Claremont, NC - Fresh Foods, Inc., the Claremont, North Carolina-based multifaceted food service company formerly known as WSMP, Inc., reported that it has completed a revamping of its corporate structure.
Fresh Foods, Inc. is a fully integrated producer and marketer of fully cooked, value-added food products. In addition to its food processing business, Fresh Foods owns and operates 62 restaurants and franchises an additional 41 units.
Under its recently adopted corporate structure, Fresh Foods is the parent company of several wholly owned subsidiary companies. These include: Pierre Foods, LLC, which comprise Pierre Foods plants in Cincinnati, Ohio and Claremont, North Carolina; Claremont Restaurant Group, LLC, which is responsible for all restaurant activities; and Mom `n' Pop's Country Ham, LLC, which is one of the nation's largest country ham producers.
“Restructuring was a key element of our plan for successfully integrating the major acquisitions we have made in the last seven months and for taking the best possible advantage of the infusion of management talent into our company,” said David R. Clark, president and chief operating officer of Fresh Foods.
The company completed its $122 million purchase of the core business of Pierre Foods on June 9. In January it finalized its acquisition of Sagebrush, Inc. in a stock for stock merger that brought 34 Sagebrush restaurants into the company.
“In addition to the outstanding key personnel added to our company as a result of these acquisitions, we've also named a new executive vice president/ chief financial officer for the parent company,” Clark said.
James E. “Jamie” Harris recently joined Fresh Foods as executive vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer, and secretary, bringing 13 years of financial experience to his posts. Previously, he served from 1987 to 1998 in various executive capacities with The Shelton Companies, Inc., a diversified investment group headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to The Shelton Companies, he served as a senior accountant with Ernst & Young in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “The diverse experience and expertise Jamie brought to our company complements the excellent management talent now in place at each of our subsidiaries. We expect that the abilities of the leaders at the top of each of our subsidiaries will help us expand our range of opportunities,” Clark said.
Pierre Foods, LLC, is headed by Norbert E. “Norb” Woodhams, who has spent 30 years in the foodservice business and who had served as president of Hudson Speciality Foods, including Pierre Foods, since 1994. Prior to that, he served as an executive group vice president for Tyson Foods, Inc. for four years and from 1986 to 1990 was president and chief executive officer of Henry House/Holly Farms. Earlier in his career, he also worked with Armour/Con Agra and Beatrice Meats.
L. Dent Miller became president of Claremont Restaurant Group, LLC when the Sagebrush merger was completed. Prior to that, he had served as president and chief executive officer of Sagebrush for eight years and guided it from its birth to a successful regional chain. Miller began his career in the restaurant industry in 1978 with Fresh Foods and was instrumental in building the Western Steer chain.
Foodservice industry veteran Larry D. Hefner was recently named president of Mom `n' Pop's Country Ham, LLC, which has been a part of Fresh Foods for more than two decades. He brings 20 years of meat industry expertise to this post and has been with Fresh Foods, Inc. for 11 years, most recently serving as senior vice president of sales.
The company's food products include numerous meat products as well as packaged microwaveable sandwiches for the foodservice and home meal replacement markets. The company sells its high-quality, value-added products through various distribution channels under the Pierre, Fast Choice, and Mom `n' Pop's brand names, which are widely recognized in the food industry. It also sells a variety of sandwiches under several national restaurant brands.
Forty-one of the restaurants the company owns and operates through Claremont Restaurant Group are Sagebrush Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants. The company also owns and operates 15 Western Steer and five Prime Sirloin locations and one Bennett's restaurant. The franchised locations are Western Steer, Prime Sirloin, and Bennett's units.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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