Five Star Food Service announces acquisition of M&M Sales Company

Five Star Food Service announces the acquisition of M&M Sales Company, a Canteen franchise based in Lafayette, Louisiana. The acquisition expands the company’s service territory to the west and into the state of Louisiana.

“We are excited to be establishing ourselves west of the Mississippi River, entering Louisiana for the first time as a Canteen franchise,” Richard Kennedy, Five Star’s president and CEO, said in the announcement. “Chuck, his wife Frances, and their children have built a quality business grounded in strong family values and community relationships. Our team is grateful to have the opportunity to carry forward the success of their business.”

M&M Sales Company was originally founded by Charles “Chuck” McMath in 1972. The company has been owned and operated by the McMath family since its founding. M&M Sales has been a member of the Canteen franchise group for 20 years serving southwest Louisiana out of distribution centers in Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Houma.

“The company’s forward-thinking approach to adopting and leveraging new technologies was attractive to us,” Mark Stephanos, executive vice president of operations for Five Star, added in the announcement. “The addition of the M&M Sales’ business is a strong complement to our existing operations across the Gulf Coast.”

Company leadership also made an introductory investment in the community to Feeding America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana via a $5,000 donation from Five Star’s nonprofit foundation, Feeding the Future. With the gift, Second Harvest will be able to provide over 20,000 meals to fight hunger locally.

Five Star Food Service, headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, is a premier away-from-home food and beverage retail solutions provider for employers and other commercial, institutional and educational locations. Five Star is an industry leader in micro markets, full-line vending, pantry, coffee and water services, full-service dining, catering, fresh food production, coffee roasting, secured delivery, and sustainable products serving nine states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.  

Founded in 1993, Five Star has grown to one of the largest privately held convenience services operators in the United States and is the largest franchise of Canteen, a Compass Group company.