Huntsville-area restaurants, institutions, and families will soon have an additional place to shop for fresh groceries, kitchenware, cleaning supplies, and more with the upcoming opening of the Gordon Food Service Store, scheduled for Tuesday, February 1.

Located at 4710 NW University Dr NW, Ste. 17-B in the former location of Shakalaka, this new store is the Michigan-based company’s first in the state. In addition to Michigan, it currently has outlets in Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida as well as multiple locations throughout Canada.

Initially founded in 1897 by Isaac Van Westenbrugge as a butter and egg delivery business, Gordon Food Service ultimately grew to be the largest family-managed foodservice distribution company in North America. It has partnered with restaurants of all sizes, as well as organizations such as schools and universities, hotels, healthcare facilities, and sports venues.

Like Sam’s Club and Costco, Gordon Food Service offers a wide variety of bulk products such as meats, produce, frozen foods, dairy, cooking aids, and packaging. It also features a large seasonal produce department, a full-service deli selling meats, cheeses, and salads by the pound, and both broasted and rotisserie chickens. In-store services include event planning and a home ordering program with either pickup or delivery.

In October 2021 Gordon Food Service partnered with Square Roots, the technology leader in indoor farming. Although this pilot farm is located at the Gordon Food Service headquarters, the company seeks to establish additional indoor farms across the nation in the near future.

“In partnering with Square Roots, we are delivering on our ambitions to make nutritious, local produce available to everyone, throughout the year, regardless of the local climate,” said Gordon Food Service CEO Rich Wolowski.

Square Roots grows a wide variety of produce, including herbs like basil, dill, parsley, and cilantro; microgreens; and salad mixes. Its farms are built in cities to reduce travel needs, and its hydroponic growing systems re-circulate the water used to grow crops, allowing for the use of 95% less water than conventional farming. All Square Roots produce is in 100% recyclable packaging.

In December 2021, Gordon Food Service launched the Re.Source brand, its newest effort toward waste reduction and education. This brand features sustainable food packaging that uses a visual system of bold colors, icons, and clear instructions to ensure users can properly dispose of the products through recycling, composting, or reuse. “We are thrilled to launch a proprietary family of products that are both sustainable and smart, particularly at such a critical time,” said Wolowski.

Gordon Food Service is also committed to giving back to the community, donating wholesome but unsellable products to local hunger-relief and charitable organizations. It also provides online educational resources for its restaurant, healthcare, and education industry partners.

Gordon Food Service offers free memberships to the public. In addition to in-store shopping, it offers free online ordering and pick-up in-store for home and business customers, as well as same day express delivery for businesses.