Cedar Rapids pizza distribution center will supply 6 states

A Lexington, Ky., distributor of Hunt Brothers Pizza to convenience stores in Iowa and five other states, has opened a distribution center in northwest Cedar Rapids.

Pizza Wholesale of Lexington expects the facility in the former Hubbard Ice Co. site on First Street NW to support the expansion and growth of Hunt Brothers Pizza in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Seven full-time positions have been added to the existing 35 staffers to support growth in the Midwest.

Pizza Wholesale occupies 112,000 cubic feet of sub-zero storage space, 6,300 square feet of dry storage and access to 7 dock doors for pickups and deliveries in the renovated 4.57-acre Hubbard Industrial Park complex.

With 7,000 locations in 28 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza is the nation's largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. The family-owned Nashville, Tenn., company has operated for more than 40 years.

"The Midwest is an area of dramatic growth opportunity for Hunt Brothers Pizza, with 80 new customers in the first six months of 2013 and a projected total of nearly 200 for the year," said Daryl Schutz, chief operating officer of Pizza Wholesale of Lexington.

"For Pizza Wholesale of Lexington, that means we're poised to keep expanding by creating new jobs, adding service and delivery trucks, and building a solid foundation of logistical support for Hunt Brothers Pizza customers from Kansas to Wisconsin."

Beginning in 1883, Hubbard Ice Co. harvested ice from the Cedar River and supplied the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroads with ice for use in their refrigerated cars.

During a two-week harvest each year, ice above the dam was cut into 200-pound cakes using a saw hooked to a Ford Model A car motor and then floated to a conveyor system that led to the Hubbard storage facilities on the west bank of the river.

The two-week harvest typically netted between 30,000 and 35,000 tons of ice per year.