Gatehouse Buys Bakery

July 21/Berwyn, Pa./Business Wire -- Gatehouse Holdings LLC acquired Amalfitano's Italian Bakery of New Castle, Del. The acquisition will combine the bread-baking excellence of Amalfitano's with a second long-standing baking establishment, D'Ambrosio Bakery of Philadelphia, under one umbrella organization. The acquisition will join two baking institutions, "steeped in family tradition," and will expand the geographic reach of both from the Philadelphia metro region to the Delaware and eastern Maryland areas.

According to Chris Jansen, president of D'Ambrosio Bakery, "This effort brings together two powerhouse family bakeries, both with reputations for baking excellence. As an answer to rising production costs, this acquisition achieves economies of scale, allowing both establishments to continue to serve their loyal customers in their respective areas." Joe Amalfitano will oversee the production efforts that combine D'Ambrosio's baking technology with the time-honored Amalfitano recipes. As an added benefit, D'Ambrosio will implement a new distribution infrastructure.

As a next step in the strategic expansion of both bakeries, the management team of Total Bakery Source, the distribution arm of D'Ambrosio Bakery, will establish "bakery depots." These depots will serve as central staging and warehousing facilities that will exist in the Philadelphia metro and Delaware regions. "This physical presence in Delaware will serve as a convenience to our existing independent distributors as well as future new distributors," says Jansen. "Local distributors will have quicker access to the baked goods they deliver daily. This means a timely and more efficient delivery to our existing and future customers in the Delaware/eastern Maryland area."

From the August 4, 2008, Prepared Foods e-Flash