Our Story
Keeping America Working™
Five Star has been expertly stitched together like a tightly woven quilt comprised of the South’s best family businesses in vending and foodservice backed by southern hospitality and world-class service to companies across the Southeast and Midwest. The net result is an extraordinarily customer-oriented business with a heavy dose of family togetherness.
Founded in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1993, Five Star has matured into one of the nation’s best and largest out-of-home food and beverage retail solution providers to employers and other commercial, institutional, and educational locations. In 2008, the company restructured and became a franchisee of Canteen, a Compass-Group USA subsidiary, creating the framework of our contiguous footprint across the states of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina.
Five Star is owned by New York and Los Angeles-based private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. who acquired the company in 2019. Freeman Spogli & Co. is dedicated exclusively to investing in and partnering with management in consumer and distribution companies.
Five Star operates in major United States cities such as Atlanta, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Dayton, Huntsville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the small towns in between. Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Five Star has since expanded our service area significantly. In 2011, a focus on innovation and the emergence of the micro market concept proved to be a game-changer for Five Star and soon revolutionized the vending industry. Early adoption of micro markets positioned Five Star as industry leaders. As a result, Five Star has spurred unprecedented growth.
We pride ourselves on being leaders in providing full vending machine service, micro-markets, office coffee service, catering, pantry, and corporate foodservice. Our business philosophy is anchored in the traditional principles of integrity, quality, and customer focus.
“We proudly offer custom-tailored solutions to our clients.”
Our Mission
Leadership
Our leadership team is comprised of individuals whose combined experience in the vending, micro-market, office coffee and food service industry has helped create a business culture we could not be more proud of – based on the principles of customer service, quality and integrity.
Meet Our TeamCommunity
Community Involvement is an established corporate objective. Five Star and associates have donated time and money to multiple organizations throughout our territory for decades.
Learn MoreAssociations
Membership and involvement in our industry and community trade organizations is important to us! Advocating for and sharing best practices with our peers makes us all better!
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