– Improved Logistics, Expanded Range of Products to Gulf Coast with Company’s Third Closed Acquisition, 2022
BENSENVILLE, Ill. & NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fortune International, LLC (“Fortune” or the “Company”), the country’s leading processor, distributor and importer of quality seafood, meats and gourmet products, today announced the acquisition of New Orleans Fish House, LLC (“NOFH”), a leading supplier of quality wholesale seafood and specialty products to top chefs and restaurants in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf South. As part of today’s sale, NOFH owners Bill Borges, Brett Borges and Cliff Hall will remain with Fortune. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1990, NOFH is widely recognized as providing the highest standards in Gulf seafood, as well as a wide range of other specialty and protein-based products, including beef and lamb. The family-owned and operated business has expanded from a small seafood house in New Orleans into a top supplier of fresh seafood to restaurants, retailers and wholesalers from eastern Texas to the Panhandle of Florida.
Today, NOFH is one of the largest purchasers of Yellowfin and Blue Fin Tuna from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the largest purchaser of Red Fish in the United States. Many of the top chefs and restauranteurs in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have relied on NOFH for their daily deliveries, including Acme Oyster House, Commander’s Palace, John Folse (Restaurant Revolution), Tenney Flynn (GW Fins), Dickie Brennan Group, The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Emeril’s Restaurants, and Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, as well as Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Windsor Court, Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton properties.
Fortune’s acquisition continues its rapid expansion as the country’s largest distributor and supplier of quality seafood, meats and gourmet products. The combination of Fortune’s and NOFH’s operations are expected to increase sales in the region organically through improved cross-selling of respective products and will increase logistics efficiencies and route synergies resulting in improved service for Fortune’s customers in New Orleans and NOFH’s customers in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
“We are thrilled to welcome such an esteemed local company as New Orleans Fish House to our growing Fortune family,” said Sean O’Scannlain, President and CEO of Fortune International. “NOFH has earned a reputation for top-quality products and service to the country’s most demanding chefs, restauranteurs and retailers, and together we can use that strong foundation to further expand our operations in the Gulf as well as deepen and expand our existing customer relationships.”
Bill Borges, President of New Orleans Fish House, stated, “We are excited to partner with Fortune, a company with a shared commitment to the highest quality in products and services. We’d like to thank our customers and employees for helping us achieve today’s historic milestone and look forward to reaching new heights in the years ahead.”
Today’s transaction marks Fortune’s third in 2022 following its acquisition of Union, New Jersey-based D’Artagnan, Inc. in March and D’Iberville, Miss.-based North Bay Seafood, Inc. in May. Since the launch of Fortune’s acquisition strategy in 2012, the Company has completed 15 acquisitions including: JDY Gourmet (2012); Chef Martin Old World Butcher Shop (2014); Coastal Seafoods (2016); Morey’s Seafood International of Missouri, Classic Provisions Inc. and Jubilee Seafoods (2019); Seattle Fish of Missouri (2020), EuroGourmet and Neesvig’s (2020); C.C.T. Logistics, Inc., Meat Processors Inc. and Ocean Harvest Wholesale (2021); D’Artagnan, Inc., North Bay Seafood, Inc., and New Orleans Fish House, Inc. (2022).
Fortune International, LLC
Fortune International, LLC is the parent operating company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a full-service processor and distributor providing white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and gourmet retail stores with the finest quality fresh, live, and frozen seafood and gourmet foods. The company handles more than 10,000 seafood and gourmet products daily, selected to exceed the high standards embraced by its quality focused customer base. Fortune currently services more than 10,000 customers throughout the Central, Southeastern and Northeastern United States with a fleet of refrigerated vehicles, and nationally through FedEx and common carriers. For more information, please visit www.fortunefishco.net.
