We’re having perfect fall weather, Mother Nature is giving us quite a show with leaves bursting with color and the golf outings are all but over (I hope), but the best news of the month is that Chipotle has ended its carnitas crunch.
A few weeks ago I was traveling in South Philly and drove past the old produce terminal on Third Street and Packer Avenue. It is being torn down after 52 years of service to Philadelphia’s hospitality, foodservice and retail industries. The newer Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM), a 700,000 square foot shiny facility on Essington Avenue near the airport, has now completed four years of service. I called upon a few of my produce gurus to get their take on what they think are the best features of the PWPM and how it has helped their businesses since it opened. Tommy Kovacevich (aka Tommy K), of TMK Produce told me, “As for the new market, the number one feature is the fact we are fully enclosed and thus are able to maintain the cold chain. This is better for the product and it has proven to be better for everyone. At TMK we have doubled our space and similarly doubled our trucking fleet. The new market has proven to be a great success, four years later our business is operating more cost efficiently than ever while also significantly expanding distribution in all categories.” Industry veteran and specialty produce savant, John Vena of John Vena Produce said, “The new Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market facility has been a game changer. Fully enclosed and totally refrigerated, our product sees total cold chain protection. We are now able to offer our customers the best of both worlds: the technology and product quality of a conventional grower-shipper or distributor, with the incredible breadth of product availability and competitive pricing that makes a terminal market so unique. The 700,000 square foot facility has allowed us to build successful custom ripening and repacking programs, and we see tremendous opportunity for growth all around us.”
Dan Kane, general manager of the PWPM, summed it up pretty well. “It’s all about increased efficiencies: the temperature maintenance system, traffic flow and inventory management have made every aspect of the new facility more efficient, for both customers and merchants.” PWPM is open to the public, so put it on your list of places to visit in Philly.
Weis Markets has completed the purchase of Nell’s Shurfine Market in Hanover, PA from C&S Wholesale Grocers. The store was temporarily closed while it was being converted and upgraded. It reopened on September 20. “We’ve completed the purchase and have begun upgrading this facility. As part of this process, we’ve hired 70 former Nell’s associates to work at this location,” said Weis Markets COO Kurt Schertle. Part of the conversion was to expand the organic, natural and gluten free selection store wide and upgrade new dairy and frozen cases. Congrats on the new store!
Anyone who is a foodie and watches the Food Network has to know Chef Robert Irvine, star of the reality show, “Restaurant Impossible.” Saint Joseph’s University’s Academy of Food Marketing is hosting an exciting event benefiting the Food Marketing Educational Foundation. On November 17, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., you can join Chef Irvine and other industry notables at a meet and greet cocktail party at the Fretz Kitchen Showroom in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 4050 South 26th Street, Philadelphia. Attendees will be able to take photos with Chef Irvine, watch cooking demonstrations and sample his “Better For You” product line while raising scholarship funds for food marketing students at Saint Joe’s. For more information and to register, go to www.sju.edu/fmkscholarships.
The 10th annual Food Industry Summit, “Fresh Perspectives in Food Marketing,” took place at Saint Joseph’s University Mandeville Hall on October 13. If I had to assign a grade to this event, I would give it a “D.” With one sponsor, little to no marketing (it is a 10 year celebration, so take advantage of that!), no A-list speakers and only 60 registered attendees (the past few years have been sellouts with 200-250 attendees), I would say the academics should stick to teaching, or learn to apply what they are teaching to their own endeavors. Even the graduate school students failed to show; there were about five students on hand, compared to 18 last year. Now, I am not saying this event is down for the count, I believe there is a place for this type of summit. SJU summits in the past few years have been data heavy, so this fresh approach was rather appealing to me. However, the execution was a total failure. A brochure with bios and an agenda was replaced with a piece of paper; introductions were weak and the professionalism that usually accompanies this event was totally gone. SJU is my alma mater, so this constructive criticism is out of love and loyalty to the crimson and grey. I am looking forward to a more polished and professional event in 2016. Don’t let me down, SJU.
Kudos to Cumberland County, NJ fruit and vegetable farmer Shirley Todd Kline, Monmouth County, NJ beekeeper and mum producer Angelo Trapani and Hunterdon County, NJ livestock and hay producer Erick K. Doyle, who are the newest members of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. They were recently installed to four-year terms during the board’s reorganization meeting held in Hamilton Township. During the reorganization meeting, Martin Bullock, a Cream Ridge hay, grain and Christmas tree farmer, was elected president of the board and Marilyn Russo, a Chesterfield fruit and vegetable farmer, was selected as vice president. In addition, Steve Wagner, who represents the nursery industry, resigned, and Robert Swanekamp, a grower of plugs and bedding plants in Upper Freehold Township, was chosen to fill the open seat.
The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association elected the 2015-2016 officers and board of directors at its annual business meeting in Chicago. John Cheesman of Clyde’s Delicious Donuts, was elected chairman. David Leonhardi of Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board continues as past chairman. Other new officers for 2015-2016 are: Jewel Hunt of Safeway, EVP; Erik Waterkotte of Columbus Foods, vice chairman; Rick Findlay of Whole Foods, treasurer. For the full list of board members, please go to: www.iddba.org.
The folks at the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) have been very busy these days. After a very successful first year, the NJFC has announced the second class of its leadership development program. The members of this class are: Antonio Acosta, Kings Supermarkets; Keith Breen, Perlmart ShopRites; Paula Colatriano, Acosta; James Haslett, Bimbo Bakeries; Bradford Jones, ASM; Nicholas Lewandoski and Kevin Sullivan, Acme Markets; Michael Nelson, Wegmans; Jessica Riley, Food Circus Super Markets. Leadership development program chair Phil Scaduto of Food Circus said, “The first class was more successful than we imagined it would be, in a shorter timeframe than we anticipated. We already have seen several participants receive promotions, two have been appointed to the NJFC board of directors and we have named Todd Ferrera of Wegmans, a graduate of our first year, as vice chair of the program. I am proud of these young professionals and I am confident that we are advancing the future of the food industry in New Jersey.”
Kreider Farms’ CEO Ron Kreider and his wife Hollee went on a mission to Tanzania, Africa with World Vision recently to give a hand-up, instead of a hand-out by sharing Kreider’s commitment to being a good steward of the land and his knowledge of egg production and farming to those who need it most. According to its website, World Vision is a “Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.” Ron’s goal was to connect with the children . Ron said he can see the future as the programs are set up to ensure a successful future for the children of Tanzania. For more information, go to www.kreiderfarms.com
Some of our industry veterans are retiring as 2015 fades into memory. Ron Fish, who spent 23 years at Joseph W. Riley Company/Crossmark and 10 years as president of Reading Consumer Products, has decided to retire after completing the sale of the MotorScrubber line of floor care equipment to T.L. Killis & Sons of Sheffield, England. He and wife Terry look forward to some travel and spending time with their grandchildren. Happy trails.
Also packing it in is Mike Barber who has worked for Procacci Bothers for 35 years. In August of 1980 when Mike sat down with JM Procacci to interview for a banana sales manager position with Procacci Brothers Sales Corporation, “Caddyshack” was the #1 movie in America, the cost of bananas was $0.36 per pound and the terms “organic,” “specialty,” and “ethnic” produce had not yet been incorporated into the vocabularies of produce buyers. 35 years later, JM Procacci, Procacci Brothers’ director of operations when Mike was hired, still remembers being floored by Barber’s extensive knowledge of banana procurement, “That’s the most I’ve ever learned in a job interview,” reflected Procacci. “Mike Barber had something that all of the other candidates lacked – experience.” Mike’s plans for retirement include working together with his wife Rosa to care for their large collection of tropical plants, visiting the many friends that he and Rosa have made over the years and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. “Procacci Brothers, and I personally, would like to express our deepest gratitude to Mike Barber for 35 plus years of dedicated service to Procacci Brothers,” said company president Mike Maxwell. “We wish Mike and his family many, many years of health and happiness in his retirement.” Best of luck in your retirement.
The circle of life continues as we learned of the death of Philadelphia produce industry legend Jimmy Storey who passed on October 13 at the age of 70 after a long illness. Storey owned Quaker City Produce, which is now run by his son Peter Storey, and Jimmy’s wife Megan. Begun in the 1940s, Quaker City Produce was one of the founding companies of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market when it opened in 1959 in the food distribution center. A force in the Philadelphia produce industry, Jimmy led the group of merchants as they worked for more than 10 years to build the PWPM, which finally opened in 2011. He was president of the Regional Produce Cooperative Corp. for 20 years. In addition to his wife, Jimmy is survived by his  children Christine (Jim) McClintock, Paula (Doug) Hopkins and Peter Storey, and eight grandchildren. The family requests memorial contributions go to the American Heart Association, Penn Center, 1617 JFK Boulevard, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19103 or to Good Shepherd Long Term Acute Care Hospital, 1800 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146. Rest in peace, Jimmy.
Birthday shout outs for the colorful month of October go to: Mike Keba Jr., Giant/Carlisle; Charles Schuster, retired from RMG; Frank Nardi, retired from Wakefern; Ray Nemeth, Snyder’s/Lance; Justine Giordano, Vincent Giordano Corp.; Jeff Ghajar, Goya Foods; Mike Villari, Citterio; and FTN alum Nina Weiland. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Quote of the month: “”The art of marketing is the art of brand-building. If you are not a brand, you are a commodity.” Phillip Kotler
