Gold Star Food Service

The story of Gold Star Foods begins not as a school lunch provider, but as Gold Star Meat Company, a meat distributor for Los Angeles-area coffee shops that began in 1966. The playbook changed in 1978 when new owners, including George Thorsen and Lenny Amato, purchased the family-owned business. They saw an un-served market and pivoted, shifting the company's focus from restaurants to serving school districts in Southern California. This wasn't just a change in clientele; it was a fundamental shift in strategy. Recognizing the need to offer more than just meat, they changed the name to Gold Star Foods in 1983 to reflect a rapidly expanding inventory. This new focus on school nutrition proved to be the right move. The company became a specialist, understanding the complex needs and regulations of school meal programs. By providing a wide range of products—from fresh produce to frozen goods and supplies—they established themselves as a key partner for school districts. This specialization and commitment to service fueled growth, expanding their customer base to hundreds of school districts. The company’s trajectory took a significant turn in October 2019. Highview Capital, a private equity firm, acquired Gold Star Foods. As part of the deal, Gold Star merged with another Highview portfolio company, Good Source Solutions, to form a new holding company: GS Foods Group. This merger created a national leader in specialized foodservice distribution, combining Gold Star's strength in K-12 nutrition with Good Source's reach in other sectors. Gold Star continues to operate under its own brand, but now as part of a much larger national platform serving over 8,000 customers.