HISTORY
Labatt Food Service traces its roots in San Antonio to the early 20th century, and it is widely recognized in the foodservice distribution industry as an innovative, customer-focused, and high-energy leader. Currently operating from distribution centers in San Antonio, Dallas, Lubbock, and Houston, Labatt serves customers in Texas as well as parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico.
| 1910 | In 1910, T.W. Labatt opened and managed a branch of the Collins Company, a wholesale grocery company based out of Fort Worth. |
| 1940 | With the help of sons Weir and Blair Sr., T.W. Labatt opened Labatt Wholesale Grocery Company. Until 1984, the company provided retail grocery products in independent grocery and convenience stores in and around San Antonio. |
| 1968 | In 1968 the company was named as the authorized distributor for the HemisFair. This event prompted the formation of a foodservice distribution company, Labatt Institutional Supply Company, today known as Labatt Food Service. |
| 1980 | In 1980, Blair Labatt Jr. was asked to lead the food distribution company, which at the time had $8 million in annual sales. During the 1980's, Labatt Food Service grew in all aspects of its operations while maintaining its base of operations in San Antonio. |
| 1984 | In 1984 Labatt exited traditional wholesale grocery distribution to concentrate exclusively on distribution to food- away-from-home operators: restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, the military, and now home-meal replacement from retail grocery stores. |
| 1989 | In 1989 the company opened a second warehouse in Dallas. Today Labatt Food Service has offices in San Antonio, Houston, Harlingen, Dallas, Austin, Lubbock and Corpus Christi. |
| 1993 | In 1993, the organization won the highest honor in foodservice distribution by being named the "Great Distributor Organization" by ID Magazine. |
| 1997 | In 1997, Labatt Food Service was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" award by the Defense Logistics Agency for its exceptional contribution to the new U.S. Armed Forces' Prime Vendor Program. |
| 2002 |
Labatt introduced the use of Voice Recognition Technology to increase operational efficiencies. |
| 2005 |
In July of 2005 Labatt opened its third distribution center in Lubbock. This 70,684 sq. ft. facility services west Texas and parts of New Mexico. |
| 2007 |
Labatt opened its fourth distribution center, a 147,866 sq. ft. facility, in Houston. In 2007, Labatt became the first distributor to ever receive the "Excellence In Distribution" award from IFMA, which honors a company that has demonstrated excellence in management and leadership, customer relations, supplier relations and industry/community contributions. |
| Today the company does over $600 million in sales annually, with a workforce of over 1,000. The company supplies over 11,800 different items from 680 different foodservice manufacturers. Labatt Food Service's outstanding accomplishments have been recognized at the national level. Labatt Food Service ranks in the top 10 of the "Top 50" foodservice distribution companies in the nation, according to estimates published by ID Magazine. |
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