Rose Buick: Catering to food and family

By Angela Trimmer

A self-proclaimed foodie, Rose Buick holds an ideal job: account executive for Longo’s Catering and GroceryGateway.com (B2B). Both fall under Longo Brothers Fruit Market Inc., a grocery chain in the Greater Toronto Area.

Rose began her career at Longo’s at age 10. No need to call child services; she was simply accompanying Joe Sr., her father and a founding partner, to work. Rose strives to emulate her father, who passed away last year: “He had a big personality and was genuine,” she says. He also had a passion for the business that has rubbed off on his daughter. In Rose’s position, “changes happen quickly, so sometimes you don’t have the luxury of time.” But with encouragement, she believes, it’s easy to keep energized. It’s a plus when work combines your two loves: family and food.

To ensure the chain’s growth, the plan was to develop a fresh catered foods capacity. Says Rose: “I traveled to different markets ... to collect data and research for a business plan in order to see whether Longo’s should enter the catering industry. The plan was approved by senior management and Longo’s Kitchen Catering was born.”

With yearly double-digit growth in its catering division, Longo’s looked to the Internet to grow its client base. In 2004, Longo’s acquired online grocer GroceryGateway.com. Given her history, it was a natural fit for Rose to take on the marketing.

The fit was right for Longo’s and GroceryGateway.com. “When Longo’s began in the 1950s, a major part of the business was phone orders with home delivery.” Rose chuckles: “Almost 50 years later; we have gone back to providing this service.” Through the Internet, Longo’s has gone back to its roots.

GroceryGateway.com offers over 8,500 products such as produce, meat and seafood, drugstore items, and baby essentials. Like your everyday grocery store, nothing has to be ordered in bulk and there are weekly specials. But there are extras: Someone else has to push the cart and schlep your groceries inside.

For all of Longo’s services, Rose says the company’s main goal is to treat their customers with “honesty and respect ... to exceed customer expectations by offering the best food experience to every customer every time.” It’s a motto Rose will continue to practice as she helps the company grow virtually and locally.

Rose's photo by Zaneta Photography.