Celebrating 75 Years

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ADDING FLAVOR TO LIFE

SINCE 1944

For the last 75 years, Martin Preferred Foods has brought custom food solutions to Houston and beyond.

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A LOOK

THROUGH

HISTORY

1944

Melvin and Israel Tapick hatched the idea of selling fresh poultry from the yard behind their mother’s neighborhood grocery store. Using a bicycle to make deliveries, they began selling fresh poultry and groceries to chefs in nearby downtown Houston.

1946

We establish our first poultry processing facility at 1808 Houston Avenue, in Houston’s Heights neighborhood.

1959

Martin Poultry & Egg plant was built, and we moved into the White Street location where our campus is still located today.

1965

Martin Preferred Foods sold a record amount of poultry to fast food establishments making us the largest poultry supplier in Houston.

1972

We expanded and diversified our poultry processing facilities and specialty food item offerings. We also added a full line of frozen foods and later changed our name to Martin Poultry, Egg and Frozen Food Company to reflect our expanded service and customer base.

1980

To meet growing demand, we expanded our dry warehouse facility to better serve our customers with gourmet and specialty grocery items.

1985

Michael Tapick assumed leadership and continued to grow the business through expanding into new markets.

1988

We established a specialized meat division to supply premium quality beef, veal, pork, and lamb to fine dining restaurants throughout Central and east Texas.

1998

We acquired Preferred Meats, Inc. of Dallas, adding to our company a wealth of experience and expertise in the specialty meats and wild game business. We changed the name of the company to Martin Preferred Foods, L.P.

2000

We acquired the Texas operation of Paris Gourmet, greatly broadening our offerings of specialty pastry ingredients and imported products.

2014

Jeffrey Tapick became the President and chief Operating Office of Martin Foods marking the 3rd generation of leadership.

2015

To meet the growing demands of the business, the poultry facility was relocated to the White Street campus. Spanning over 300,000 square feet of warehouse ad production space on six acres overlooking the Houston skyline.

Today

Martin Preferred Foods continues to evolve and change while staying true to our core values.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN KNOWN FOR

DISTRIBUTION

We distribute our products to all corners of the country, from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Customers

We actively serve more than 3,000 retail & food service customers across the United States.

Products

We carry a catalog of more than 4,000 items.

Sourcing

We work with leading suppliers to ensure our customers have access to the products they need to grow their business.

Customers we've proudly served over the years

What OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE SAID

Richard Wilson

US Foods, South Region

Denise & Juan Vargas

Vargas Cut & Catch

Ashkan Nowamooz

Hungry's

Felipe Gonzalez

Moody Gardens Hotel

Values that have lasted a lifetime

Through the 75 years of business, we’ve held many core beliefs that have been on display through our work and our services. These values define us as a company and dictate how we behave as a group. Our values are what characterize our company culture and what has made us unique.

Safety

Do it safely, period.

family

Embrace everyone like family, with dignity, courtesy, and respect.

Integrity

Do the right thing, for the right reason. We deliver on our promises.

Accountability

We live by the 4 A’s of Accountability: Acknowledge, Accept, Analyze/Solve, Action.

Customer-Centric

Seek to understand the needs of others and follow through.

GTXM

Going the extra mile. Taking pride in the outcome.

Pride in our people

While the industry has changed throughout the years, our focus remains the same – creating food solutions that solve our customers’ problems. We could not continue to deliver on this year after year, decade after decade, if not for the wonderful team of innovative, talented, dedicated, and customer-centric individuals that make up the Martin Preferred Foods family.