Careers · Employee Ownership

What it means to work at a company you own.

Zink Foodservice has been employee-owned since 2017 through an ESOP — an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. If you're considering a role here, this page explains what that actually means, in plain terms.

An ESOP, in plain terms.

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a federally regulated retirement plan that holds company stock in a trust for the people who work there. Instead of the company being owned by outside investors or a single family, it is owned — through that trust — by its employees.

Shares are contributed by the company, at no cost to the employee, and accumulate in each person's account over their years here. An independent valuation sets the share price every year, so the account's value rises with the value of the business itself. When an owner retires or moves on, the plan buys the shares back under a defined schedule.

In 2017, Zink's leadership chose this structure deliberately: the people who serve our customers every day are the same people who benefit when that service builds the company's value.

Why it matters to you

A second retirement benefit, company-paid. The ESOP sits alongside the 401(k) — you don't fund it, and you don't choose between them.
Your work builds your own account. The kitchens you help open and the relationships you keep healthy show up in the annual share value.
A say in the culture. Ownership shows up in how decisions get made and how wins get shared — the annual shareholder meeting is the whole company, because the whole company holds shares.

Why it matters to our customers and manufacturers

Everyone here answers for the outcome. The person who takes your call has a stake in whether the answer is right — accountability isn't a slogan, it's the cap table.
People stay. Ownership rewards tenure, and tenure is why the rep who specified your kitchen is still here when it needs service years later.
Independence. An employee-owned firm isn't for sale to the highest bidder — the manufacturers we represent plan with us on decade horizons.

Common ESOP questions.

Do employees pay anything to participate in the ESOP?

No. Shares are contributed by the company as a benefit — there is no purchase, no payroll deduction, and no out-of-pocket investment. Every eligible associate participates.

Is the ESOP instead of a 401(k)?

No — it's in addition. Zink offers a standard 401(k), and the ESOP is a second, company-paid retirement benefit on top of it.

How does an employee's ESOP account grow?

Two ways: additional shares contributed over time, and the value of the company itself. An independent valuation sets the share price annually — when the company performs, every owner's account reflects it.

What happens to ESOP shares when someone leaves or retires?

The plan buys the shares back and pays the account out under the plan's schedule and federal ESOP rules. The details are covered in the plan documents every participant receives.

Work somewhere you own.

Open positions across sales, culinary, client services, and operations — every one of them comes with a stake.

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