Food Foundry

Nick Florek serves as Director of Food Foundry. The program was built by Relish Works, the innovation hub founded by Mack Tilling, and operates in partnership with Gordon Food Service under President & CEO Rich Wolowski. Relish Works houses the program and drives its strategic direction, while Gordon Food Service provides distribution resources and industry access.

Food Foundry sources companies primarily through open applications for its accelerator cohorts and through its position in the Chicago startup ecosystem — it is a member of the 1871 digital technology hub and maintains ties to the Naturally Chicago network, where Relish Works team members hold board seats. The program targets early-stage businesses that can productively interface with Gordon Food Service’s national distribution infrastructure.

Gordon Food Service is the primary corporate backer and strategic partner. It provides Food Foundry portfolio companies with direct exposure to its national logistics network, procurement relationships, and customer base. This is not a passive sponsorship — the accelerator is structured to leverage Gordon Food Service’s operational assets as a resource for seed-stage foodservice startups.

Food Foundry invests in seed-stage startups disrupting the foodservice industry. While specific check sizes and terms are not publicly disclosed, the program provides equity-based investments alongside a structured accelerator curriculum, direct mentorship, and access to venture capital introductions. It does not operate a fund-of-funds model or make later-stage follow-on commitments through a separate vehicle.

Food Foundry is based in Chicago and has historically drawn founders from across the United States. While Gordon Food Service operates in both the US and Canada, the accelerator’s publicly documented cohort companies and its ecosystem partnerships — including 1871 and Naturally Chicago — are concentrated domestically. International investment activity is not confirmed in available sources.

Food Foundry is an accelerator program built and operated by Relish Works, the innovation hub of Gordon Food Service’s corporate family. It is neither a standalone venture capital fund nor a non-profit grant-maker; the Gordon Food Service Foundation exists as a separate philanthropic entity. The structure most closely resembles an embedded corporate accelerator where investment and operational support are tightly coupled to a strategic parent’s business assets.

The Gordon Food Service Foundation serves as the philanthropic vehicle for the larger corporate group. Food Foundry itself does not operate as a grant-making organization, though it draws indirect community affiliation through Relish Works’ board involvement with Naturally Chicago and the broader social-impact programming typical of 1871-affiliated startups in Chicago.