Vending

Five Star Food Service acquires Rawls Distributing

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January 11, 2022

Five Star Food Service Inc., a Chatanooga, Tennessee based provider of away-from-home food and beverage retail solutions for employers and other commercial, institutional and educational locations throughout the Southeast and a Canteen franchisee, has acquired Rawls Distributing, a Canteen franchise based in Savannah, Georgia, for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release. The acquisition expands the company's service territory to the east and to the north along Georgia's coast from its nearby locations in Brunswick and Douglas.

Rawls Distributing launched in 1976 as a Tom's Foods franchise by brothers Robin and Kevin Rawls. Robin Rawls assumed sole ownership upon the passing of his brother in 1995. Since 2006, Rawls Distributing has been a member of the Canteen franchise group.

Robin Rawls' unexpected passing in June of 2021 set into motion plans for the family to sell the company.

"As industry peers and neighboring Canteen franchises, we had gotten to know Robin over the years," Mark Stephanos, senior vice president of operations for Five Star, said in the press release. "Our team was saddened to hear of his untimely passing."

Company leadership also visited Coastal Georgia's food bank providing an introductory investment in the community via a donation from the company's non-profit foundation, Feeding the Future. With the gift, America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia will be able to provide over 14,000 meals to local families.

Logo provided by Five Star Food Service Inc.