The Chefs' Warehouse’s acquisition of New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A. -based Foley Fish will fuel the seafood processor and distributor’s growth to new foodservice customers in new cities, Foley Fish Co-owner Laura Ramsden told SeafoodSource.
The Chefs' Warehouse announced the acquisition of the 100-year-old Foley Fish on Monday, 26 April. The Chefs’ Warehouse and Ramdsen declined to reveal financial details of the transaction.
Foley Fish will continue to operate in New Bedford with Co-owners Peter Ramsden and Laura Ramsden at the helm, and all of its employees will remain with the company, Ramsden said.
“Part of the reason we considered this is Chefs’ Warehouse’s history of keeping companies intact,” Ramsden said. “The front of the house stays the same, but the acquisition bolsters back of the house so we can grow the front the house.”
While Foley Fish’s business, which was around 85 percent foodservice at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, was hit hard in the past year, the company is financially stable and did not require a buyout to survive, Ramdsen said.
“We started these conversations prior to COVID; this was not like Foley Fish was falling down. We are a 100 percent healthy company and didn’t owe anybody money,” she said.
The Chefs’ Warehouse will help Foley Fish expand and “become even more of a force in the seafood world,” Ramsden said.
“We don’t sell a lot of fish in New York City, but it is close enough to touch,” Ramsden said. “It is more attainable now, because Chefs’ Warehouse has a base there.”
Chefs’ Warehouse also owns produce and specialty foods distributor Sid Wainer & Son and Cambridge Packing Co., a meat and seafood distributor.
“To have all three [distributors] bringing produce, meat, and fish in separate trucks – now there is a lot of synergy there in shared customers and in terms of back of the house efficiencies in shared logistics,” Ramsden said.
In order to grow its business in the foodservice space, Foley Fish will hire additional employees.
“[Employees in] production is our main need,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Foley Fish
