Aug 12, 2024

Freshway Foods mourns loss of co-founder

Frank Gilardi, a co-founder of vegetables fresh-cut processor Freshway Foods, has died.

Gilardi died July 8. His death was publicized in Aug. 12.

Born and raised in Sidney, Ohio, Gilardi was a successful entrepreneur who, along with his brother Phil Gilardi, co-founded Freshway Foods in Sidney in 1988 after purchasing the assets of their father’s wholesale company. Both men had worked in the multi-generational business previously and wanted to refocus the strategy to provide pre-cut and shredded lettuce to the foodservice industry, according to a news release.

Frank Gilardi was born in 1958. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Julie Gilardi, a daughter and two grandsons.

Jim Sanfillipo, owner of Sanfillipo Produce and one of Gilardi’s first customers, shared this memory of Gilardi:

“One day, an unannounced 30-year-old young man walked into the front door of my wholesale produce business when we were in our old downtown warehouse. He introduced himself as Frank Gilardi. He explained that he and Phil were going to get started in the next few weeks and asked for our business. I agreed,” said Sanfillipo..

“Frank’s commitment to customer service was immediately evident when he rode with the driver on that very first delivery to train him on where to go and which dock to back up to. Sanfillipo Produce was one of three deliveries on that first truck. I always remained loyal to Frank because he was a good man. Friendly, sincere, and honest is how I would describe him. Frank Gilardi will be missed by everyone who knows him. I hope he’s playing golf in heaven.”

As Frank would often say, he enjoyed the “chase” of growing a business, Devon Beer, Freshway’s president and chief operating officer, said in the release.

“Customers will remember Frank as a man of his word,” Beer said in the release. “He was very focused on making sure that promises made were kept, and he took Freshway’s critical role in the value-add supply chain very seriously.”

Frank was passionate about giving back to his community and served on the board of many local associations in Ohio and in Immokalee, Florida.

“Frank left an enormous impact on all who knew him. He will be affectionately remembered and greatly missed,” according to the release.

Freshway is a wholly owned subsidiary of US Foods.