Innovation and Beyond

The History of Taher Inc.photo_bruce_taher_profile

Ever since Bruce Taher started his food service company in 1981, Taher, Inc. has maintained a matchless reputation based on the standards of quality, driven by trained chefs, value, integrity and customized professional services.

Accessing on opportunities available in the United States, Bruce Taher immigrated to the US at the age of 19, alone and without much money, to attend college at the University of Oklahoma. Starting as a dishwasher and floor scrubber at the University Cafeteria, to working nights as a cook, waiter and manager at a 5-Star restaurant, he earned a BS degree in Economics and later an MBA.

With a passion to cook and serve customers, he decided to remain in the industry and subsequently joined the management team of a national food service contracting firm, who later transferred him to the Twin Cities as a Regional Manager, a career he held for 11 years.

In 1981, after observing the new hunger on the part of Corporate America to acquire other companies and creating wide gaps between customer’s needs and the Corporate’s financial mandates, Bruce Taher decided to take a free fall, follow his dreams, and start his own company. With the opportunity to work with Westwood Nursing Home in St. Louis Park, MN and Plainview School District in Southeast, MN (still current clients), Bruce Taher initiated a partnership with clients and staff by providing chef-based meals prepared from scratch and sold at a reasonable price.

Now, 28 years later, the mission continues to be the same, with the added focus on “healthy food” through its “Food 4 Life” initiative, more and more trained chefs, a Taher University to train chefs, all focused on serving some 250 clients in 11 states, at colleges, universities, corporate cafeterias, catering and even 15 restaurants. With production facilities in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Des Moines, Taher produces daily fresh products for Meals On Wheels, Senior Centers, Head Start and business locations that do not have their own kitchens. The Taher Family has been expanded to 3,000 with an impressive longevity, unmatched in our industry serving over 250,000 meals every day.

As Taher, Inc. moves to take a spot as the 21st largest Food Service Company in the nation (Food Management Magazine), it also serves as the largest private company in the country serving public and private school communities. In the past 6 years, Bruce Taher’s 2 sons, Shawn (28) and Trent (26) have joined the management team.

The future remains bright for Taher, Inc. as more Americans are drawn to “healthy meals prepared by professional chefs from fresh (not frozen) ingredients,” at each meal. In addition, as the giant three competitors continue to address the needs of the masses, Taher, Inc. will continue its niche to offer more personalized and customized services while retaining its original mission of quality, value and integrity.