Reser's Fine Foods history

In 1951, the business took a huge step forward when Mildred got up the nerve to ask a local Safeway, a chain grocery, if it would consider stocking her potato salad.

Shortly after incorporating on May 14, 1959, Reser's moved from Cornelius to a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m) facility in Beaverton, Oregon.

In 1960 Reser's Fine Foods began trading publicly on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) exchange.

In 1967, Reser's bought German Boy, a maker of sausage and processed meats.

Eventually all five of Al Reser's children found positions with Reser's Fine Foods. It built a new plant on the lot, opening a 52,000-square-foot factory in 1978.

By 1986, the company had frozen out the Chicago interest, and the family took Reser's private again.

In 1989, the plant was at capacity for salad, so Reser's bought a California manufacturer, Salad Host.

In 1993, it bought two Italian food makers, Bellissima Italia, Inc. of Oregon, and the Cleveland-based Sidari's Italian Foods.

Reser's steadily increased its exposure to the Mexican food market in the 2000s, acquiring part-interest in another Western tortilla maker, Puentes Brothers, in 2002, and also buying that year the Utah firm Wilson Foods Company, a maker of frozen burritos. It bought a refrigerated salad company in North Carolina, Made Rite Foods, in 2002, giving Reser's more access to East Coast markets.

In 2011, the company purchased Oklahoma-based competitor Vaughan Foods for $18.3 million, and the assets of Orval Kent for $69.2 million.

In July 2014, it announced plans to build a 310,000-square-foot (29,000 m) facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, but indicated that its headquarters would remain at the site in Beaverton.

In July 2015, the new Hillsboro plant, located on Century Blvd., was about three-fourths completed and was projected to begin being used for production in October 2015.

By 2017, annual revenue had grown to $1.2 billion, ranking Reser's fifth highest annual revenue for private companies.