Five Star Food Service opens new corporate headquarters to support internal growth

Five Star Food Service announced its new corporate headquarters and support center in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, effective April 12, 2023. Due to internal growth, Five Star made the decision to renovate an old warehouse just minutes away from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, expanding its presence in the downtown Chattanooga area. 

The new headquarters houses essential job functions such as operations, marketing and sales, accounting and finance, administration and support, human resources, safety and risk management and more. The location also serves as a showcase for breakroom innovation with state-of-art coffee and water equipment, a modern micro market and kitchen, plus an entire room dedicated to testing new, innovative technologies and products to bring to its customers. 

“This has been a top priority for our team for so long, and we are happy to see our leadership’s vision come to reality,” Geoff Wilcox, director of retail execution for Five Star Food Service, said in the announcement. “We are now able to provide a revolutionized breakroom experience to our team members, just as we do with our customers.”

The opening of the new corporate headquarters was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on April 17, 2023, with the Chattanooga Chamber and Five Star employees. 

Chris Curtis, owner of JC Curtis Construction, connected with Richard Kennedy, CEO and president of Five Star Food Service, on this project in October 2021 with the goal to build out a collaborative space for Five Star’s 80 corporate employees. “It was important for me to choose a company whose culture was a perfect fit for our downtown space,” Curtis said in the announcement. “Five Star Food Service and its associates embody the Chattanooga community and bring values that we look for in tenants.”

Elements in the building were thoughtfully created to provide opportunities for collaboration and productivity, fostering Five Star’s core values of leadership, integrity, discipline and community. 

“We have created a space that encourages collaboration and enhances our innovative spirit to create unique experiences for our customers’ many needs,” Kennedy said in the announcement. “Our team has worked hard to build such a thriving business, and we are finally in a space that reflects our culture and vision.” 

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. Five Star is an industry leader in micro markets, full-line vending, pantry, coffee and water services, full-service dining, catering, fresh food production, senior meals, and secured delivery serving customers in 10 states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.