Fortune Fish completes acquisition of JDY

Fortune Fish Company announced today that it has completed its acquisition of JDY Gourmet, making the former Chicago-based specialty foods and premium meat purveyor a new division of the company.

Fortune Fish, based in Bensenville, Ill., is a seafood processor and distributor that markets to upscale clubs, restaurants, hotels, and gourmet retail stores. Following the acquisition, JDY will now be known as Fortune Fish's Gourmet Foods Division.

“We are very excited that this acquisition is complete.  It creates an outstanding opportunity for our employees, customers and suppliers,” said Sean J. O’Scannlain, Fortune’s President and CEO. “I am proud to welcome JDY’s owners, staff and fantastic artisan food products to Fortune Fish Company.”

David Yourd and Karrie Kimble, the former owners of JDY Gourmet and current VPs of business development for Fortune Fish Company, will lead the Gourmet Foods Division with former JDY staff members.

“Karrie and I love the food industry, it is our life,” Yourd said.  “We feel very fortunate to be joining Fortune Fish.  We witnessed early on how well our team fits into their culture and we couldn’t ask for a better group of people to take this journey with.” 

The new division will be moving into a custom-designed, 10,000 square-foot facility adjacent to Fortune’s current facility by the end of 2012. The new space will have six separate temperature and humidity-controlled coolers to store the new division's beef, pork, poultry, dairy, cheese and chocolate.

Until the move, the division will continue to operate in the old JDY facility. Along with the new facility, the new division will have access to Fortune’s fleet of more than 40 refrigerated trucks with direct distribution in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, and nationally through their Flying Fish program.

Fortune Fish is an exclusive dealer of both Verlasso and Skuna Bay salmon.