that features high-end cars. And in September 2004, they promptly moved into their new warehouse and administrative offices at their Howerton Street facility. Not wanting to interrupt business operations, they managed to move everything in one weekend.

In December 2006, they merged the two companies, S.R. Smith with Hobson Food Service, Inc., becoming the largest further processor of fresh meats in the Nashville area. The history and traditions of these two companies has shaped them into becoming the industry leaders in fresh meat and poultry further processing they are today. Hobson Food Service is a two-time award recipient of the Tennessee Restaurant Association’s Purveyor of the Year (2007, 1987). And their reputation was what caught the attention of Choice Food Group which acquired Hobson Food Service, Inc. on March 1, 2007.

“We saw the acquisition as an opportunity for future growth,” said Mrs. Hobson. “Aligning with Choice Food Group gives us strength to offer a broader range of products and services to our customers. My husband was always open to implementing fresh ideas for service and products to meet the high expectations of our customers; so I believe that Don would have agreed with our decision to join Choice Food Group.”

Hobson Food Service, Inc., a wholesale distributor and further processor of customized poultry, beef, port and other products, currently serves full line distributors, restaurants, colleges and hospitals within the Southeast region.

Footnote 1:

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville did a study in 1991 that revealed injecting CO2 inside the poultry’s food packaging would inactivate bacteria growth. This process was introduced after that study which is continued and used today by many meat processors. Hobson Food Company currently offers this option to its clients, but no customers at this time utilize this process at our plant for several reasons. We deliver our meat fresh and the same day it is processed so our clients don’t need this step in packaging. The biological abstract can be found in the Journal of Food Protection. 1991: 54(3):194-199. ISSN:0362-028X. “Survival of Campylobacter-Jejuni in Modified Atmosphere Packaged Turkey Roll,” 1991, Phebus, R.K.; Draughon, F.A.; Mount, J.R.