RICHMOND, Va. – Performance Food Group Company’s (PFG) Lester Food Distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee, is undergoing an expansion to add 10,000 sq. ft. of cold-storage capacity. The new space will include cold storage for fresh meats and produce and a separate storage area for handling equipment such as forklifts and pallet jacks. New racks will be added where that equipment was previously stored. The project will most likely include the hiring of additional truck drivers and warehouse staff and is expected to be complete by the end of 2016.

“Our Lester team has done a great job growing their customer base with both multi-unit and independent restaurants over the past several years,” said Dave Flitman, president and CEO of PFG’s Performance Foodservice division. “They’ve outgrown their existing cooler, so the additional cooler capacity and improved layout will position them for continuing growth well into the future.”

Lester’s customer base includes local and multi-chain restaurants, country clubs, daycare centers, hospitals, schools, nursing homes and correctional facilities primarily located in Tennessee, southern Kentucky and northern Alabama. It distributes fresh meat and produce, dry groceries, frozen and refrigerated products and restaurant supplies. Currently, the PFG facility employs roughly 280 people.

“By expanding our cooler capacity, we can add products that will enable us to tap into new restaurant segments vital to our continuing growth,” said Jim Thompson, president of Performance Foodservice ? Lester. “This expansion will also result in an improved facility layout, which will increase our efficiency and enable us to better serve our customers. We’re excited about our future prospects and looking forward to growing our customer base – not only in Tennessee but in the surrounding states as well.”

The Performance Foodservice Lester Distribution started in 1930 as a small retail grocery business, founded by Kenneth O. Lester. His son joined the company in the 1960s and the family shifted the focus to the foodservice industry. In 1988, the company merged with the newly formed Performance Food Group.