There have been a lot of changes going on lately for Specialty Foods Group, most significantly a ham line expansion and moving corporate headquarters to Owensboro. In the wake of those announcements, SFG also announced a new partnership with the Owensboro Convention Center that will feature the upcoming launch of the newly named “Artisan Café by SFG,” which will continue to serve the lobby café’s current menu of Owensboro’s favorite items as well as a host of new menu items developed with the SFG portfolio of existing and new products.
Yes, it’s a way to promote their brands, but more importantly, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ric Herrera says, the Artisan Café will allow SFG to give back to Owensboro in several new ways.
For one, the café could serve as a meeting space for non-profits and other small organizations. “Some non-profits don’t have their own meeting spaces, and this venue is a little more casual than an office or a full restaurant,” Herrera commented.
Also, the Artisan Café allows SFG the opportunity to promote things like clothing drives, school supply drives and canned food drives, which the café can promote and then serve as a collection point. Herrera says the Artisan Café also plans to have fundraising promotions for non-profits where a percentage of sales on a particular day will be given back to that non-profit.
“What Specialty Foods Group is trying to do is bring back to life what Charles Field did when he started the company 100 years ago – take care of our community where we work and live,” Herrera said.
A few other examples are: the “Afternoon in the Park” event, where over 1,000 people attended a free picnic at Smothers Park provided by SFG; the partnership with Daviess County Public Schools Foundation, where they helped with the Luau fun’raiser’ and had an important presence at the DCPS staff opening day; and an upcoming Habitat build in October.
It’s a re-introduction of a “giving back” culture in the company that Hererra hopes will be even more evident in the community as Specialty Foods Group continues to grow its presence in Owensboro.
But for now, both SFG and the Convention Center are looking forward to expanding and rebranding the lobby café into the Artisan Café by SFG.
This partnership is “a winning combination,” said Dean Dennis, VP and General Manager of the Owensboro Convention Center. “It’s a perfect platform for promoting their great brands through our café and catering menus to our local and out-of-town customers. The partnership allows us to expand our offerings to include outdoor seating and much more.”
Herrera added, “We are looking forward to sharing more details around this exciting opportunity as we continue our support of the Owensboro community.”
