Five Star Food Service on Thursday announces the acquisition of Lincoln County Vending, a Canteen franchise based in Fayetteville, Tn. The acquisition expands the company’s service territory to the west in southern Tennessee along the Alabama state line.
"Dan Holt, his family, and the folks at Lincoln County have built a successful forward-thinking business with strong values and relationships,” said Richard Kennedy, Five Star’s president, and CEO. “We are grateful for the opportunity to continue the business’ success and serve new customers and communities.”
Lincoln County Vending has been family-owned since its founding in 1989. Dan Holt, Sr and his son Dan Holt, Jr originally started the business as a Tom’s distributor called Dan’s Snack Sales. A year later, the company was renamed to its current name after Dan Holt, Jr. bought his father’s share upon his retirement. After 15 years and an eye toward additional growth, Lincoln County Vending became a member of the Canteen franchise group in 2005.
“As industry friends and neighboring Canteen franchises, our team has gotten to know the Holt family and Kevin Posey, head of operations, quite well over the years,” said Mark Stephanos, executive vice president of Operations for Five Star. “We are thrilled to be growing our service area and customer base in southern Tennessee and northern Alabama. This addition fits very well into our operating footprint geographically, connecting to our territories to the north, south, and east.”
Five Star officials will also visit Hands of Mercy Outreach Center to provide an introductory investment in the community via a donation from the Five Star’s non-profit foundation, Feeding the Future. With the gift, Hands of Mercy will be able to provide thousands of meals to local kids through their Bags of Blessings program.