Acquisition of Pritzlaff Expands Whetstone’s Product Diversity and Geographical Reach
Shore Capital Partners (“Shore” or “Shore Capital”) is pleased to announce the formation of Whetstone Distribution (“Whetstone”), a platform of exceptional regional food distributors. Additionally, Whetstone has acquired Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats (“Pritzlaff”), a full-service meat distribution and processing purveyor serving restaurants, hotels, country clubs, healthcare facilities and re-distributors across southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois.
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The launch of Whetstone follows Shore’s partnership with Chicago-based Moesle Meat Distribution Co. in 2022 and the subsequent addition of Queen Foods, based in Kansas City, KS, both in partnership with entrepreneurs Joel Janecek and Rey Fuerte. With the acquisition of Pritzlaff, Whetstone is further expanding its presence throughout the Midwest and its offerings to include services for restaurants as well as grocery customers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pritzlaff to the Whetstone family,” said Don McIntyre, CEO 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.”
Led by Bruce Pritzlaff and the Pritzlaff family for four generations, Pritzlaff has two facilities in southeast 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. “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.”
“Whetstone’s newest acquisition of Pritzlaff is a testament to the team’s commitment to building a robust and diversified food distribution platform,” said Richard Boos, Partner at Shore Capital Partners. “We are excited to support the platform as these partners continue to create long-term, transformational growth in the food distribution industry.”
To learn more, please visit www.whetstonedistribution.com or email info@whetstonedist.com.
About Whetstone Distribution
Whetstone Distribution is a platform of exceptional regional food distributors, delivering sharp service and a wide range of products to independent grocers and restaurants across the Midwest. For more information, please visit: www.whetstonedistribution.com.
About Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats
Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats is a full-service meat distribution and processing purveyor serving restaurants, hotels and country clubs, healthcare facilities and re-distributors across southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois. For more information, please visit: www.pritzlaffmeats.com.
About Shore Capital Partners
Shore Capital, a Chicago based private equity firm with offices in Nashville and Detroit, is an investor in microcap companies in the Healthcare, Food and Beverage, Business Services, Industrial, and Real Estate industries. Shore’s strategy is to support management partners to grow faster with less risk, through access to capital, world class board and operational resources, and unmatched networking, development, and shared learnings across the portfolio. From 2020-2023 Shore received recognition from Inc Magazine as a 4x Top Founder Friendly Investor and by Pitchbook research for being the global leader in Private Equity total deal volume. Shore targets investments in proven, successful private companies with superior management teams, stable cash flow, and significant potential to grow through industry consolidation and organic growth to generate value for shareholders. Shore has over $6 billion of assets under management and in additional investment platforms to which it provides business and operational consulting services. For more information, including with respect to these awards and investment platforms, please visit: www.shorecp.com.
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Contacts
Jordan Niezelski, Edelman Smithfield
jordan.niezelski@edelmansmithfield.com
