US Foods names Irfan Badibanga president of CHEF'STORE

US Foods named Irfan Badibanga president of CHEF’STORE, the warehouse retail concept from the broadline distributor, the company announced Wednesday.

Rosemont, Illinois-based US Foods acquired Smart Foodservice Warehouse stores in April 2020 and rebranded them to US Foods CHEF’STORE in February 2021. There are currently more than 80 cash-and-carry CHEF'STORE warehouse retail locations around the country.

In his new role, Badibanga will be responsible for overseeing plans to grow CHEF’STORE stores as part of the US Foods' omnichannel strategy. He will report to Jay Kvasnicka, EVP of field operations for US Foods. 

 “CHEF'STORE is poised for tremendous growth, and I am excited to help advance an omnichannel experience that enables purchasing synergies for our US Foods broadline customers,” said Badibanga in a statement. “Our CHEF’STORE locations have an unparalleled culture that enables associates to cultivate lasting partnerships with our customers, and a customer value proposition that is centered around an incomparable customer experience that emphasizes clean, easy-to-navigate stores and a consistently stocked assortment of products aligned with the communities we operate in.” 

Previous to this new role, Badibanga served as SVP of operations for Giant Food, where he oversaw the grocery retailer's operations of supermarkets and pharmacies, managed strategic store planning and execution, customer experience, e-commerce operations, asset protection, and supply chain logistics. An industry veteran, Badibanga was SVP of operations at Family Dollar Stores where he was responsible for the oversight of 8,000 U.S. stores in 44 states.  

Prior to joining Family Dollar, he was VP of operations at Walmart, overseeing 33,000 associates across 105 Walmart Supercenters.  His introduction in the grocery space began when he was a bagger at Gooding’s Supermarkets in Orlando, Florida, and quickly rose through the ranks at a variety of supermarket chains as he refined his retail leadership expertise.  

“I am pleased to welcome Irfan to CHEF’STORE,” said Kvasnicka in a statement. “His extensive retail leadership experience and proven track record of helping advance retail excellence will be critical as we continue to invest in the growth and expansion of our CHEF’STORE business.” 

In May, CHEF’STORE celebrated the opening of its first location in Virginia and has plans for more store openings.