Cardinal & Son Wholesale Meats is a 3rd generation family run business that has been serving the community since 1960. Henri Cardinal was a prized cheese maker before he started Cardinal & Son with his son, Gilles. His cheese factory eventually sold to Kraft and he decided there was a demand in the market for a meat distributor. It was then that Cardinal & Son was brought to light. Henri and his son, Gilles, sold deli meats to local butcher shops out of their hatchback car. As they built their business, their needs changed. Eventually they bought an old church where Sydney Street is now. As Cornwall developed, they moved their business to it’s current location, on the corner of Sydney and Eleventh.
As the years went by, the business grew. They bought a truck to help with deliveries, they expanded their product line to broaden their markets, they built freezers and coolers to grow their inventory. In 1975, Gilles bought the business from his father. He had big ideas and wanted to keep growing and serving the community. Gilles developed his business with the help of his trusted manager, Ray Forget. Ray stayed with the company for 40 years and helped to make it what it is today. Gilles always helped out his community through service clubs and donations. If there was a BBQ going on, you could bet that the meat came from Cardinal’s!
Fast forward a couple of decades and the “kids” that grew up in the business took on a much bigger role in the daily operations. Andre and Jessie, Gilles’ children, both took on full-time roles after their post-secondary education. Since they grew up there, and worked part-time throughout their lives, it wasn’t hard to catch on to the daily flow. After leading in the daily operations for years, they eventually became the third generation when they bought the business from Gilles in 2017. This makes Cardinal & Son a very rare family business as it has grown into its 3rd generation of family-run operations.
Over the years, the product line has expanded from a very specific meat line to a very extensive food service line. As the days go by, we are forever adding to what we have to offer. Since day one the priority has always been to provide competitive pricing while maintaining a high level of customer service. Those core values are still carried on today, and will continue to carry Cardinal & Son into the future of food service.