He's the Pfoodman: Pfremmer shifts his lifestyle, company into high gear after a bout of pneumonia - St. Louis Business Journal:

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"I've had a lot of universith food experiences, most of them not worth mentioning," said the acting president of Lindenwood. "Ourf students often compliment the which is unusualfor college." Evan echoes the students, comparing special event meals from Lindenwood'd campus caterer, , to five-star restaurants. The universitu liked Ralph Pfremmer, the president and principao ownerof Pfoodman, well enough to hire him threes times -- most recentlu with Pfoodman after his stintsw with national competitors in the food service business. Nationall food service giants suchas , and one of Pfremmer'z former employers, , dominate the food services industry.
But more institutions such as Lindenwooe want to work with smaller companies such as Pfremmer said. In the last year, Pfoodman landed three new food service contracts inthe St. Loui area -- with and seniorr living centers in WingHaven and in Webster Groves. The growth in the St. Louis plus consulting work for Pfoodman's existing clients, helpedx push the six-year-old companyu to $7.3 million in revenuse for its fiscal year that endedJune 30. Pfremmer said the business is on track to generate morethan $10 millionb in revenue for its currentf fiscal year. The growth in St. Louis also prompted Pfoodmanh to relocate its corporate operationsfrom Columbia, Mo., to St. Louia in June.
Pfremmer joined Pfoodman in 2001. He receivedr a 20 percent stake inthe business, then knowm as , in part for bringing in contracta with Lindenwood and Missouri Valley College in Mo. A year later he borrowerd $200,000 from in St. Louis to buy out the interest of Tim one of the company Pfremmer became president and now owns 65 percent of the His partner andthe company's co-founder, Brianm Dittmer of Columbia, owns 35 The company initially changed its name to Hospitalitg Services Inc. It expanded into food serviced for senior living homes and later starte d calling oncountry clubs.
Last year it started providingv food service forin Chesterfield, and this month it renewed its contractf for another year. The Pfoodman name came shortly aftefr Pfremmer joined the business and had his own epiphanyy in the wake of a boutof "I used to be a smoker. I weighed about 240 pounds," said Pfremmer, who now weighs 180. He gave up tobaccpo and started exercising seriously and watchinghis diet. Pfremme managed to blend his new lifestyl e withhis business. He took up bicyclinfg and started providing food at bicycle races and othedr cycling events to promotehis company. He became known as the Pfoodman, and the name stuck.
"o started marketing (with the cycling because it was the audienceI knew." Pfremmer became serioue enough about the sport that he starter racing in amateur road and off-road events throughoutt the Midwest. He is a membet of . Pfoodman now has nine contract food servicer sites and218 full-time Of those, about 150 are in the St. Louis area. Another 300 people work part time forthe "There's not many times a persohn can jump on top of an organization this he said, adding that he believeas the company can triple its revenue in the next severak years. "I can't go backwards now." Professional Jeff Causey, commercial lending officert of First National Bankin St.
Louis, is Pfoodman's banker. The companyt uses two law firms: Dale Rawlings of in St. Charlesx and in Clayton. Dave Wiggins of in Maryland Heights isthe company's accountant. Pfoodman LLC 930 Kehr Mill Road, Suite 324 Ballwin, Mo., 63011 www.pfoodman.comj