C&S Wholesale to Open Warehouse in Pacific Northwest

C&S Wholesale Grocers said it will open a state-of-the-art warehouse in the Pacific Northwest. The facility, located in Troutdale, Ore., is expected to open in summer 2020 and will allow the wholesaler to expand services to independent grocers in the region, many of whom have endured disruption amid a spate of wholesaler mergers.

“As the business behind grocery, we are always adapting to offer the most cost-efficient products, services and solutions, where our customers need us most. We are continuously growing and expanding our footprint, and have recently opened new operations in Houston and now are excited to become a significant presence in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mike Duffy, CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H. 

Joe Cavaliere, who came on board last year as chief commercial officer, noted that the wholesaler made a commitment in the beginning of the year to “becoming our customers’ partner of choice. We have worked incredibly hard to make ourselves a company that doesn’t just procure and fulfill customers’ requests but is also a business partner that creates sustainable value. Our expansion into this key geographic area is another milestone in our evolution.”

Cavaliere spoke to WGB earlier this year about how C&S planned to grow in a stagnant grocery market in part through innovation and expansion of specialty goods and natural foods.

The Pacific Northwest became a bit of a distribution hotbed earlier this year when United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) announced plans to consolidate distribution facilities in the region, which led to a worker strike in May at the affected warehouses. It was later announced that that layoffs would occur at the end of the year.

Some customers of those facilities have seen them pass through three separate ownership groups in recent years as Unified Grocers was acquired by Supervalu, which subsequently was acquired by UNFI.