Oregon Firm Buys Salad Host

Reser’s Fine Foods, an Oregon food producer, said Monday that it has purchased Salad Host, a small Corona food company, for more than $200,000 in cash.

The sale of Salad Host “came in the nick of time to save the company from bankruptcy,” said Herwig Gallian, former owner and president of Salad Host. He said the $200,000 purchase price will go toward repaying Salad Host’s creditors and legal fees.

Alvin Reser, president of Beaverton, Ore.-based Reser’s, said the newly acquired plant will increase Reser’s salad producing capacity by 100,000 pounds daily. The Corona plant will produce products under both the Reser and Salad Host brand names to supply customers in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, he added.

“We’re at capacity at our (main plant in) Beaverton, and we’re looking for ways to expand our markets,” Reser said.

Since taking over the company two weeks ago, Reser’s has doubled the number of employees at Salad Host’s plant to nearly 30, said Mark Reser, plant manager in Corona and the son of Alvin Reser.

Reser’s makes potato and macaroni salads, burritos and tortillas for distribution in supermarkets, restaurants and hotels in 30 states.