Strube shuts down while taking care of business
Strube shuts down while taking care of business
In March, after 112 years in business, Strube Celery & Vegetable Co. closed the doors and sold its five units on Chicago’s International Produce Market, but not before taking care of its employees, customers, suppliers and creditors.
“That was job one,” said Rob Strube, who was president of the organization started by his great-grandfather Fred Strube in 1913. “It was very important to us to give all our employees an opportunity to continue to work in this business. And we wanted to take care of all of our suppliers and customers.”
He noted that in late April Lisa Strube, who was director of finance and administration at the company, was still working to close out accounts, handle collections and make any outstanding payments. “I think she is just about finished,” Rob said.
The company’s former president expressed a level of pride that Chicago’s longest standing produce business was able to end its life without causing financial harm to any of the businesses or people it has worked with.
“We were working with our shippers and customers up to the last day,” he said, though many knew that changes were in the works.
Rob Strube revealed that the closing of Strube Celery as a profitable stand-alone wholesaler can be traced to several factors. Issues surrounding COVID in 2020 and beyond clearly played a role. But he also admitted that Strube was not as nimble nor as aggressive as it could have been in chasing new business. “The fact is we couldn‘t support the five units we had with the amount of business we were running through on a daily basis,” he said. “We had the cash flow to cover two units… maybe three, but not the five units and six coolers we had.”
He said the configuration of the five units into one contiguous location also made it impossible to downsize by selling off part of the space. And finally, he noted that the drive to downsize and see the company thrive through another generation of Strubes wasn’t evident.
It was in October during the International Fresh Produce Association convention in Atlanta that the company executives began to formulate a plan for the future.
Fred Strube started Strube Celery & Vegetable Co. in 1913 on a Chicago city street, moving it to Chicago’s new South Water Market when it opened in 1925. His son, Robert Strube Sr. joined the wholesaler in the 1930s and became a leader in the produce industry for many decades, remaining active well into this century. He ran the company for more than six decades.
His children, Robert Strube Jr. and Jan Strube Fleming, as well as their spouses — Sue Strube and Tim Fleming Sr., worked for the company for many years and became part of the senior leadership team in the 2000s. Bob Strube Jr. was chairman of the board with Jan Fleming serving as CEO at the time of her death in 2013. Rob Strube became president at that time and ran the company with the leadership team that included Tim Fleming Jr., Sue Hunter, Lisa Strube and RJ Strube IV.
Strube Celery & Vegetable Co. was one of the major anchors of new Chicago International Produce Market when it opened in 2002.
