COVINGTON — Frank J. Catanzaro Sons & Daughters served up a day of treats to its customers at the company's annual food show this week.

        The event, Tuesday at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, was the food distributor's ninth such blowout and featured the wares of 140 vendors. The show provides a chance for Lockland-based Catanzaro to showcase the companies whose products it distributes, and to connect on a personal level with many of its 1,200 customers.

        “What our customers are looking for is new ideas and new products to put on their menus,” said president Sharon Catanzaro Ledonne, a daughter of the company's founder, Frank C. Catanzaro. The company had $38.2 million in sales in 2000. “We service universities, nursing homes and upscale restaurants, but mom-and-pop restaurants are really our niche.“

Catanzaro sales rep Joe Catanzaro (right) and Tony Rizzo (center) of Rizwitsch Sales (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Vendors ranged from purveyors of cleaning supplies and tableware to bakeries, convenience-food producers and beverage suppliers.

        “We carry anything a restaurant might need with the exception of large equipment,” Mrs. Ledonne said.

        Prominent among the vendors was Pocahontas Foods USA, a food-service co-op of 175 members nationwide. Frank C. Catanzaro joined the buying group in 1982 when he decided to take his successful produce business into the full-service arena.

        “Pocahontas is how we compete with Sysco and Alliance (food distributors),” Ms. Ledonne said. “Within Pocahontas, we're family. We can talk with other members and share our problems and secrets.”

        Said Ross Viol of Pocahontas: “The distributors in our group are independent and family-owned. Together, we're able to provide national brands to our customers. It's an attempt to level the playing field for smaller distributors.”
       

Variety of foods

        Customers tried the culinary offerings in the convention hall, sampling everything from produce to pizza. Vegetarian fare was also represented by such companies as Worthington Foods and Rosina Food Products.

        “We carry a whole vegan line that's popular in colleges,” Rosina's representative, Ann Nemeth, said. “It contains no cheese, no meat, and all the vegetables are organic.”

        Blue-shirted Catanzaro representatives, including many of Frank C.'s 26 grandchildren, chatted with attendees and introduced them to vendors or products. On the hour, an Elvis impersonator drew a customer's name for the chance to enter the show's money machine. A team of chefs from Culinary Arts Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., prepared eye-catching dishes.

        “This show gives us the opportunity to see our customers, to increase our value as a distributor,” Ms. Ledonne said. “It increases our sales. For our customers, it's an efficient use of time. They can see vendors' products all together versus us bringing the vendor or the product to them.”
       

Celebrate success

        The food show is also a chance for the Catanzaro family to celebrate the success of the family venture, which began in 1949 when a teen-aged Frank C. invested $13 in a load of tomatoes to sell to grocery stores. His nine children grew up in the business, helping out at the family's produce stands at Findlay Market as soon as they were tall enough to see over the counter.

        “I've used other brokers, but I like Catanzaro's responsive, service orientation,” said Terry L. White, manager of corporate food services for Union Central Insurance of Forest Park. “They are competitive in the market place. I don't have a primary distributor and a secondary distributor. I've put all my eggs in their basket, and so far they've kept them from breaking.”

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