About Us

Then

Antonio Peña Distributors has been in business for over thirty years. The company bears the name of its founder, Antonio Peña, who came from Cuba to Miami alone, at the age of thirty-six in 1968. Without knowing anyone or having any family to turn to, a young Antonio took a job as a dishwasher at the famed Eden Roc hotel in South Beach. Initially homeless, he slept in his car while working and saving money.
From the Eden Roc he went to work for a local poultry and dairy distributor; and as luck would have it, it was here that he met the woman who would become his wife and business partner, Mireya Villarreal. After a brief courtship they married in 1976. Soon after, at a food broker’s insistence, Antonio decided to venture out on his own. His “first day” of running his own business came when a tractor trailer full of cheese pulled up to his home in Hialeah, FL. Antonio got right to work and started unloading the goods and delivering them to customers. Pleased with the quality of the product and the art of the delivery, these customers soon began asking Antonio to source and deliver other items as well and this is how the business began to grow. Since this day, the growth has never really stopped.
Thirty years later, Antonio Peña Distributors, also known as A . Peña, is still running strong. When the couple had children, Mireya took a break for the business to raise them. When the youngest was three, she came back onto the scene and really expanded the business. The collaborative efforts and complementary strengths of Antonio (the face of the company and head of sales)and Mireya (the financial and organizational guru) has made Antonio Pena Distributors one of the most successful businesses in its industry today.

Now

Today, the business is run by Mireya, her son, daughter, and the 25 full time employees that work for them. Antonio retired in 2000 but still stops by to check on things and is consulted when big decisions are made. The son, who has his father’s drive and passion, left medical school to come back and take over the day to day operations and sales of company because he did not want to see it move out of the family’s control. The son has been involved with the business since 1995 and the daughter came onto the scene the same year her father retired.