This U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected plant owned and run by Singh's Gateway Petrol Inc. produces more than 50 international food [image-nocss] favorites, from breaded cheese raviolis and pot stickers to chicken egg rolls and lobster Rangoon. The company sells mostly to institutional settings, such as stadiums, casinos and hotels, for example, but it also does some business with supermarkets and other retail establishments.
The SinZenArd building looks unassuming from the outside: a red-brick exterior bearing the Maria & Son logo, referring to the storied line of Italian foods that have been a St. Louis staple for more than 40 years. The building's interior is just as unremarkablequiet and sterilewhich belies the amazing volume the site is capable of producing.
Singh leaves the operation of the plant to one of his partners, while he focuses on keeping the manufacturing business and other parts of the Singh family enterprise in the black. As for those "other parts," he has five c-store locations, three of which his family runs directly; two are leased to other operators. Growth of the c-store enterprise, however, appears to be on the horizon as Singh eyes expansion. In addition, his family also operates Rasoi, an upscale Indian restaurant located in St. Louis' posh Central West End neighborhood.
Singh and his two partners in the manufacturing businessMike Meinzen, the silent partner, and John Ard, the operations guybought the SinZenArd plant in March 2004 from the Cannovo family, which had become famous in St. Louis for its toasted ravioli and meat sauce. The partners had their share of headaches getting the business back on line after the purchase. There was the time, for instance, when the roof caved in, just three months after they bought the place.
"We were standing in the walk-in freezer and we could see the sky," Singh told CSP Daily News, his whole body shaking with laughter.
He and his partners have since revived and expanded the Maria & Son brand, as well as the Tita's brand of Asian foods, which they acquired from a local businesswoman. They also have begun producing items of their own as part of the Curry in a Hurry line of Indian food.
Singh said crab rangoon "is what pays the bills around here" as the company's best-selling item. A small number of employees make by hand as many as 20,000 pieces of crab rangoon in a single shift. And there is plenty of room to grow, according to Ard, the site's operations manager.
"If we increase sales 40% to 50%, the only thing that would go up would be our cost of goods. And that's how you get to the next level," Ard said. "You can sell product for only so much, so where can you come up with some extra bucks to save? That's where your profit is."
Ard, known for getting to work at 2:00 a.m. and putting in his share of 16-hour days, has been called by Singh "the hardest-working man I've ever met" and "the most original mind around." Ard said he believes the building can produce as much as $4 million in annual sales, though it's far shy of that now. Presently the plant runs just one shift per day, five days a week, so he forecasts "some good things on the horizon," including imminent expansion.
"This year in terms of food, sales will be horrible; a lot of restaurants are going to struggle just to stay open," said Ard. "It's going to be a rough year for restaurants overall, but I think we're going to be just fine."
Look for more on SinZenArd and other businesses run by Gateway Petrol in the May 2009 issue of CSP Independent magazine.
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