A Century of Partnership: McDonald Wholesale Celebrates 100 Years

On July 25, community leaders, employees, customers, suppliers, and longtime partners gathered at McDonald Wholesale‘s Eugene headquarters to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, a milestone recognizing not only a century in business, but a century of helping businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest succeed.

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Vonnie Mikkelsen was present to offer congratulations on behalf of both the Springfield and Eugene Area Chambers, recognizing McDonald Wholesale’s longstanding impact on the regional economy.

“What began as a candy and tobacco business has grown into one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading independently owned broadline foodservice distributors; but the larger story is this: McDonald Wholesale grows by helping others grow.”

– Vonnie Mikkelsen, President & CEO, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1926 by Weir McDonald in Medford, the company relocated to Eugene just two years later and steadily expanded from its original candy and tobacco business into a full-service foodservice distributor. Today, McDonald Wholesale supplies restaurants, bars, breweries, schools, convenience stores, healthcare facilities, and other institutions throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest while remaining Oregon’s largest independently owned and operated broadline foodservice distributor.

That success, Mikkelsen noted, reflects something larger than business growth.

“Strong regional economies are built by companies that help hundreds of other employers remain competitive, serve their customers, and keep people working,” she said. “McDonald Wholesale has done exactly that for generations of independent restaurants, schools, institutions, and businesses throughout the region.”

The Chamber has witnessed that commitment firsthand. In 2020, during one of the most difficult periods the foodservice industry had ever faced, company leadership made an early commitment to protecting employees’ jobs and wages; and later that same year, following Oregon’s devastating Labor Day wildfires, McDonald Wholesale stepped forward with a significant contribution to support wildfire relief efforts. It was for these community-based, family-first efforts that the Springfield Area Chamber recognized McDonald Wholesale as its 2020 Employer of the Year.

“When the community needed you most, you showed up.”

– Vonnie Mikkelsen, President & CEO, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce

That spirit of service continues today. Alongside its role as a trusted foodservice distributor, McDonald Wholesale invests in sustainability initiatives, supports charitable organizations and food banks, and partners closely with customers through consulting, marketing, menu development, and other business resources designed to help local businesses thrive.

Reflecting on the anniversary, Mikkelsen said the celebration honored more than longevity.

“A 100-year anniversary is certainly about longevity; but it is also about caring and about trust,” she said. “Trust earned. Relationships sustained. Community strengthened.”

The Springfield Area Chamber congratulates McDonald Wholesale on this extraordinary milestone and thanks the company for a century of leadership, partnership, and investment in the businesses and communities that make Oregon stronger.