BONITA SPRINGS — Artisan Specialty Foods acquired an Illinois facility that will allow it to double its distribution capacity.
Artisan, a subsidiary of Bonita Springs-based Innovative Food Holdings, paid $890,000 for a 28,000-square-foot distribution facility in Broadview, Ill. The deal was financed with a loan from Fifth Third Bank.
Artisan was founded in 2004 as a small specialty food distributor serving upscale restaurants in the Chicago area. Today the company serves as a nationwide fulfillment center for other Innovative Food Holdings subsidiaries operating in both the restaurant and consumer markets.
“Given the strong increase in Artisan's business during the first quarter and the overall strength in the specialty ingredient market, we needed a much larger distribution facility to support our growth,” says Justin Wiernasz, president of Innovative Food Holdings, in a statement.
“Beyond alleviating space constraints, the new facility allows us to execute our core competency of building new specialty food platforms, like private label,” Wiernasz adds in the statement. “The facility's increased capacity also helps us eliminate third-party storage costs, which should go straight to the bottom line.”