Foodservice distributor What Chefs Want, Louisville, Ky., is expanding its network with the purchase of Mid/West Fresh Produce, Columbus, Ohio.
The purchase is the fifth acquisition by What Chefs Want in the past 16 months, according to a news release, including Ohio companies Joe Lasita and Sons Produce, Cincinnati, and Coe Catanzaro and Sons Produce, Springfield, in the past year.
“This acquisition continues our focus to grow our presence in the Ohio area and set local roots in the Columbus market,” Ron Turnier, president of What Chefs Want, said in the release. “We believe in the dynamic culinary scene that the Columbus area has to offer and now we have the ability to better serve our customer base with a local presence.”
What Chefs Want is a full-line foodservice distributor, carrying produce, fresh-cut produce, meats, seafood and gourmet products. The company, founded in 1997, has more than 125 trucks and five distribution facilities serving 4,500 foodservice customers, according to the release. Customers are in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
The company recently remodeled a Cincinnati warehouse, with a prep kitchen that produces custom-cut and “semi-prepared” produce for the hospitality industry, according to the release.
“Our customers and our team have so much respect for what the Mid/West Fresh Produce team have been able to build and accomplish over the past 31 years and we look forward to reaching more customers in such a robust culinary scene,” Turnier said in the release.
The company also promotes its digital platform as an easy-to-use ordering service.
