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Markee & Associates is a different manufacturer representative agency by design.
We stay on the smaller size. We represent a limited number of manufacturers. We take on only those manufacturers who we can represent well. We guarantee to every one of our manufacturers that they will receive our full attention and proper time in our representation of them in order to grow their business. We focus heavily on the spec.
We don’t just collect manufacturers to have a 30+ manufacturer line card. We represent privately-owned companies with a story of success. We pride ourselves in knowing our products inside & out. We are maniacs’ on training. We actually prospect, one of the essentials of being a good rep. In fact, to be a great rep. Prospecting can never be a dying art form.
We like to meet new people. Especially younger people with new ideas who see things differently sometimes and are coming into their own in Foodservice and Bakery today from all walks of life.
If we don’t have passion for a manufacturer, we do not represent them.
Markee & Associates represent Foodservice and Bakery equipment manufacturers in the MAFSI 4 – Keystone (Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, & Delaware); and MAFSI 5 – Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, DC, & Virginia), as well as select accounts nationally.
Foodservice is really all about cycles. If you stick around long enough you see many cycles, sometime even go full circle.
Conglomerate manufacturers vs. independents. Smaller vs. larger rep groups. Buying groups. Specialized manufacturer reps vs. general manufacturer reps. Spec reps vs. commodity reps. We have seen it all. But in the end, selling is really all about your relationships,
Markee & Associates believe that you must have a real passion for who you rep and your clients. They are really the ones that matter. Our involvement is nothing unless we make things better for those who we serve.
A sales rep must have a “heart-of-the-lion” for their customer. Their needs come first. This cannot be lip service. People can see that. You must always operate with uncompromising integrity. Never putting price above what is in your customers best interest. Never selling short-term. Being willing to say No when that is what should be said. Always putting into play our experiences to present best options for the customer. And yes frankly having rather spirited discussions when that is needed. We believe that it just does not work otherwise.
This is what Markee & Associates believes in and does.
Our representation of Foodservice and Bakery partners is a direct result of our professional associations and lifetimes spent in the “mass feeding industry”, to quote the 1960’s MAFSI terminology once shared with us by one very old wise rep who just happened to know every MAFSI president since 1948.
So, we have logged in our experiences, both good and bad, so that we are able to help others with their own Foodservice & Bakery equipment requirements. Those people who will ask many hard questions and need good, honest answers. Who need solutions that make sense. And who must have trust in a rep.
Markee & Associates works to achieve that for our clients.
Jim Markee – Founder & Principal
Jim is the founder of Markee & Associates. He has been in the hospitality industry since he was 15. During high school he was a weekend fry cook at the iconic brand Howard Johnsons on the Massachusetts Turnpike Framingham. Hated it but it taught him an essential work lesson. When the steakhouse craze overtook the country in the early 70’s, Jim jumped into it with York Steakhouse as a weekend management trainee. He says that simply Foodservice is in his blood…
Jim received a B.S. in Restaurant, Hotel, Institutional Management, & Dietetics from Kansas State University. He started in BOH food & beverage operations management with Stouffer Hotels, moving along in Operations to Continental Restaurant Systems, Bloomingdales, & Restaurant Associates. He moved laterally to become a food facility design consultant with Cini-Little (Grissom) International. Then he made a long-lasting career move into foodservice & bakery equipment sales with Conklin Group & Barrett Associates in the Mid-Atlantic. Manufacturer sales management followed with Arneg USA, Duke Manufacturing, TurboChef Technologies, Doyon Bakery Equipment, and many others.
Alix S. Markee – Principal, Director of Administration
Alix is literally the glue that keeps Markee & Associates together. She manages all inside sales & administration. She attended The Katherine Gibbs Institute & Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. Alix worked in the high-pressure retail world with Bloomingdales as retail food director. When she and Jim were residing in the Washington, DC area, Alix was director of administration for Frank S. Phillips, a well-known DC Beltway Mortgage Developer, based in Bethesda, Maryland. As that firm expanded, the principals of FSP offered Alix the opportunity to work with Russ Urban, a hotel development exec from Marriott, helping to start-up Urban Hotel Corporation, a new division as director of development, FFE & procurement. Alix’s main “job” for many years was raising two amazing daughters. Alix recently has assisted one of our manufacturers supporting them as they entered the USA. Alix is affectionately our CDO (Chief Dog Officer) responsible for our latest additions in 2022 of two amazing rescue beagles You will see them featured throughout the photo gallery of this website. Alix is our go-to for everything.
Chef Donnell Craven Jones – Consulting Chef
See Chef Donnell’s Resume, click here.
Chef Donnell Craven Jones loves food. We love it when he works with us and does demonstrations. He is passionate & very creative. Chef Donnell is a hospitality food & beverage professional with over 35 years of experience. He is principal & culinary strategist with his firm Dondari Culinary Consulting Services.
Chef Donnell’s background & experiences include project management, various systems implementation, POS/computer, vendor relations, & menu design/development. He possesses an exceptional culinary skill set.
He has worked in many different venues – Healthcare, independent living, nursing facilities, upscale catering, film/media, QSRs, & mid-large service hotels. Chef Donnell has had exposure to media with published recipes, food blogging, food & wine articles. He has appeared on several media outlets providing cooking demonstrations & nutritional information.
Chef Donnell’s contracted work includes as a chef/culinary specialist for several clients in Metro Atlanta – Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, Bynum Hospitality (SOUTH, Relish, Warm Daddy’s & Green Soul) 48th Street Grille, TinyTowne – Norcross, Georgia, ByDeluxe Studios, Dennis Dean Catering, Food Management Magazine, Congregation Beth Shalom & Private Chef Services.
Chef Donnell is Simply Amazing, professionally & as a human being.
Our Hours:
8–5 Eastern, Monday–Friday
Saturday, Sunday and evenings by appointment.
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