Big D Days

In 1955, C&S, a successful, mid-sized wholesale company, was ready for another move. This time it was to a 35,000-square foot facility on Millbrook Street in Worcester. Lester enjoyed the business and now was working with his father full-time. A born salesman, Lester was soon "pounding the pavement," calling on 30 small grocers a day and returning to visit each one weekly. He worked hard at sales and his perseverance paid off; C&S now had more business than ever before. Israel saw that his son had the talent and inventiveness to take C&S to the next level so he transferred executive power to Lester.

In 1958, C&S' pivotal moment came when C&S won the Big D supermarket account. This eight-store chain was ahead of its time, an industry leader that signaled C&S' transition from small independent stores to supermarket chains. When other supermarkets learned that the innovative Big D was working with C&S, they too looked to C&S to service their stores. The company focused on the acquisition of larger supermarket accounts, its sales soon reached $2 million. After just eight years at the Millbrook Street storage place, C&S needed more warehouse space, and in 1963 moved to a 200,000 square foot facility on Pullman Street, the former home of the famous Pullman train cars. Here, innovative thinking soon equipped the Pullman Street warehouse.