Guillermo quirch biography
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The walls at corporate headquarters show photos of the founders and display value statements on fairness and integrity. It employs roughly 1,700 people as far north as Oregon. Congrats
Your company was a class act, you should be proudđź’Ą
How awesome to see Cuban exiles and anyone by that matter. Starting as a warehouse associate at 18 years old , moving into the import specialist role a year and half after.
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Our History
Tradition that brings Quality
Quirch Foods Co. was founded in 1967 as E&G Trading by Guillermo Quirch Sr.
and his two sons, Eduardo & Guillermo Jr.
The Quirch family’s involvement in the food industry dates back to the early 20th century when Guillermo Sr. managed a meat packing and distribution company in Havana, Cuba.
Forced into exile by the revolution of 1959, the family founded a meat distribution company, Oriente Comercial, in Puerto Rico, and then E&G Trading in Miami, Florida.
The company was re-incorporated as Quirch Foods Co.
in 1999, and is now managed by Guillermo Jr.’s three sons, Guillermo III, Ignacio, and Mauricio.
What began as a small family outfit with five employees has become a major wholesale distributor with 4 distribution centers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and over 400 employees.
The company’s product line has grown from a few staple meat and seafood items to thousands of different products in all of the major perishable food categories: meat, poultry, seafood, processed meats, dairy, and frozen foods.
In 2012, over forty years after the company’s founding, Hispanic Business magazine ranked Quirch Foods as the 7th largest Hispanic-owned company in the United States.
<Â Go back to Who We AreA Family Business selling meat to Hispanic grocers has become one of the largest food distributors in the U.S.
Quirch Foods might not be a household name, but you’ve probably bought its beef, pork, or fish at supermarket counters.
Facts About Cuban Exiles (FACE)’s Post
Quirch Foods was started by Guillermo Quirch, Sr. and his two sons Eduardo and Guillermo, Jr. The Quirch family's involvement in the food industry dates back to the early 20th century when Guillermo, Sr. managed a meat packing and distribution company in Havana.
It started out in 1967 as E&G Trading, named by its Cuban immigrant founder Guillermo Quirch for his sons, Eduardo and Guillermo Jr. Initially, it sold meat to Hispanic-owned shops around Miami, building on Guillermo’s experience in meatpacking in Havana.
Over time, the business expanded sales to supermarkets, and in 2015 upgraded corporate headquarters from a warehouse in Medley to the Bacardi building on Le Jeune Road, near the Gables homes of Quirch family members.
Overcame many, many obstacles! “And we continue to grow,” says President and CEO Frank Grande, a company executive since 2007.
Quirch sells mainly “center-of-the-plate” proteins to independent grocers, national grocery chains, and foodservice companies that supply restaurants. That tally is set to rise too, as Quirch Foods keeps growing.
Quality Food Purveyors
born in the grasslands
of La Habana.
Today we are one of the largest distributors of food products in the Southeastern U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, with a customer list that includes independent and chain supermarkets, food service distributors, processors and manufacturers, cruise lines, and restaurants.
In May of 2020, continuing the company’s quest to expand, Quirch Foods acquired Tennessee based distributor Butts Foods, an industry leader in fresh protein distribution since 1935.
The Quirches still marvel at their name gracing a company employing 180 in Coral Gables and more than 500 across South Florida. This is the first acquisition for Quirch Foods and exemplifies the company’s commitment to further expanding its geographic footprint.
What began as a small family outfit with a few employees has become a major wholesale food distribution network with 6 DC’s in the U.S.
and Puerto Rico, and with the addition of Butts Foods, now ads an additional 4 distribution centers. And you may well have eaten its products when you dine at restaurants.
Since 2020, the Gables-based firm has more than doubled its business, thanks to two big acquisitions. Still, Quirch saw sales soar to grocers and supermarkets in the U.S., with families cooking more at home.
In October last year, it closed on an even bigger prize: Colorado Boxed Beef Co., adding 11 distribution centers in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Oregon.
Even with a larger team, Grande is keen to preserve Quirch’s family atmosphere and culture. Even after having everything taken away from them.
I had the privilege to know Mr Quirch, Sr.
and the family This allow me to assist in the relocation to Miami and serve their banking needs, which led to a personal relationship and wonderful business!
Great success story! Get right back up again and start where they left off. By 2018, the family wanted to expand faster. Grande figures Quirch will make only small “tuck-in” acquisitions through 2022, with a “transformational” one not likely before 2023.
Even as restaurants get busier, Grande sees home-cooking staying popular, keeping its supermarket sales strong.
For now, Quirch is integrating the acquired companies. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie and support for staff, including scholarships for first-generation college students.
Upheaval from Covid
To be sure, the coronavirus pandemic brought challenges.
Some 30 percent of Quirch Foods’ sales were previously outside the continental U.S.; that business slumped, as cruises halted and lockdowns hurt shipments to markets in the Caribbean and Latin America. The company was reincorporated as Quirch Foods in 1999 and managed by Guillermo's three sons, Guillermo, III, Ignacio and Mauricio.
Thank you Tony for sharing with everyone how much Latinos have contributed.