When Alhambra Theatre & Dining owner Craig Smith and several business partners acquired St. Johns Food Service in 2023, they hit the ground running.
“We did a major study of what our customers and prior customers felt about us, and our competitors, and we used that data to guide where we want to go,” Smith, managing partner, said in announcing the purchase from former owner Melvin McQuaig.
The St. Augustine-based broadline, full-service food purveyor launched a new website and newsletter and focused on a rebranding, which included a cultural shift.
In less than a year, that shift is bearing fruit. Smith pointed to an elevation in employee morale and a new appreciation of the customer.
“Everybody says, ‘Oh, the customer’s important,’” Smith said. “It’s one thing to say it. It’s another to live it.”
More tangibly, St. Johns Food Service has increased the number of items in its warehouse from about 1,400 to about 1,800, with the ability to access more if needed. It has also added a truck, increased employment and created a new logo.
And this year, it will celebrate its 75th anniversary during the upcoming St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival, for which St. Johns Food Service will serve as a sponsor.
A ‘fun business’
The business was incorporated by Dr. Ronald F. Jackson in 1949 as St. Johns Frozen Foods. It rented frozen locker space to local restaurants. As Jackson saw a need for food service products, he added product lines and sold them to restaurants throughout the area.
Eventually, the market grew to service customers in Jacksonville, the Beaches, Palatka and Palm Coast.
In 1980, the business moved into its current facility at 4 Louise St., St. Augustine.
Still, despite an increase in area restaurants, the business’s revenues seemingly plateaued in recent years.
Looking to retire, McQuaig approached Smith about buying the business.
Smith had had experience with rebuilding area businesses, most notably the Alhambra, which he purchased in 2009. At the time, revenues had dipped more than 1,000% from its peak years in the early 1980s. Under Smith’s leadership, the theater-and-dining establishment has seen record revenues, year-over-year growth of more than 20% and an email database of more than 130,000 opt-in subscribers.
With longtime business partners Joel Slotnick, Jeff McKusker, Bob Fleckenstein, Bill Barnett and Gary Smith, Smith took over ownership of St. Johns Food Service.
“It’s a fun business and a fun, growing segment in a town that’s arguably one of the fastest growing tourist spots in the Southeast,” he said.
In fact, running the Alhambra gave Smith plenty of insight into the receiving end of the food service business. The venue spends about $1 million a year in groceries and feeds about 12,000 people each month.
St. Johns Food Service has more than 200 customers and provides all types of food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, takeout packaging, utensils, condiments and more to restaurants, hotels, caterers and group events like those at churches, schools, civic clubs and other organizations. Even big chain establishments who have their own vendors can drop by should they run out of something.
Festival food
Learning that the St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival had an opening for a sponsor, St. Johns Food Service stepped up, fulfilling one of the goals Smith had set for the company upon assuming his new role: Create a deeper involvement in the First Coast hospitality community.
The business will be an official food service partner for the festival, which will be held May 8-12 at various venues throughout the area. St. Johns Food Service will co-sponsor the Harvest Awards and People’s Choice Harvest Awards.
“We’re all so excited about it, because of the camaraderie and the help we’re able to provide to these folks,” said Smith. “We want them all to win!”
The business’s involvement will give it the opportunity to partner with 24 restaurants, many of which are not yet among its customers.
“It might be the best thing we do in 2024,” said Smith.
And during the festival’s Grand Tasting on May 11, it will conduct 75th anniversary festivities at its own tent for its customers, prospective customers and VIPs.
When talking about St. Johns Food Service, Smith exhibits the kind of infectious, energetic optimism for which he is known whenever speaking to Alhambra patrons.
“I look forward to the next few years and what the future will bring,” he said.
To learn more about St. Johns Food Service, go to stjohnsfoods.com or call 904-824-0493. For further information about the St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival, go to staugustinefoodandwinefestival.com.
Read about the upcoming festival by clicking HERE.
