Our story began in Charleston, West Virginia when founder A. F. Wendling started the business of delivering fresh meats to customers in 1913.  Always the innovator, Albert could be seen cutting ice from the river and moving it to a storage area to cool the meats and keep them fresh. He then loaded the goods onto his delivery vehicle to bring to waiting customers who appreciated his personal attention to their needs.

A. F. Wendling’s formula for success was simple: he had a passion for pleasing his customers, he worked harder at it than anyone else, he took pride in his work, and he was always open to new ideas to better serve his customer’s needs. He believed that each customer was unique in some way and served his customers "one at a time" so they felt special.

Those values and a relentless drive to succeed were essential in surviving through the Great Depression and Wendling re-doubled his efforts to re-build the business with a renewed strength and determination.

Over the years, the Wendling family business continued to grow and expand outside the Charleston area and the business was eventually passed down to his sons, Fred and John, in 1965. The company further expanded into the North Central part of West Virginia through the acquisition of several smaller distributors and the establishment of a warehouse location in Buckhannon, West Virginia in 1969.  Continued expansion brought the family business into an even larger warehouse in Buckhannon in 2006 and is our home today.

Now in its third generation, the family business is operated by
Fred's son, Chris, who continues the family's legacy, passion,
and dedication to serving our loyal customers with a personal
touch that is the hallmark of our business. We're proud of the
fact that we have become West Virginia's largest family-owned
independent food service distributor, yet we're not content to
rest on our past accomplishments as the desire to improve
customer service and grow our business is an ongoing pursuit.


 While our goal is to become the premier regional broadline food service distributor in the Appalachian area, we will continue to operate behind the same core values established by A.F. Wendling nearly 100 years ago:

• We take care of our customers like they are a member of our family.
• We work hard for our customer's success because we care about their business.
• We provide a personal touch that is the signature of A. F. Wendling's.
• We are always open to new ideas and the door to management is always open.
• We are proud of our history, our family of employees, and their dedication to make a difference... one customer at a time.