SubTropolis Location Allows Paris Brothers to Expand and Diversify
Now in its 36th year, Kansas City-based Paris Brothers has grown from a family popcorn purveyor to an industry leader in specialty foodservice warehousing, distribution, logistics and manufacturing.
Perhaps best known for its specialty food retail brands Parisi Artisan Coffee®, Mother Earth Coffee®, Cervasi® and Margarita’s Amigos®, Paris Brothers offers a full range of warehouse solutions including freezer, multi-temperature cooler space and dry space, as well as end-to-end logistics and shipping services through sister company, Ground Freight Expeditors (GFE). In addition, the company distributes and sells more than 4,500 items to grocery and specialty food stores, restaurants and national food distributors throughout the Midwest.
The nerve center of this globally diverse company takes place underground within Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, home to Paris Brothers’ 513,099 square foot supply chain facility. The world’s largest underground business complex, SubTropolis offers a cost-effective, naturally climate- and humidity-controlled, easily expandable, and ENERGY-STAR certified facility nestled within a 270 million year old limestone deposit 100 feet below the surface.
On any given day, Paris Brothers has 180 trucks coming and going to SubTropolis, moving goods to and from its specialty foods and USDA warehousing operations. Since consolidating operations underground in 2000, Paris Brothers has grown its footprint six-fold from 110,000 square feet to 513,099 square feet of space and staking its claim as the largest of SubTropolis’ more than 50 underground tenants.
“Hunt Midwest has been a very valuable business partner,” Paris Brothers Co-founder and Principal Joe Paris said. “We love it here because as our needs have grown, SubTropolis has been able to accommodate them.”
EXPANDED WAREHOUSING
Paris Brothers Warehousing directly credits the SubTropolis environment with its successful expansion into the $6 billion specialty coffee industry. Because raw coffee readily absorbs elements from the external environment, optimal warehouse conditions play a critical role in sustaining the quality of specialty green coffee.
Paris Brothers Specialty Coffee Warehouse is now the largest certified organic underground coffee storage location in the U.S., allowing customers to bring specialty coffee closer to specialty roasters in the Midwest via the nation’s only inland, USDA certified, climate-controlled green coffee warehousing facility, according to Scott Presnell, director of marketing/coffee group manager for Paris Brothers.
“With transportation access ‘indoors,’ goods are loaded and unloaded underground, in a closely-monitored, secure environment 24/7/365,” Presnell said. “Our central location in the geographic center of the United States can provide strategic efficiencies in getting product distributed throughout the country. Easy access to primary north-south and east-west shipping corridors, as well as direct access for truck and rail make going ‘underground’ with your products an ideal scenario.”
SPECIALTY FOOD SERVICE DISTRIBUTION
Paris Brothers distributes and sells more than 4,500 items to retail grocers, grocery warehouses, foodservice providers and national food distributors. Through Paris Brothers Specialty Foods, the company handles specialty goods that require proper storage and handling, as well as an understanding of the nuances associated with marketing and selling ‘artisan quality’ products, such as cave-aged cheeses and specialty coffees. Paris Brothers distributes imported culinary products such as Colavita® pasta and olive oil, as well as approximately 400 different types of Artisan style cheeses from all over the globe, and other specialty products to stores and restaurants all over the Midwest.
Paris Brothers also distributes and/or manufactures more than 15 different private label brands and proprietary products sold to stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, and Walmart, in addition to regional grocery chains. The company distributes notable brand favorites such as sauces from well-known restaurants like Jack Stack, Arthur Bryant’s, Lidia’s and Cascone’s.
LOGISTICS
Paris Brothers also helps other companies design and implement their own supply chain management plans. These services range from basic warehousing with online inventory management to full supply chain integration, including warehousing, inventory management, distribution and full integration as a third-party licensee.
Combining its warehouse and distribution expertise with the services of sister company, Ground Freight Expeditors (GFE), companies may choose from strategic logistical freight options that help meet needed time frames and budgets. Staffed by transportation professionals, GFE services range from next day delivery to 2nd, 3rd and 3-to-5-day delivery.
MANUFACTURING
Paris Brothers Specialty Foods manufactures a full line of specialty products in the categories of Italian, Hispanic, barbecue and Asian sauces, dips and dressings both as private label and through its popular Cervasi USA brand.
In 2005, Paris Brothers launched a coffee roasting division, concentrating on small-batch roasted, specialty coffees. Working in conjunction with its green coffee warehousing services and building on existing relationships with some of the world’s top coffee importers, Paris Brothers has the capability to source, roast, pack and distribute specialty coffees for private label retail or custom service applications. Over the past decade, the company also has developed and successfully launched two consumer coffee brands operating across multiple segments: its namesake Parisi Artisan Coffee and in 2015, Mother Earth Coffee, a brand focused on sustainable coffee operations and sourcing direct trade, organic products for both wholesale services and retail cafe operations.
“Hunt Midwest understands our needs — and what we need to run our business — and that allows us to focus on growing into new markets and services, not on managing our facility,” Paris said. “Our two companies enjoy a truly complementary partnership and collaborative relationship.”