1970s
Driving Growth through One-Stop-Shopping, McProducts and Patty Forming and Freezing
The ‘70s were a time of tremendous growth, as sales grew to more than $337 million. In 1971, GSF opened a distribution center in Hawaii and built its City of Industry, California food processing plant to enable local production of meat, liquid, dairy, and produce products as well as distribution for McDonald's. In addition to producing syrups for cold drinks and milk shakes, along with various dessert toppings, GSF began refining signature products like McDonald’s Tartar Sauce and the famed Big Mac Sauce into the formulas and processes used today.
In 1973, Golden State Foods also leveraged the retail industry’s “one-stop-shopping” concept and pioneered it in the QSR industry. Now an industry standard, this revolutionary approach provided warehousing and distribution for all items used by an individual restaurant. Prior to this game-changing improvement, up to 30 different deliveries had to be scheduled weekly by these restaurants from as many as 15 different suppliers. During this time, Golden State Foods made the strategic decision to become an exclusive supplier for McDonald’s.
In 1975, GSF opened another food processing facility in Conyers, Georgia, and the next year opened a distribution center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Both facilities included bakery operations that successfully ran for approximately 20 years. By the end of the ‘70s, the company had also added distribution centers in Rochester, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; and Sumner, Washington. GSF also invested in the conversion of its fresh beef patty production to a multi-million-dollar patty-forming and freezing operation.
In 1976, long-time GSF veteran Jim Williams took over as President and CEO. That year, the company formally instituted its Values, ideals closely aligned with McDonald’s standards of quality, service, cleanliness, and value.
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Make the best product.
Provide the best service.
How you look is how you are.
The following year, Jim Williams took on additional responsibility as Chairman and CEO, ushering in a new era at Golden State Foods. That year, GSF moved its corporate headquarters from City of Industry to Pasadena, California.
In 1978, the GSF family suffered a great personal loss, as its Founder Bill Moore passed away. But his values, character, and entrepreneurial spirit continue to live on throughout the company. Shortly thereafter, Jim Williams became Chairman of the Board, ushering in a new era at Golden State Foods.