Ferraro Foods to expand Napoli facility

PISCATAWAY, NJ. — Ferraro Foods, one of the largest specialty distributors of food and foodservice suppliers to pizzerias and Italian restaurants in the United States, will significantly expand its Napoli facility in Cheshire, Conn.

According to Ferraro, the plan is to add a 45,000-square-foot multi-temp addition to its 120,000-square-foot distribution center at 10 Knotter Drive in Cheshire, which is strategically located at a midpoint between Boston and New York City. First constructed in 2008, the facility houses Napoli, a specialty brand of imported Italian foods that Ferraro acquired in 2019, and the expansion will add 70% to the facility’s storage capacity, allowing Ferraro to double Napoli’s current sales volume and continue growing its presence in the Northeast pizza market, Ferraro noted. The expansion will cost approximately $10 million.

“This expansion will represent a significant investment in one of our key facilities supporting Ferraro’s operations in the ‘pizza power states’ of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which are so important in our business,” said Michael Cipriano, corporate vice president of sales and revenue operations for Ferraro Foods. “From an operations and revenue perspective, this will be a major step forward for Ferraro.”

The expansion is Ferraro’s third major growth initiative in three months. Earlier this year, Ferraro said it would build a 230,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Edgewood, NY., to replace its current distribution center in Melville, NY, and broaden its Long Island business. Not long after, Ferraro acquired the New Jersey-based Italian foods distributor GDS Foods Inc., which has almost $50 million in revenue.