About Us
History
In May 1954 the company was founded under the name Horst Kneise in Cologne Sülz.
Back then, Horst Kneise supplied small grocery stores with sausages and delicatessen products. He also worked for 10 years as a representative for the Hans Füngers delicatessen factory in Wuppertal.
The constant economic growth in Germany meant that Horst Kneise brought a partner to his side in 1969 and relocated the business headquarters of Oellig & Kneise OHG to a larger warehouse in Cologne Weidenpesch.
The range increased and new customers were won. Hospitals, the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the first snack bars were happy to accept the good food delivery service.
After the accidental death of Josef Oellig in 1976, Horst Kneise once again became the sole owner of the company.
After founding the Grillmaster Group, a merger of several wholesalers, Horst Kneise changed the name of the company to Grillmaster Service Horst Kneise in 1990.
The sons Thomas and Michael were already actively involved in the further success of the company at this point in time.
The next change in the company took place in 1996. The storage facilities had to be expanded again, so that another change of location was carried out. The company is still based in Pulheim, just outside of Cologne.
At the same time, the company was changed to Grillmaster food GmbH, with the managing directors Horst and Thomas Kneise.
Since 2001, there have been indications that, due to the expansion of the product range, the customer base is expanding in the direction of restaurant gastronomy.
In 2004, Andreas Weber and Thomas Kneise took over the company. A year later, the company was renamed to its current name GASTRONOMIA GmbH.
Thomas Kneise left the company on December 31, 2012 and Andreas Weber continues to run GASTRONOMIA GmbH as the sole managing partner.