Tampa-Based Food Brokerage Serves Up New Headquarters

In a significant owner-user deal, a Tampa-based retail food brokerage company serving the Southeast U.S. purchased an office building in Tampa’s Westshore business district for $4.3 million, or about $359 per square foot.

The buyer, Bay Food Brokerage, intends to occupy the two-story building at 5201 W Laurel St. The building measures just under 12,000 square feet and will nearly double the size of its existing office space on Memorial Highway in Tampa. Established by Cammie Chatterton in 1993, Bay Food Brokerage was one of the first women-owned retail food brokerage companies in the country. Food brokerages operate as the sales and marketing resource for hundreds of food manufacturers worldwide, sourcing food products for grocery chains and other food retail outlets. The former Hopco Food Service Bldg. “checked all the boxes” for the expanding firm, according to brokers involved in the deal, including having a full-service commercial test kitchen on site.

The location in Tampa’s Westshore business district was also a plus, supporting the commuting needs of the firm’s approximately 50 employees, and its accessibility to the Tampa International Airport. The firm is planning to move into the building next March after making cosmetic and floorplan updates, after which, the company will consider leasing or selling the three buildings it owns on Memorial Highway, which total approximately 7,000 square feet.

For the Record Commercial real estate broker and Principal Abbey Ahern of Dohring Ahern represented Bay Food Brokerage in the transaction. Greg Andretta SIOR and Bill Besselieu CCIM with Andretta Properties represented the seller, 5201 W Laurel Street LLC. Bill Amoriello of DFCU Financial provided financing for the purchase.