# Distributors-Hudson Valley NY?



## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

My husband and I are in the planning stages of a new food business venture and need to develop contacts with reps for food service distributors in the Hudson Valley NY area. 
Do any of you have reps that you could recommend to us?
Specifically, we need to buy IQF (individually quick frozen) fruit-cherries, blueberries, apples, strawberries, raspberries, mango chunks etc. 
We also need to contact fresh produce suppliers and dairy suppliers.

Since neither of us have dealt with food service suppliers since we moved from NC we don't have contacts with reputable representatives of these companies. 

In NC, where we were both chefs, we knew who were the good reps and who were not and obviously, threw our business to the ones who were most helpful and consistently supplied the best products and services. Here we are lambs in the woods. 

I'd really appreciate any advice from chefs in the area.
We are about 55 miles directly north of Manhattan on the Hudson River-15 miles south of Poughkeepsie.


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## psycho chef (Feb 1, 2007)

If you want the finest produce, and specialty, hard to find stuff, call Sid Wainer. I will pm you the number. 

The Jansal Valley fruit is the best on the market.


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Thanks for the contact Psycho Chef. The produce they sell is beautiful, but really too high end and pricey for our rather simple concept. 

I'm looking for contacts at places like US Foodservice, Sysco and maybe some smaller wholesale food service distributors.

Don't worry folks, our concept is not any kind of competition for you. It's a completely unique concept to the Eastern US. Right now I'm just in the information gathering stage to support a business plan. 

It's funny how this stage works, you need information to write a viable business plan to even see if the concept will work, but need to be in business for the wholesalers to even talk to you. Kind of a weird Catch-22.

Is there anyone else willing to share some information here? Pretty please?


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## psycho chef (Feb 1, 2007)

O.K. strike one....Here's another, call Irene Pappas at Dairyland. 1-718-842-8700 She can help set you up with a rep in your area. Full service like Sysco and US Foods, but without all the hassle to buy things you don't need. We had _no_ minimum unlike the other two mentioned and the customer service is extraordinary.


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## jennylynn (Jun 4, 2008)

Check out Robbin's in New Paltz. I know that they distribute produce to lots of the local restaurants, and their prices were always good. 

Good luck!


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