Gordon Food Service debuts in Texas with 6 Houston stores
HEB and Kroger have new competition in town with the debut of a foodservice distributor in Texas this week. Gordon Food Service officially opened four stores in the greater Houston area on Tuesday and has two more stores opening at a later date — the most stores the family-owned company says it has ever opened at once.
The stores, which offer a wide variety of fresh and packaged produce and goods, and even an omelet shop to produce fresh omelets daily (watch out, HEB!), are primarily designed to provide bulk items to restaurant owners and operators, but also to serve the public. However, unlike discount bulk grocers like Costco or Sam’s Club, a membership is not required.
Gordon Food Service offers a variety of fresh and packaged produce and products.
Gordon Food Service“Gordon Food Service Store believes in the power of good food and its ability to bring people together and make moments special,” Tim Grabar, company president, said in a press release. “We are excited to open our doors to the Houston community and offer the chef-quality food products our stores are known for.”
Founded more than 125 years ago as a butter and egg delivery service, Gordon Food Service says it has since become the largest general line food distribution company in North America. He opened his first store in Wyoming, Michigan in 1979 for restaurants that ran out of products between deliveries. Today, the company has 175 stores in 13 states, most of them in Michigan.
Here are the addresses of the locations currently open in the greater Houston area:
- 4601 FM 1960 West
- 12533 Westheimer Road at South Dairy Ashford
- 649 Mason Road in Katy
- 215 W. Main Street in League City
Upcoming locations on North Braeswood Boulevard in Chimney Rock, as well as 5151 Antoine Drive in Pinemont Drive, are coming soon, and opening dates have not yet been announced. Each of the stores ranges from 25,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet in size, smaller than Costco, which lists its average store size at 146,000 square feet. The average Sam’s Club store size is 136,000 square feet.
All Gordon Food Service locations in the Houston area are open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. They are also open from 9 am to 6 pm on Sundays. Customers can order online for same-day in-store pickup.