Sanfillipo Produce Co. Inc. has purchased Macaluso Fruit Co. and the Columbus Produce Terminal Market.
“We closed (the acquisition) on Friday (Dec. 6),” said Jim Sanfillipo, co-owner of Sanfillipo Produce. “The deal’s done and signed and we take over Jan. 1.”
Both distributors operate on the Columbus, Ohio, terminal market, which Macaluso Fruit owner Frank Cautela controlled since 2001.
Sanfillipo Produce moved to the market in 2004, initially renting two bays and expanding eventually to nine. The company plans to rent eight or nine bays and keep 11 or 12.
“Needing more room, we knew we either had to move to a larger facility or buy the market, which led to us cutting a deal with Frank Cautela to purchase (it),” Sanfillipo said.
The price was undisclosed. Sanfillipo Produce also plans to renovate the market, which is about 50 years old. It’s on a 5.5-acre lot with about 40,000 square feet of warehouse space and 20 bays, each 2,000 square feet. Including front and back docks, it totals 55,000 square feet.
The Sanfillipo, Macaluso and Cautela families have business and personal relationships reaching back more than 100 years.
