Rykoff & Co., also known as SERCO, was a broad line national wholesale grocer that serviced the restaurant, hotel and institutional trade from regional warehouses, sale forces and truck fleets located primarily on the west coast of the United States.

The company traces its roots to a small family grocery store opened by Harry and Ida Rykoff in Los Angeles, California in 1911.

The family opened a small grocery store near Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

In 1919, their son Saul returned from military service in World War I and rejoined his parents’ grocery store.

Saul focused on distributing to restaurants and other institutional customers of canned goods and dry groceries in and around Los Angeles.

Saul E. Rykoff died April 26, 1967, and was survived by his wife Saragrace and three children Thomas, Stephen and Ruth Coleman.

Coleman believed that expanding Rykoff's distribution network, sales force and product offerings were the best way to increase value of the company.

Rather than relying solely on internal expansion, Coleman initiated the strategy of acquiring small regional wholesale distributors in markets that Rykoff wanted to enter.

Roger Coleman viewed it far easier to buy an establish wholesale grocery company in a new territory rather than build a sale force and distribution network from scratch.

Rykoff & Co. exchanged 130,000 share of company stock for ownership of Louis Enders business and operating assets.

Rykoff & Co. purchased the southern California and Arizona coffee distribution business of General Foods for an undisclosed amount.

Rykoff & Co. purchased Reliable Glassware & Equipment Co. of Los Angeles ($1.5 million in sales) for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Rykoff produced a very limited amount of its own products chiefly pancake syrups, barbecue sauces and mayonnaise at its downtown Los Angeles warehouse.

Rykoff distributed in California, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and through the Louis Ender division on the east coast.

Rykoff & Co. announced plans to build a new 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) distribution center in the Bay Area of San Francisco with delivery in October 1977.

The new distribution center would provide much better service to Rykoff’s customers in the Bay Area, northern and central California.

Rykoff & Co. purchased the business and assets of Food Service and Design Corp. of Boston for an undisclosed sum.

Roger W. Coleman’s vision was to expand Rykoff’s foodservice equipment sales on the east coast by providing kitchen and restaurant design.

Rykoff originally expanded into the New York market by purchasing the Louis Ender food company.

65% of Rykoff’s sales were from house brands and 35% from nonfood items like glassware, cooking equipment and restaurant supplies.

At this time, Roger W. Coleman, CEO was on recorded saying that he believed that the wholesale food industry would not consolidate and no company would dominate nationally, largely because of great regional differences.

Coleman saw an opportunity to gain an outstanding brand name, extensive product line, national distribution network, manufacturing division and a highly regarded sales force at a very attractive price.

Rykoff-Sexton board member and executive vice president, Mark Van Stekelenburg, 41 years old, succeeded the 63-year-old Mr. Coleman.

Mr. Van Stekelenburg joined Rykoff-Sexton in March 1990, and previously headed a unit of Royal Ahold NV, a food service distributor in the Netherlands.

It was determined that a standardized and easily recognizable brand would reflect a nationwide presence and distribution capabilities to better compete in the rapidly consolidating foodservice market.

Ryoff-Sexton realized that it had to grow revenue and distribution presence or be squeezed out by Sysco the largest foodservice distributor in the United States with $14.45 billion in sales for fiscal 1997.