When it comes to Ohio’s terminal markets, think Dickens. There’s Columbus, where private ownership anchors a 20-bay terminal market at full capacity; then there’s Cleveland, home to the Northern Ohio Food Terminal, operating under the traditional model, with open space due to tenant exits over the last few years.
“One vendor just closed in November,” Lou Silvestro, category manager for Economy Produce & Vegetable Company, Inc. in Cleveland. BB #:102471. “There are only three left on the terminal: Sanson Company, Coosemans, and us, Economy Produce.”
The remaining tenants are weighing their options with respect to the vacancies, he said, adding, “We’re looking into things; we want to do what’s best for our company. We have a few options available.”
At the Columbus market, Sanfillipo Produce anchors and owns the terminal. “We’re the oldest produce family left in the city of Columbus,” said Jamie Sanfillipo, president at Sanfillipo Produce Company, Inc. in Columbus. BB #:188528
Five other tenants range from longtime Columbus distributors to specialty firms riding retail expansion. One tenant changed at the end of 2018.
“Two units will now be occupied by Krazy Kraut, which manufactures and sells organic sauerkraut and a few other items to Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, stores like that,” Sanfillipo said.
The good news is receivers at both markets experienced steady business in 2018.
“Traffic is pretty similar to past years,” Sanfillipo said. The steady flow was helped by plenty of homegrown favorites. “We were bombarded with local product in 2018,” he confirms, and even better was good pricing.
In a nod to their roots, both the Cleveland and Columbus terminals offer purchasing to the general public. Sanfillipo reports continued brisk business in the single bay it has dedicated to public sales at the Columbus terminal.
Foodservice also continues to drive sales at both terminals. Silverstro said he believes the economy’s stability has been driving growth, with more people eating out and pushing restaurant demand up over the past five years. How much the partial government shutdown early in the year will impact business remains to be seen.
Sanfillipo credits the Columbus area’s surging population for robust sales to restaurants and grocers, though big continues to trump small.
“There are less mom-and-pop places and more chain businesses here,” he said.
Southwest Ohio is also a major corporate center, with headquarter locations of Fortune 500 companies adding to plenty of people who need to eat—whether at home, on the go, or at sit-down restaurants.
Indeed, convenience continues to be a significant driver, especially in fresh-cut solutions. “People want value-added items,” Silvestro said. He believes receivers who can tailor their product line to this need will reap the benefits.
Ohio Terminal Markets
Columbus Produce Terminal
(bought by Sanfillipo Produce Company, Inc. in 2014)
4561 East 5th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219
Tenants: Sanfillipo Produce Company; Will W. Fischer & Son Company; Great River Organics; Mario’s Tropical Fruits Company; Philip Bruno Produce Company; Krazy Kraut.
Northern Ohio Food Terminal
3800 Orange Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115
Tenants: Coosemans Cleveland, Inc.; Economy Produce & Vegetable Company; Inc.; Global Distributors of Produce, LLC.
This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full version.
