Greg Tornberg,
Vice President of Fresh Foods
By Kim Sharrah,Editorial Assistant
Greg Tornberg has returned to his roots at Hampton, Iowabased Kum & Go as the new vice president of fresh foods. Tornberg was recently promoted after returning to the company in 2004 from The Pantry Inc., when Kum & Go made a compelling offer to relocate back to Iowa.
Tornberg has a long history with Kum & Go, starting at the company straight out of college in 1987 as a store manager. He worked his way up the ladder for the next four years and cut his teeth in several departments, including operations management and multi-unit supervision.
Having maintained contact with severalfigures at Kum & Go, Tornberg continued torun into his former colleagues at industryevents during his 11-year tenure with ThePantry. Kum & Go was always in the backof his mind, and when one of the companyleaders explained his vision of growth toTornberg, he agreed to come back on board.
"I always felt a connection to Kum & Go,"said Tornberg. "I was eager to be a part of agrowing company. I knew Kum & Go was onthe rise, and I was glad to be working withthem again."
When Tornberg returned to Kum & Gothree years ago, he came in as vice president of store development where he ledthe real estate, construction and facilitiesteam. Throughout the orientation period,Tornberg's supervisor had plans to start acoffee company independent of the Kum &Go chains.
For 16 months, Tornberg was put in charge of a team designed to create a new coffee company from scratch. "When the opportunity came to lead a coffee startup, I was passionate about pursuing the prospect," he said. "I started with a blank piece of paper and developed the entire concept."
Serving as president of MilleMiglia Caffe, Tornberg was ableto open seven locations in thepast year. When the coffee company, which settled under the retailname Amici Espresso, was up and running,Tornberg slowly migrated back to working atKum & Go.
After spending the past two yearsimmersed in coffee, Tornberg will bring hisexperience to his new position as the vicepresident of fresh foods for Kum & Go. Hewill be focusing on developing food and hotbeverage products, including reintroducingcoffee to the Kum & Go customers.
"I learned a lot about the specialty customer from my time at Amici," said Tornberg."I am revamping our coffee offering and introducing lots of new products."
Tornberg plans to bring in some thingsthat are commonplace in the specialtycoffee market and introduce them to the c-store. He is also putting together anaction plan for fresh made sandwiches andsalads, and looking to potential vendors tosupply Kum & Go with fresh ideas for theupcoming year.
"Everything is being worked out rightnow," said Tornberg. "In the next couplemonths, we should be well underway to abright future. Being part of the Kum & Goteam is where I want to be."