See what's inside: Gordon Food Service launches Jacksonville store at Beach and University

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Mathis Report

Gordon Food Service opened its Jacksonville grocery store Oct. 25, offering wholesale as well as smaller family sizes of food, paper goods, drinks and cleaning supplies.

If you recall buying or selling World’s Finest Chocolate bars for school fundraisers, Gordon Food Service has those, too.

A box of 60 sells for $36.99, or 61.7 cents. The box is pre-marked for sales at $1 each, netting $22.98 for the seller.

The store is at 5800 Beach Blvd. in the former almost 29,000-square-foot Staples store that has been renovated at southwest Beach and University boulevards.

The large shopping carts are to the right in the entrance vestibule.

Customers are greeted with large carts. At checkout, customers can unload at their vehicles or use boxes in bins at the front or bring their own bags.

There are no plastic or paper bags, although there are reusable bags available to buy.

The store has fresh, frozen, canned and bagged foods, many in large quantities. There are prepared items such as “Grab ‘N’ Go” rotisserie and fried chicken and fresh deli sandwiches, as well as large take-and-bake pizzas.

A popcorn station offers bags of flavored varieties.

Large quantities of utensils and containers, such as takeout boxes and pre-wrapped cutlery, are available.

Rotisserie chicken, fried chicken tenders and potatoes are at the front of the store near the checkout stations.

Food items include 5-pound boxes of cake mix; 106-ounce cans of pumpkin; gallon containers of coleslaw dressing and Frank’s RedHot Original Buffalo Wings Sauce; and 3.55-pound boxes of Potato Pearls that become 78 servings of extra-rich mashed potatoes upon adding water.

There are large and regular sizes of cheese; individual produce items as well as large bags of them; and deli meats sold by the package, such as the 7.63-pound package of corned beef for $68.59 ($8.99 a pound) and the almost 8.8-pound package of top round roast beef at $118.65 ($13.49 a pound).

The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based privately held and family-managed food service distributor serves local restaurants, food operations and the public.

Gordon Food Service opened at 5800 Beach Blvd. in a former Staples store that was renovated.

There is no membership required and it's open to the public. There is a free loyalty program for business owners where they earn points on their purchases that can be spent like cash on future transactions.

The company said in news release Oct. 25 that the store will employ about 40 full and part-time workers.

The store hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter.

The more than 125-year-old company reports $21 billion in annual sales and 22,000 employees. It says it is the largest privately held food service distributor in North America and offers delivery.

Gordon Food Service sells juices, salsa, yogurt, whipped toppings and other items. Some of the juices are "Made Right Here," including flavors in watermelon, grapefruit, apple cucumber, apple ginger, tropical blend, lime, carrot and celery.

Gordon Food Service said it has more than 180 stores. It operates in 13 states, according to its website. Most of its stores are in the Midwest.

The store website shows that in-store features include online ordering and in-store pickup; home and business ordering; Instacart; fresh meat, produce and squeezed juice; ready-to-eat meals; popcorn; and the Gordon GO free wholesale membership program designed for businesses and organizations.

More information is at GFS.com and GFSstore.com.