Foodservice distributor US Foods announced Tuesday it plans to open four additional Chef’Store locations over the next year, bringing its total count for the grocery and restaurant supply chain to 87 locations across the U.S.
Two of the locations are slated to open this fall in Merced and Santa Cruz, California. The 19,000-square-foot Merced location will be at 3275 R St., while the 23,000-square-foot Santa Cruz store will be located at 1660 Commercial Way. With these spots, US Foods will operate 17 Chef’Store locations in California.
In December, US Foods plans to open a 23,500-square-foot Chef’Store location at 140 Stratford Commons Court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That will mark the second location for the chain in the Tarheel State.
Then, in early 2023, the company plans to open its third Chef’Store spot in Montana, at 2885 N. Sanders St. in Helena. The 20,000-square-foot location will join other stores located in Kalispell and Missoula.
Serving restaurant owners and others in the food industry
In a statement, John Mathews, vice president of sales and marketing for Chef’Store, said the four cities “have a growing community of restaurant owners and culinary professionals.”
Chef’Store sells wholesale restaurant supplies and groceries in a warehouse shopping format. The stores target business professionals as well as the public, and don’t require a membership to shop. Earlier this year, US Foods opened Chef’Store locations in Visalia, California; Lynchburg, Virginia; and Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Most Chef’Store locations are former Smart Foodservice Warehouse sites previously owned by warehouse operator Smart & Final. US Foods acquired Smart & Final’s foodservice business from private equity owner Apollo in 2020 and the following year rebranded the stores under the Chef’Store name.
