Regional Access

A community-oriented, grassroots company, Regional Access was built on a vision of providing ecologically responsible, locally grown food in Upstate New York. From humble beginnings in our founder's garage to our current spacious modern warehouse, we have flourished over the last 20 years, creating a sustainable state-wide distribution system. Today we are a leading purveyor of specialty and natural foods, offering a catalog of more than 3,400 products, and distribution to every corner of the Empire State. Regional Access was founded by Gary Redmond, a Cornell graduate, organic farmer and entrepreneur with a passion for nutrition, food and all things gourmet. In 1989 Gary and his wife, Daisy, converted a spare bedroom in their Ithaca, NY, home into an office, their garage into a warehouse, then bought a computer and a small refrigerated truck: Regional Access was born. Their vision: to distribute ecologically responsible and locally grown food in Upstate NY. Working long hours ordering, picking up and delivering every product, with a tireless commitment to their vision, Gary and Daisy were able to earn $40,000 that first year. In September of 1989 the first driver was hired to help with deliveries. Sales were limited with just one truck. A second truck was purchased in December of 1989, and we knew we were onto something! In September of 1990 Regional Access purchased the retired Grange League Federation (G.L.F.) Warehouse at 125 Cayuga Street in Trumansburg, NY, a small community just north of Ithaca, nestled in the picturesque Finger Lakes. Built in the early 1900's, the Warehouse, as it was known in the community, was reminiscent of simpler era, a perfect fit for the sustainable vision of Regional Access. At 5,000 square feet, the Warehouse was a large wooden structure with a cupola, a commercial kitchen and lots of character. Regional Access flourished at the Warehouse, which was our home for 18 years. Throughout the 1990's with Gary at the helm and our team of food-loving employees, Regional Access continued to grow, expanding our markets, products and services to cover to the entire state of New York and beyond. Our product lines expanded three-fold during those years as local and state-wide farmers, producers and food suppliers found us, or we found them. At the same time we plied our plentiful list of Upstate products to the New York City area, developing our ever-expanding local network and enhancing our vision of a viable, sustainable, local distribution system. It was a combination that couldn't miss and so it thrives today. In 1998 Regional Access hit one of our first big milestones: more than $1 million in sales. By 2003 sales had surpassed $2 million; we had 18 employees, 4 refrigerated tractor-trailers and 3 straight trucks covering New York State every week. In 2006 it became obvious that we could no longer operate out of the old G.L.F Warehouse at 125 Cayuga Street. In January 2007 we purchased a 20,000 foot modern warehouse on Rt. 96, just 5 miles down the road toward Ithaca. After a year of additions and upgrades to perfect our new home, in January of 2008 we moved the entire contents of the Warehouse and offices in one long weekend. Come Monday morning we were ready to take orders in our new space! Our new warehouse has allowed us to look toward new horizons, focused on our vision of a viable, sustainable food distribution system providing the freshest, most nutritious, and diverse local foods to the greatest number of New York residents. Today Regional Access has 34 employees, 10 vehicles, 5 refrigerated tractor-trailers and 5 straight trucks, covering more than 8,000 miles a week to every corner of New York State. Despite the rocky economy and high fuel costs, our 2008 sales surpassed $5 Million, and in 2009 we are on track for continued growth. Most importantly, our customers still include many of the restaurants, natural food stores and co-ops that we sold to in 1990. We now also serve buying clubs, colleges, grocery stores, local wineries and, occasionally, the NY Governor's Mansion! We've come a long way in 20 years and are working hard to add to our accomplishments in the coming decades.