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Gordon Food Service to Build Distribution Center in Pittsburgh

With the help of a million dollars in state grants and tax credits, Gordon Food Service will locate a new distribution center in the Pittsburgh region, bringing more than 150 jobs.

Gordon Food Service, the largest family-owned and operated food service distributor in North America, will construct a 480,000-square-foot food distribution center in Findlay Township.

Andy Maier, marketing communications manager at Gordon Food Service, said the new facility will improve service for its northern customers.

“We do have three GFS Marketplace retails stores that are located in the market,” Maier said. “We’re building a new distribution center in the greater Pittsburgh area to better serve those customers that we have currently as well as the growing northeast territory for us.”

The company will invest more than $80 million in construction, site development and new equipment. The business has also committed to create 166 new jobs within the next three years.

The food service distributor is opening two other centers: a 260,000-square-foot facility near Atlanta and a 100,000-square-foot center in its home state of Michigan.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September and will be completed in spring 2015.

Maier said the company already has a retail system in place in Pennsylvania.

“Usually we go into a market, we establish our distribution network and then we go in and add GFS Marketplace stores,” Maier said. “Being that we currently service the greater Pittsburgh area from other DCs and see that as a growing market for us, those stores were built and we’ve had great success with that.” 

GFS has three stores in the region: one apiece in Robinson, Pleasant Hills and Monroeville.

Gordon Food Service received funding from the Department of Community and Economic Development, through a $498,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant, $498,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits and $74,700 for employee training.

The company sells food to restaurants, healthcare and education facilities, and employs 232 Pennsylvanians among more than 13,000 people across the United States and Canada.

The Erie, PA native has been a fellow in the WESA news department since May 2013. Having earned a bachelor's degree in print journalism from Duquesne University, he is now pursuing an M.A. in multi-media management. Michael describes his career aspiration as "I want to do it all in journalism."