Mark Mahan
Bill Clem, above, and his two sons, Alan (left) and Steven (right), oversee the family business, Clem’s Refrigerated Foods.
Like many, Steven Clem got a college degree (economics) that barely applied to his post-graduate line of work. And yet, as sales manager at Clem’s Refrigerated Foods (CRF), he has a job he loves and a beloved father, Bill Clem, and brother, Alan Clem, working with him. The Clem clan is a four-generation family that works, plays and prays together. Bill’s parents, William and Helen Clem, founded the family business in 1965. (William Clem passed away in late November at the age of 97.)
Customers also appreciate the family-based values of CFR, and they adore the family running it — especially so amid the grave new world created by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Gov. Andy Beshear closed schools and paused restaurant dine-in service in March, Clem’s clients clamored for help. One of its largest, Fayette County Public Schools, was given three days to switch from feeding students cafeteria-style to providing meals o.-premises. The seemingly impossible task of replacing tons of bulk food items with sealed, ready-to-eat meals became doable with a call to CRF.
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“We feed students at 64 sites, which, as we like to say, makes us the largest restaurant in Lexington,” said Michelle Coker, child nutrition director at Fayette County Public Schools. “The majority of our items weren’t grab-and-go, so we had to turn on a dime to get new containers, more frozen juices, new deli meats … . I’m not kidding when I say that Steve saved us. Without Clem’s help, we couldn’t have pulled o. what we did.”
Ouita Michel had a different dilemma. The freezer at her Wallace Station restaurant had a meltdown that necessitated its replacement. She asked Steven Clem to loan her a refrigerated truck for the one day she expected the switch-out would take. She returned it 10 agonizing days later when the job was complete.
“He saved my life! I can’t even tell you how big that was to take a truck out of their fleet for that long,” said Michel, co-owner and chef over the Ouita Michel Family of Restaurants. “Steve’s just that kind of guy, and I’ll never be able to repay him for that.”
Mark Mahan
Bill Clem has helmed the family business since his father retired in 1986.
Much of CRF’s ability to pivot quicky to meet clients’ needs comes from its own business model of staying flexible. That CRF competes profitably against foodservice distribution giants like Sysco Foods and U.S. Foods is a testament to the family’s understanding of how to fill a range of niches.
“You have to pick your spots, and you really have to change with the times,” said Bill Clem, who took over the company when his father retired in 1986. “I couldn’t go through all the different manifestations we’ve had.”
William and Helen Clem founded the company in 1965 as a meat processor and micro-distributorship. While working full time at their day jobs, William and Helen processed and packaged beef cattle for area farmers for six cents per pound. Only after the couple lined up restaurant customers requesting a steady supply of freshly ground beef did they give CRF their full-time focus.
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Steven Clem looks through a book of family photographs.
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William and Helen Clem founded the company in 1965.
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William Clem, shown at right (and with Bill working in the background), passed away in Nov. 2020 at age 97.
“In 1976, Wendy’s [fast food restaurant] came to town, and we delivered ground hamburger to them,” Bill Clem said. The revenue from Wendy’s was sizeable, he added, “but six months later, they built a commissary in Columbus, Ohio, and that business disappeared for us. We had to work to replace it.”
CRF began processing meat for wholesale clients such as local supermarket chains. At its peak, meat sales to that segment represented 75 percent of CRF’s business. Per usual, that changed without warning when a large supermarket chain changed its approved vendor list.
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Alan Clem oversees operations. The business’ specialized focus and ability to pivot quickly helps it compete against much larger food-distribution companies.
“You take what the market gives you and you just keep rolling,” Bill Clem said. Each time CRF took those hits, the family refocused on its specialty. “We’ve stuck with refrigerated foods because it’s what we’re good at. … We’re brown tablecloth, not white tablecloth.”
That makes CRF a perfect fit for Tolly Ho, said its owner, Roy Milling.
“They supply 60 percent of all my food — which is amazing for a small meat company — but if I could get 100 percent of it from them, I would,” Milling said. “If they send me a new product that I’ve not checked personally, I’d trust that product sight unseen because I trust them.”
Milling said not every distributor is as rigorously honest at CRF.
“Theirs is the only company I deal with that I don’t have to go back and check,” he said. “What’s funny is they’ve made mistakes — but they found them before me and corrected the mistake!”
Ramsey’s Diners owner Rob Ramsey said he’d “not know what to do without them” after purchasing about a dozen different meat products from Clem’s over three decades.
“They do a very specific grind for our hamburger that includes fat cut o. choice steaks,” Ramsey said. “Theirs is a whole different product without any bone or gristle. We pay more for it, but it’s worth it.”
While Ramsey is loyal to some of his vendors because of their problem-solving skills, he said he’s loyal to CRF because its service is problem free.
“They’re quick to respond when you need them, and they won’t bother you when you don’t. It’s a business relationship that’s not painful in any way." —Ramsey's Diners owner Rob Ramsey on Clem's Refrigerated Foods
“In that many years, we haven’t had any problems with them,” he said. The Clem family’s professionalism is a bonus, he added. “They’re quick to respond when you need them, and they won’t bother you when you don’t. It’s a business relationship that’s not painful in any way, which is something I can’t say about all our purveyors.”
Mark Mahan
Steven Clem, above, is sales manager at Clem’s Refrigerated Foods.
At the outset of the virus-related restaurant shutdowns, Steven Clem didn’t wonder long over how CRF would replace the subsequent revenue shortfall. Summer’s approach saw the company gaining new clients as far away as Warren County and increasing sales to existing clients. A bit of Facebook marketing also nudged up retail sales to families buying in bulk. Asked whether COVID19 has changed CRF’s vision for growing the business, he said no.
“Because of COVID, we could have gone 20 different directions to get more sales. But we’re never looking to grow just to get bigger,” he said. “We always look toward doing things now that will pay dividends down the road.”