GFS Prairies History |
« Back to Our History |
More than half a century ago in Coaldale, Alberta, F.M. Tamagi and Sons began their family farm-based truck gardening operation. By the end of their first decade F.M. Tamagi and Sons had included other growers’ surplus produce in their stall in the large public market in downtown Calgary. Nearing the end of the 1940s, the family decided to focus their concern on the marketing and distribution of produce in Calgary. The Bridge Brand Produce Company partnership was born. The first warehouse built in 1948 was 5,000 square feet consisting of two truck bays and three employees. For the next two decades Bridge Brand made a name for itself as a prime source of high quality fresh produce for the independent store and restaurant trade.
In 1960, another building was constructed on 53 Street S.E. to accommodate the abundance of expanding product lines. In 1962, Bridge Brand seized the opportunity to fully commit their business in the newly emerging institutional, restaurant and hotel industry business. Another 16,000 square feet later expanded this 35,000 square foot facility in 1966 to handle the ever-growing business. In 1970, a branch operation was started in Red Deer, Alberta, which turned into a new 35,000 square foot facility in 1977.
Quickly outgrowing their facilities in Calgary, the company chose a site in 1973 at 1802 Centre Avenue N.E. (current location) to build their third building complex. This 116,000 square foot warehouse/office complex centrally located on 5.4 acres of land was further expanded by 66,000 square feet in 1980.
In 1973, The Bridge Brand Produce Company changed its name to Bridge Brand Food Services to reflect its ever-expanding product line for the foodservice industry. A decade later, Bridge Brand opened its first distribution facility in Edmonton, Alberta, and in 1985, Bridge Brand closed its distribution facility in Red Deer and opened a Regional Sales Office.
Bridge Brand purchased Simon & Reimann Food Distributors in 1988, and through the acquisition, now had a distribution center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1990 Bridge Brand opened redistribution centers in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, and in 1995, Bridge Brand expanded the Calgary distribution centre with the purchase of a 70,000 square foot facility adjacent to their current building.
With a sales office in Red Deer, redistribution centres in Regina and Saskatoon, and distribution centres in Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, Bridge Brand’s service area extends across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, into eastern British Columbia and as far north as Yellowknife and Whitehorse in the N.W.T. Over 800 team members are totally committed to providing the utmost in customer service.
January 2002 marked a new beginning with a new family at the helm as Bridge Brand was purchased by GFS. Bridge Brand is proud to be a part of the strong Gordon Food Service national team and will continue to be a major competitive force in the industry with traditional core values and a high level of integrity.
View history on...