Gourmet Dining, LLC – Building Dining Partnerships

Gourmet Dining is the premier food service company serving New Jersey, New York & Pennsylvania. As New Jersey’s largest regional dining service company, Gourmet Dining operates on-site food service management for higher education, employing over 2,500 employees with annual sales of $175 M.

ROOTED IN HIGHER EDUCATION

For over 30 years!

At Gourmet Dining, we believe in providing unique, exemplary dining experiences built on strong partnerships. For over 30 years, our family-owned business has grown to become the leading provider of food management services to the higher education marketplace in New Jersey. Today, we continue to plant our roots in universities and colleges across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania – creating delicious, healthy and sustainable food for students, faculty and administrative staffs. Leveraging the expertise of our parent company, Compass Group, the largest food service management company in the world, we’re able to provide superior dining programs with a personalized, family and local approach.

EST. 1987

History

The Frungillo family has been serving communities in New Jersey since Alfred and Jerry Frungillo immigrated from Avellino, Italy in the 1920’s opening a market at 105 Mt. Prospect Avenue in Newark, with their sister Anna Frungillo and her husband Fred Finelli.

The store expanded to another location, 63 6th Ave in Newark in the early 1930’s and remained in business as Finelli’s Grocery until 1970. The key ingredient to its success was the Frungillo and Finelli families working side by side, 17 hours a day, 7 days a week with a mission to serve the local community.

In 1972, Alfred Frungillo founded Frungillo Caterers in Bloomfield NJ. Frungillo Caterers continues to operate today and has become the largest off premise catering company in the greater metropolitan area.

In 1981, Alfred Frungillo founded Michael Anthony’s Restaurant and Caterers in Verona, NJ. Then in 1985 Alfred Frungillo took a job as Food Service Director for Service America Group at Seton Hall University. Through the relationships he build working there, Seton Hall University asked Al to take over the operations and Gourmet Dining was Founded in 1987.

Over the next 27 years Al, his partner Ben Aiello and Al’s sons Michael and Anthony expanded the business in the NJ higher education marketplace.

In February of 2014, Gourmet aligned with Compass Group supporting our approach to campus dining with the backing of Compass Group, the largest food service provider in the world. Today, Michael and Anthony Frungillo manage their family business.

Gourmet Dining is a New Jersey based company and has a great understanding of the contemporary tastes and lifestyles of campus dining in this region.

We address the expansive dietary preferences and restrictions our customers have based on their allergies, religious beliefs, health and wellness, budgetary or scheduling concerns by capitalizing on our talented culinary team, our dietitians, and cutting edge technology. Our passion for our business leads us to continually revitalize and revolutionize our dining programs to be inclusive of the campus and local communities we serve.

TIMELINE

Seton Hall University: 1988 – present
The New Jersey Institute of Technology: 1991 – present
Bloomfield College: 2000 – present
Kean University: 2004 – present
Caldwell University: 2010 – present

Jersey City University: 2011 – present

Rowan University: 2014 – present

Monmouth University: 2015 – present

Stevens Institute of Technology: 2015 – present
Rutgers University – Newark: 2016 – present
Rider University: 2018 – present
Rutgers University – Camden: 2019 – present
Rutgers University – Athletics: 2019 – present

Marywood University: 2022 – present

Montclair State University: 2023 – present

COMMUNITIES

We believe it’s our responsibility to support the local communities in which we live and work, implementing programs that promote sustainability, support local businesses and help those most in need. We do this by partnering with local and regional farms for fresh seasonal produce, meats, seafood, fair-trade coffees and teas, and much more. Through our partnerships with local restaurants, we broaden student dining options with our meal exchange program, while boosting their customer base. We take extra measures to reduce waste in our dining facilities by recycling packaging and fryer oil, composting leftover scraps and providing reusable to-go containers. We’re also addressing food insecurity in our communities through programs like Meals on Wheels and on campuses through annual donations to student food pantries, emergency meal plan swipes and volunteer-to-pay programs.

FOOD

Our highly-trained culinary chefs and cooks design versatile menus rooted in the unique needs, desires and diversity of our client campuses. Gourmet Dining menus feature classic grilled, deli and salad bar selections, made-from-scratch pizza and pasta, ethnic and global cuisines, as well as quick service food from nationally recognized retails brands. We offer a variety of healthy food choices, including: vegan / vegetarian options, reduced antibiotics, natural beef, SPE-certified, certified humane eggs and rBGH-fee milk. We also offer special diet menus: gluten-free, allergen-friendly, soy-based alternatives, peanut sensitive environments, Kosher options during Jewish holidays, Halal and Jain. All menus include nutrition information and special dietary foods are labeled for easy

PEOPLE

At Gourmet Dining, it’s all about our clients and the students we serve. Our management team collaborates with clients to establish a foundation built on strong relationships, clear expectations and open lines of communication. This approach allows us to create the highest quality, most innovative and custom-designed dining programs for each of our client’s individual needs. Since the company was established in 1987, we have a 100 percent client retention rate. Our chefs and cooks take pride in the food they create and relationships they build with students. We offer a variety of nutrition services and menus designed to educate, inspire and empower students to make healthier choices. Our dedicated registered dietitian-nutritionists (RDN) provide healthy menu planning, counseling services, presentations and seminars. We also engage students in new and innovative ways to enhance their overall dining experience, including: social media outreach, mobile ordering and instant mobile chat with our dining management teams.