St. Louis foodservice sales on rebound

Foodservice sales in the St. Louis, Mo., area have, for the most part, rebounded from the doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, some produce distributors say their restaurant business has surpassed 2019 levels.

“Our [foodservice] business dropped during COVID,” said Joe Sanders, owner of Midstate Produce Co. Inc. on the St. Louis Produce Market. But the majority of Midstate’s customers “were smart” and teamed up with DoorDash and other delivery services pretty quickly, he said.

There may have been a week or two when the direction foodservice would take was unclear, he said, but as soon as operators got onboard with delivery and carryout services, business picked up.

Midstate also shifted gears and put more focus on wholesale business. “The government didn’t shut down grocery stores,” Sanders said.

Some restaurants closed because of the pandemic, he said, but at Midstate, foodservice sales have bounced back. “For the most part, our foodservice is probably better than it was pre-COVID,” he said.

Some foodservice distributors went out of business during the pandemic, which created opportunity for other suppliers to pick up those sales, Sanders said.

Foodservice accounts for a relatively small number of sales at St. Louis-based Midwest Best Produce Inc., said president Dan Pupillo.

During the pandemic, foodservice sales dropped by 60%, but they were made up elsewhere. “What you lost in foodservice, you picked up in extra business in retail,” he said. “People were doing more of their own home-cooked meals.” 

About 60% of the business at Front Row Produce LLC, Overland, Mo., is from foodservice, said owner and president Tony Pupillo Sr. The company puts up a number of pack sizes of items like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and colored peppers for foodservice. The pandemic’s effect on sales gradually waned. “At first it was very tough,” he said. But after a couple of months, the company got into some government food box business, and then retail sales began to pick up.

“We ended up having a strong year,” he said. Foodservice business has come back to pre-pandemic levels, and the company is expanding its reach into additional states, Pupillo said.

VMP Produce Co. on the St. Louis Produce Market also is attempting to expand its foodservice business after undergoing some difficult times during the pandemic, said owner Vince Pupillo. “The [restaurants] that survived are strong, and they’re holding their own,” he said.

But Pupillo said late summer was a relatively slow period. “We are counting on fall business to pick up,” he said.