Baldor Specialty Foods Acquires Premium Meat Company, Golden Packing

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Baldor Specialty Foods Acquires Premium Meat Company, Golden Packing

2025-04-21 19:59 Last Updated At：20:21

BRONX, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 21, 2025--

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Acquiring Golden Packing will allow Baldor to vertically integrate meat processing by combining its high-end sourcing with expert butchering while maintaining the brand’s reputation for excellent service and strength in logistics. This integration will expand Baldor’s selection of premium, portioned meats, offering its chef customers both labor savings and consolidation on product deliveries.

“For decades, our customers have trusted us for high-quality fresh food. Adding meat processing has been a part of our plan since we sold our first piece of protein,” says TJ Murphy, Owner & CEO of Baldor Specialty Foods. “With veteran meat guru Mark Pastore on the team, I knew it was the right time to move forward in the search for a partner. With Baldor’s sourcing, procurement, and delivery capabilities paired with Golden’s cutting and dry aging expertise, we will be scaling a cut shop that meets our customers’ growing needs around meat and bringing wheels to the great business Golden has already created.”

To support its growing protein category, Baldor has strengthened its team with key hires. Mark Pastore, who has more than three decades in the meat industry building programs for foodservice and retail including as President of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, joins as Vice President of Business Development, leading protein sales expansion and increasing Golden Meat Co.'s visibility on the East Coast. Kevin Lindgren, previously Director of Protein Merchandising at Baldor, will now serve as Director of Golden Meat Co., focusing on operations and integration. Baldor also welcomed John Winters DiMarco as Protein Business Development Manager, and Daniel Nguyen as Senior Protein Supply Planner.

“I’ve always loved Baldor’s focus on high-end products and service, and I was eager to build a meat brand here at that same level, with a premium portioned-steak program,” says Mark Pastore. “TJ and I immediately clicked, and when we walked into Golden for the first time, and saw their precision and service, we knew they were the right partners for us.”

Golden Packing’s legacy begins in the 1920s on Little West 12th Street in Manhattan—an area today known as the Meatpacking District. That business gained a second life in 2020, thanks to David Bernstein, a great-grandson of the original owner, and his co-founder Jerry Zwernemann. Bernstein and Zwernemann together have more than 60 years combined in the meat industry. Today, Golden has more than 150 customers, including many of the highest-end steakhouses in NYC.

The founders of Golden Packing will stay on—as will their staff of 35, including butchers and drivers—to operate the business and build out the Baldor offerings.

"Even with how large Baldor is, it doesn't feel like we are partnering with a corporation—it feels like a family. We have found a like-minded organization that is as committed to their customers as we are," says David Bernstein. "This is a great day for our business, and we are excited to see Golden's business accelerate as part of Baldor, with the opportunity to sell our meat up and down the Eastern Seaboard."

Golden Meat Co.’s sales will be processed through Baldor platforms with delivery through the company’s existing trucking operations. Baldor’s extended breadth of product offerings will be available to existing customers and previous Golden Packing customers will now have access to all of Baldor products.

“Baldor’s investment in Golden was inspired by our customers, hearing about the challenges caused by labor shortages and the difficulties getting high-quality center-of-plate ingredients,” says Benjamin Walker, Chief Revenue Officer. “It’s our goal to make our customers lives easier. And that means being able to deliver everything they need to succeed—from produce to dairy to grocery to the best meat in the world, sourced from premium Baldor partners, like DemKota, Joyce Farms and Niman Ranch—all on a single delivery. This is a big unlock for us and our customers. We can’t wait to see meat on every order.”

Golden Meat Co. product offerings will include a full line of meats both dry aged and fresh, prime and high choice, all custom cut and portioned to customers’ needs. In line with Baldor’s philosophy of sourcing, Golden will continue to expand its vendor partnerships with a focus on connecting customers with products from farms that prioritize flavor and humane raising of animals.

Golden Meat Co. has officially joined Baldor’s inventory lineup of over 6,000 items across produce, grocery, bakery, dairy, meat, poultry, and fish. Chefs interested in learning more about Baldor’s new premium-cut beef offerings can visit the About Golden Meat Co. page and the Golden Meat Co. products page on Baldor’s website.

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NATO allies bewildered by Trump's about-face on US troop moves in Europe

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.