Southeast Food Service News started in the late 1970’s and is the nations oldest regional food service publication. In the beginning, SFSN was lucky to print 3 or 4 issues a year. As the food service industry expanded and launched in the 80’s and 90’s SFSN grew too. We were blessed to be in the southeast with so much growth. Florida has always been our largest market.
There were many national publications that had strong readership, advertising, and editorial. However, SFSN was different, we were local, we covered the little guy- small independent restaurants that the national publications over looked.
We are story tellers and focus on the mom and pops throughout the Southeast. We loved to tell the story of how a restaurant got started, its successes, and the dish that they were most known for. Our goal was to share relevant news and information. We wanted to create a sense of community within the industry. The ownership came out of the manufacturer side of the industry. Therefore, there was a sense of how all the pieces flowed.
Ultimately, this resulted in an understanding of how products move from manufacturer, broker, distributor, and to the operator level. We would go to food shows and this was an important part to aid us in what we wanted to accomplish. We were able to see the many operators, the broker community, and the regional managers at the manufacturer level. We attended 800 plus food shows in the past 45 years. Back in the old days the shows could be two days. Wow! Everyone loved to have their picture taken and looked forward to seeing the photo in an upcoming issue. We continued this practice until this day.
We are story tellers and focus on the mom and pops throughout the Southeast. We loved to tell the story of how a restaurant got started, its successes, and the dish that they were most known for.
Our goal was to share relevant news and information. We wanted to create a sense of community within the industry. The ownership came out of the manufacturer side of the industry. Therefore, there was a sense of how all the pieces flowed.
As time has progressed the industry has changed. Regional distributors, our lifeblood, were overtaken by larger national companies, COVID, fewer food shows, and the digital world. This is a great time for a new leader to carry on the legacy of Southeast Food Service News.