Chicago's Freshline Foods Joins AWG

Chicago, Illinois – In 1955, John Siakotos made the long journey to the United States from Southern Greece. His uncle brought him to America so he could have a shot at a better future. John began working at his uncle’s fruit market in Chicago and indeed, his life began to improve. As the fruit market prospered over the years, John and his uncle were able to expand their line of goods, eventually selling vegetables, meat and gro-ceries.

In 1971, good fortune and hard work made it possible for John to open his own grocery business, Fresh-line Foods in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn. The store’s original footprint was a modest 7,500-s.f. “We had one kind of toilet paper, one kind of tomato sauce, just one of everything really. Things were much simpler back in those days.” said John Siakotos.

In the early 1980s, Peter Siakotos, John’s son, began working with his dad in the family business. The father and son duo have expanded the store three times to its current 22,000-s.f. Their growth over the last 46 years is a result of their expert service and commitment to their customers. The neighborhoods sur-rounding the store are changing as younger families move in. To keep pace, the store continually evolves to satisfy this new breed of shopper. “We’ve always been known for our fresh meat, as well as our pro-duce and deli,” Peter said, “More and more, it’s about convenience with the younger crowd. Of course, we still have quite a few customers that cook at home. It’s a good mix that keeps us on our toes.”

John and Peter recently made the switch to Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) as their grocery sup-plier. “We went with AWG because they’re solid. That was very important to us. We’re a one store op-eration. Our store is our livelihood; we don’t like taking unnecessary risks.” One of the first visible changes was stocking AWG’s private label brands on the shelves. “The Best Choice product packaging really impressed us.” said Peter, “They have a huge variety of products and our customers want choices and good deals. Plus, these products are 100% guaranteed. It’s win-win.”

AWG Business Development Director, Dave McKelvey said, “Freshline Foods is the definition of the original independent grocer. They have one store that’s surrounded by competition. We’re glad they part-nered with us, we’re going to help them however we can so they stay successful.”

At the fun-loving age of 83, John is in the store 7 days a week without fail, helping customers and doing whatever needs to be done. When asked what his favorite part of the business is, John said “The people; our employees and our customers. I’ve always loved that side of it, it keeps me going.”

Source: AWG