Five Star Food Service announced the acquisition of the Canteen franchise, Southern Vending Inc., a full-line vending and micro market operator in southwest Tennessee – expanding Five Star’s presence in this region.
Brian and Lorri Blattler founded Adamsville-based Southern Vending in 2000 and have since steadily grown its presence as a breaktime solutions provider for southwest Tennessee’s largest employers. According to the announcement, the relationship between the two companies matured due in part to their membership as Canteen franchises as well as mutual service on the board of the state’s industry association, Tennessee Automatic Merchandisers Association (TAMA), helping foster a seamless transition as Five Star prepares to integrate Southern’s operations.
"Our acquisition of Southern Vending is an important milestone for our company,” Mark Stephanos, executive vice president at Five Star Food Service, said in the announcement. “As we expand further, we are eager to extend our commitment to innovation, quality, and exceptional service to the western Tennessee region. We are confident that this strategic decision will be beneficial for both our newly acquired customers as well as new customers we earn, as we bring our exciting convenience services and fresh dining options to these communities."
Five Star recently acquired Franks Vending, another Canteen franchise, which bordered Southern’s service footprint to the east, making this acquisition a clear next step in the company’s growth plan.
Five Star Food Service, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a premier breaktime 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, 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.
