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 | Welcome to Henry Wainer’s Domain: 350,000 square feet of storage space, a good portion of which is divided into 11 independently temperature and humidity controlled zones ranging from sub-zero to 34 degree Fahrenheit (caviar) to 54 degree Fahrenheit (pineapple, basil, chocolate) to 64 degree Fahrenheit (bananas and tomatoes), with several other settings in between. Founded by Wainer’s grandfather, Henry, in 1914, Sid Wainer & Son has grown into one of the premier importers and distribution of specialty food and produce from all over the globe. If you doubt this, just ask Wainer. He’ll be happy to set you straight.
 An affable, gentle man with volcano of enthusiasm ready to erupt at the sight of just mature Chioggia beet, Wainer is justifiably proud of the quantity and quality of the edibles that find their way into and out of Sid Wainer & Son’s New Bedford, Massachusetts, location. He is equally proud of the way they get there - directly from farms both large and small, both domestic and foreign. Wainer, who takes credit for being the first to bring mesclun and organic herbs in from the West Coast for mass distributions, comes by this framers- friendliness honestly. “I learned to work at the same time I learned to walk, coming to work almost every day with my father,” Wainer recalls. “ I practically grew up on a truck, loading potatoes from local farmers fields, going to the farmers markets to meet them one-on-one, calling them up to ask what they were going to pick next.” Over the years, Wainer has built |  | | this rapport into a line of specialty produce bearing his own trademark, Jansal Valley First Pick. “That brand represents the best farms in the world. We’re really careful with the name, using is only with the best of each farm’s harvest.”
It’s Wainer’s job to oversee this happy kingdom where dealing with quantities like 22 pallets of mesclun a day or 33,000 pounds of fingerling potatoes and 3,500 pounds of basil a week is an ordinary occurrence. He knows every one of the products kept on hand in his facility intimately. “This salmon is smoked by the same guy who smokes tuna for the Queen of England,” he pronounced during a recent tour. Who knew the Queen of England even liked smoked tuna, let alone hot to get in touch with the guy who smokes is for her? Wainer does, that’s his job.
The man loves food, raw or cooked. Every item he picks up - edible flowers from a half-hectare from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, organic blueberries from New Zealand, or tamari from Japan what was shut tight in a wooden barrel for 24 months before seeing the inside of a bottle - comes with a story. Not only can he tell you the towns where the olives for his Jansal Valley Spanish olive oil are grown, he can tell you the names of the people who tend the olive trees.
Wainer is as committed to reaching out to his chef clients as he is to the search for the best products. Mid - October 2001 saw the opening of Sid Wainer & Son’s hospitality suite and business office for visiting chefs. This addition also houses Wainer’s new office and is linked to the main kitchen by elevators. Visiting chefs can conduct regular business during their visit to the New Bedford headquarters or step into the future with a network of video cameras with flat screen televisions that let them review their work and tie together the kitchen, hospitality suite, and the rest of the operation. Through, the business center’s facilities, chefs can go as far as photographing their new creations and posting them immediately on their Web sites, or, should they choose a less ambitious undertaking, they can take a breather on the newly built deck with a view of the Elizabeth Islands.
Even customers who aren’t famous chefs can cook with the same ingredients they do. Wainer converted a portion of his warehouse to a retail outlet for cools that crave the same quality as the pros but cant deal with restaurant quantities. Six days a week, customers push carts through crowded aisles flanked with grains, vinegars, oils, and myriad of other foodstuffs or into a huge walk-in refrigerator packed to the seams with flawless seasonal produce like baby spring onions from Spain, popcorn shoots, fiddlehead ferns, and magenta spinach. Joyce Costa presides over the retail outlet’s demo kitchen - a separate operation altogether from the visitor’s kitchen - cooking whatever looks good to her at the time. Shoppers stop by to watch and, most importantly, to taste.
Clearly Henry Wainer loves what he does. He speaks with resolute pride about each and every item on his mind-blowing roster of produce, dairy, and authentic regional food items, some of which - after extensive sampling and communication with the grower and packager - will bear the label of one of Wainer’s 11 trademarked brands (such as the above-mentioned Jansal Valley).
Wainer credits his success to his father, Sid (whom he represented greatly and misses deeply since his passing three years ago), and to his own ability to listen to his customers. “I’m lucky,” That’s how - and why - we’ve grown into what we have.” Wainer’s informed sensitivity to his clients’ needs has led him to introduce labor saving products like Wainer’s Fondo di Toscana Long - Stem Marinated Artichokes which have garnered the NASFT’S Outstanding Foodservice Product Award two years running as well as other awards and a seasonal “menu planner,” one of Wainer’s most valuable customer service tools. The planner breaks down the availability of more that 250 fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs into biweekly periods.
Keeping on top of all this coming and going is an ordeal in itself. “We constantly check the quality of the food that comes in here,” Wainer states. “We will instantly replace a product if we find something better. The same is true of our company policies. We have managers’ meeting every week. If you show me a better way to rum the company, that’s the way we adopt. In effect, our policies are good for a week - until our next managers’ meeting.”
Wainer isn’t in this for the green, but for the greens. What keeps his going is a love of good products and a respect for the people who know how to cook with them. Henry Wainer just wants to bring them together. |
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