The list of local dairy vendors they represent reads like a dream cheese plate-Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Farmstead, Bellwether Farms, Chevoo, Laura Chenel, Redwood Hill Farm-which is also good news for Chef Don Nolan at the Redwood Empire Food Bank, who gets frequent donations from Mike Hudson Distributing when expiration dates get too near. She manages their inventory, a significant task given that they manage over 5,000 products, most of them perishable. George’s wife Lufu, who has 35 years of experience in the wine industry, joined the team in 2014. Though Davis finally retired in 2012, he’s still on payroll for making visits to beloved customers like Cache Creek Casino. When Mike died a few years later, leaving no heirs to the company, George partnered with sales manager Frank Haynes and employee Jim Davis-the company’s second hire-to buy it out. “Our customers are like family,” echoes current owner George Parisi, who brought his financial expertise to the company in 1990 after working for both the Ford Motor Company and Clover Sonoma. “Their commitment to Sonoma County falls in line with everything that we hold dear to us at Oliver’s, and that makes doing business with them a win-win for both parties.” “Mike Hudson Distributing has always treated us as an active member of their team and not just an account,” says James Schwedhelm, deli coordinator for Oliver’s Market. But we’ll make a special delivery for you.” If a customer runs short of product, the big boys make you wait ‘til your next delivery day. “With giant distributors, you basically become a number. “But our customer service has remained the same,” Bianchi tells me. From the original 8’x12’ wooden walk-in cooler to two coolers that take up thousands of square feet, he’s seen massive changes. Mike made weekly trips to the Columbus plant in the city to pick up meats to be delivered around the North Bay.įorty-five years later, Bianchi has worked his way up to director of operations of the now 55,000-square-foot warehouse with state-of-the-art energy recycling and LED lighting. When her Uncle Angelo (aka the “Salami Man”) retired in 1968, her future husband, a former Safeway produce manager named Mike Hudson, took over the company. When she was a teenager growing up in San Francisco, Barbara’s family owned a van that they used to deliver meats to local delis.
The story of Mike Hudson Distributing, a Petaluma-based distribution company, may be the story of a major middleman, but it actually starts with a woman named Barbara.
Most of us who are fortunate enough to live in Sonoma County are familiar with these businesses, grateful for each locally produced and procured bite.īut what many of us don’t think about is how the bread and butter get to the market in the first place, the people responsible for the wedding of local vendors with local markets-the less sexy but crucial component in breakfast and beyond: the distributing company. Bakery in Petaluma, smeared thick with Clover Sonoma butter, both of which I bought at Oliver’s Market. Today’s breakfast is a piece of toasted sprouted wheat from Alvarado St.
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