Published: August 27, 2008 02:59 pm      

Dalton operations of Five Star Food Service to be split

Five Star Food Service’s deal to become a franchise of Canteen Vending Services will result in the Dalton location being split, with one segment being sold to a Lafayette company and another remaining with Five Star Food Service.

On Tuesday, Five Star Food Service, with a branch in Dalton at 1280 Veterans Drive, signed an agreement to become a franchise of Canteen Vending Services, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. The Five Star Food Service vending and dining services have been sold to Restaurant Enterprises in Lafayette, while the culinary center will continue with Five Star Food Service. The culinary center makes the majority of freshly prepared food for the company.

Of the approximately 60 employees at the Dalton branch, about half are expected to go to Restaurant Enterprises and about half are expected to remain with Five Star Food Service, said Patti Dungan, a spokeswoman for Five Star Food Service.

The deal is expected to close “within the next few weeks,” Dungan said. Since the deal is not yet official, Dungan said, “The impact on the Dalton area has yet to transpire.”

Five Star Food Service is the fourth largest full-line vending, coffee service and food service provider in the U.S. with accounts in eight Southern states. In 2007, Five Star Food Service had 1,300 employees and more than $140 million in revenue, according to the company’s Web site (www.fivestar-food.com).

Canteen Vending Services is the largest vending operating company in the country, operating more than 18,500 vending machines, according to the company’s Web site (www.canteen.com).