CHICAGO — Whetstone Distribution, a newly formed platform of regional food distributors, recently acquired Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats, announced private equity firm Shore Capital Partners on May 30.
Pritzlaff is a full-service meat distribution and processing purveyor servicing restaurants, hotels, country clubs, healthcare facilities and redistributors across southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois. Pritzlaff has two facilities in Wisconsin, where it processes specialty prepared and ready-to-eat Riverside meats label products, including pastrami, corned beef, sausage, and other smoked and marinated specialty meats.
“After 80-plus years of family ownership, and four generations of family involvement, I’m extremely excited to be partnering with Whetstone Distribution,” said Bruce Pritzlaff, president of Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats. “This partnership allows us to further strengthen and grow all core aspects of our company as well as expand our geographic footprint, from Wisconsin and Northern Illinois further into the greater Midwest.”
Through the acquisition, Whetstone seeks to expand its presence throughout the Midwest and to include services for restaurants and retailers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pritzlaff to the Whetstone family,” said Don McIntyre, chief executive officer of Whetstone. “By combining our strengths with those of Pritzlaff’s, we are poised to enhance our offerings and to continue delivering exceptional service to our growing customer base. This is a significant milestone for Whetstone, and we look forward to supporting Pritzlaff’s continued growth.”
Shore Capital Partners’ recent launch of Whetstone follows the firm’s partnership with Moesle Meat Distribution Co. in 2022 and the subsequent addition of Queen Foods, Kansas City, Mo.