Cold Storage History
The Beginning
In the late 1920's, while Sebastian Baumsteiger was working in the Produce Market in what is now the Financial District of San Francisco, he saw a need for the "growers" who had brought their goods to market, to have a common facility in which to store their perishable commodities. Securing a three story concrete block building on the corner of Front and Oregon Streets, he filled in the windows, insulated the perimeter walls, and installed refrigeration. In 1929 he incorporated Growers' Refrigeration.
Expansion
As the Financial District began to overtake the downtown area of San Francisco, the produce market and Growers’ Refigeration moved to a new location south of Market Street. In the late 50's, Sebastian's sons Rich and Fred joined the business and acquired a trucking company called Geneva Refrigerated Truck Service.
Today
With hard work and determination, they expanded the customer base to include marketers of meat, seafood, poultry, chocolate, and other refrigerated commodities. Today, Rich's son, Kevin, and Fred's sons, Tim, Jeff and Ted make up the third generation of family owners and operators. Using modern computer technologies and the latest in refrigeration and transportation equipment, they continue to offer the same level of trusted services their grandfather provided back in 1929.