Floyd L. Maines, Sr. founded Maines Candy Company in 1919. Maines sold nickel candy such as Milky Ways, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars and Candy Cupboard Chocolates to local grocers. The average order was $20 and resulted in first year sales of $30,000.

Floyd L. Maines, Jr. joined the business in 1947 after serving five years in the Navy. His first choice was to go into the FBI, but his father convinced him to join the family business. Floyd Jr. initiated an expansion into fountain supplies, toys, and paper including napkins, straws, and paper cups. He was able to persuade a couple of his friends to become salesmen for the company now named Maines Candy Company, and they expanded the business four-fold.

Floyd Jr.'s sons David and Bill joined the family business in 1970 and 1978 respectively. They expanded the business into foodservice and extended the product offerings to include frozen and canned goods, beverage items and cleaning chemicals. With this product line expansion, the company name was changed to Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc.

Maines began pursuing the casual dining segment of the industry which powered the company's growth through the 1980's. By the mid-80's Maines broke into the Top 50 of food distributors in the nation, and was ranked 43rd by Institutional Distributor magazine.

In 1984, a Cash & Carry store was opened to serve independent operators and the public. Today, Maines has two Cash & Carry locations that each have a federally-inspected fresh meat center, and stock a wide variety of dry, frozen, and fresh food items as well as cleaning chemicals, paper, plastic, and party goods.

Due to unprecedented growth, a second distribution center was opened in Cleveland, Ohio in 1987. This facility serviced the mid-west region of multi-unit accounts.

In 1990, an equipment supply contracting company was acquired to add a full line of smallwares and equipment, contract design services, full HVAC and refrigeration installation and service.

By 1996, it was becoming evident that there was real need to maintain a professional and well-trained staff of drivers. The fleet had grown in the early nineties by 14 additional tractors bringing the total fleet to 39. As a result, the Maines Driver Training Institute was established to help provide Maines with well-trained drivers. The school provides the necessary training for a CDL license, and has a reputation as one of the finest in the northeast. It was selected by Institutional Distributor magazine as Innovation of the Year by a foodservice distributor.

A 360,000 square foot, world-class distribution center was constructed in 1999 and became the Corporate Headquarters for Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc. This state-of-the-art facility has five temperature zones and temperature controlled shipping/receiving docks. It is equipped with a fully functional Test Kitchen and Learning Center for product cuttings, menu roll-outs and training sessions.

The largest growth in Maines history took place in 2000 when Maines opened four new distribution centers in Oxford, MA; Oakwood Village, OH; Farmingdale, NY; and Conklin, NY to service over 1,700 Burger King restaurants. Today, Maines is the nation's largest foodservice distributor in the Burger King system.

In 2001, after 82 years and three generations, the Maines family appointed a non-family member as President and CEO of Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc. Chris Mellon had been with the company since 1998 and served as Chief Financial Officer prior to his new appointment. This change allowed Bill and David to become co-chairmen of the board of directors and Floyd, Jr., chairman emeritus.

Currently, Maines is the fifth largest foodservice distributor in the country, and is poised for further growth. With the synergy created by the Maines' family entrepreneurial spirit, the world-class facility, and loyal and hard-working employees, the future looks bright for Maines and its customers.