CDC Company History
Coffee Distributing Corp. (CDC) is a New York State
corporation founded in 1963 by brothers Samuel and Louis
Friedman as a provider of equipment and supplies for in-office coffee
breaks. In 1976, when Sam's son Bob joined the firm, it employed a dozen
people. Now Bob is CEO, his son Alex is COO, and the company employs
nearly 300 people and serves roughly 20,000 customers from its two warehouse
locations in Garden City Park, NY and Union, NJ. (see photos)
The Friedman family has always believed in re-investing in the company in order to keep it
a leader in innovation and service. This has meant going to the extra expense of having uniformed
company drivers and instilling a corporate culture that values customer service. Going the extra step
has meant not just providing next day delivery of products, but also providing same day delivery for the
inevitable emergency (and at CDC we consider being out of coffee to be a true emergency).
Acquisition
- Coffee Dispensing Co.
- Brew Vend
- Fresh Brew
- PK Coffee
- Custom Coffee
- Central Convenience
- Professional Coffee Plan
- Coffee Service Systems, Inc.
- Regal Coffee (Manhattan)
- Brew Master of NJ
- Crystal Clear
- Instant Beverages
- Daryl's Coffee
- Lavazza (Manhattan Route)
- Modern Coffee Co.
- Abels Coffee Service
- Colony Coffee Co. (Westchester & Bronx)
- Ambassador Beverages
- Piping Rock (Manhattan & Brooklyn)
- Your Morning Cup
- Candler Coffee Service
- Mannie's Coffee & Vending
- Country Coffee
- Luv-A-Cup Coffee
Year
- 1966
- 1973
- 1976
- 1979
- 1980
- 1986
- 1991
- 1992
- 1995
- 1995
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1998
- 1998
- 1999
- 1999
- 2002
- 2003
- 2006
- 2007
- 2007
- 2009
- 2010
Present and Future
With warehouses in Garden City Park, NY and Union, NJ, Coffee Distributing now services the entire New York metro area from Princeton, New Jersey to Fairfield County, Connecticut, and all of Long Island, with over 90 delivery vehicles on the road each business day.
Our product line has expanded tremendously to include full service vending, bottled water coolers, every imaginable type of coffee brewing device and over 2500 different products for corporate pantries, restaurants and convenience stores. CDC was the first US office refreshment service to become an authorized distributor of all the major brand single-cup brewing systems, and will continue to be a leader in bringing new concepts to market.
During the past few years, Bob Friedman has put together a professional management team in order to enhance the company's capacity for future growth. This process has been extremely successful with a combination of managers recruited from outside the firm and some elevated from within. The one constant is a sense of urgency amongst the team that "we must find a way to improve upon our past performance."
Our Community
CDC believes in giving back to the community, as evidenced by its annual "buy a block" contribution to Meals on Wheels and sponsorship of numerous charity events around the area, including the annual Ronald McDonald House Benefit. CDC's "Waste-To-Energy" recycling program provides a double benefit of generating environmentally-friendly energy from spent Flavia, K-Cup, and Lavazza packs, while helping to finance CDC's "Adopt-A-Highway" sponsorship. CDC made another significant environmental committment in late 2010, investing in solar panels for the roof of its warehouse.
Bob Friedman and CDC have received numerous honors over the years including "Operator of the Year” from the National Automatic Merchandisers Association, the largest organization for the vending and coffee service industry. Bob was twice a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award and CDC has been named to the KPMG list of the "Top 50 Private Long Island Companies."
