From Curiosity to Connection

Onatru began long before it had a name, a warehouse, or an online storefront.

For founder Marc Jensen, the story started at 10 years old inside Village Pizza and Pasta in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Marc was curious about everything: the kitchen, the service, the food, and the people. The owners welcomed his questions and gave him a chance to learn behind the counter. By 14, he was helping run the restaurant as an assistant manager.

Village Pizza and Pasta remained part of his life from about age 10 through 18. There, he learned that great service meant more than delivering food. It meant paying attention, keeping your word, and understanding how small details could transform someone's experience.

A Life in Hospitality

That foundation brought Marc into the demanding world of New York City hospitality. He spent years working as a waiter in some of Manhattan's busiest dining settings, including the Rockefeller Center restaurant scene.

Through Patina Restaurant Group, he worked within a network that included The Sea Grill and Rock Center Café. The group's New York portfolio also included La Fonda del Sol and other Manhattan restaurants. During this time, Marc also worked in the Bryant Park hospitality community.

New York became a 7-year education: seven summers and seven winters learning to deliver exceptional service when expectations were high and the pace was relentless.

The experience reinforced a lesson that began at Village Pizza and Pasta: hospitality is about people. It means anticipating what guests need and following through. Food may bring someone through the door, but service shapes how they remember the experience.

Marc's journey also brought him back to Connecticut, including Fifty Coins in Ridgefield. There, he worked alongside Larry Debany, a longtime business friend and culinary father figure. Debany had also been behind Village Pizza before opening Fifty Coins, connecting several chapters of Marc's hospitality education.

Along the way, Marc saw passionate chefs limited by what local distributors could provide. Specialty ingredients were easy to find in one market and frustratingly difficult to source in another. He also saw businesses lose sight of the customer.

He believed there was room for something better, built around service, integrity, access, and quality.

From a Basement to Onatru

In 2008, Marc began selling on eBay from a basement. A handful of orders grew into a business with office and warehouse space, larger deliveries, and relationships across the industry.

As the operation reached customers beyond its original market, its purpose stayed simple: find exceptional products and get them to the people who need them.

Today, Onatru helps fill a gap in traditional food distribution. Shipping food is difficult. Getting high-quality perishables to customers quickly, safely, and consistently is even harder.

Onatru specializes in making those products accessible. From premium Italian imports and specialty cheeses to quail eggs, meats, and seafood cut to order, our catalog serves people who care deeply about what reaches the plate.

Our customers include restaurants, hotels, private chefs, caterers, culinary professionals, and home cooks looking for ingredients they cannot find locally.

Sometimes, it's a chef in Sedona searching for a specialty ingredient. Sometimes, it's an extraordinary dinner or a last-minute emergency. And sometimes, a particular taste simply matters enough to go looking for it.

Why “Onatru”?

The name traces back to Onatru Farms, a farm in Marc's hometown with a story stretching back generations. The word “Tru” has also come to represent the values behind the company: integrity, loyalty, service, and doing what is right.

Those values guide how we choose suppliers, handle problems, and treat customers. Years in food distribution have taught Marc and the team that great products begin with great partners. We seek vendors who care about food safety, consistency, quality, and the people receiving their products.

When something goes wrong, we believe in standing behind the customer. Food distribution isn't just about logistics. It's about trust.

Service Without Borders

Geography shouldn't determine someone's access to extraordinary ingredients. A private chef in Arizona should have access to the same level of specialty products as a chef in a major culinary market. A home cook preparing an important meal should be able to find ingredients once reserved for established restaurants and hospitality groups.

That belief has helped Onatru grow from roughly 15 orders to thousands, while continuing to expand its reach, catalog, and fulfillment capabilities.

The next chapter is about bringing products closer to the people who need them. Onatru is working toward broader regional distribution, expanded next-day and same-day capabilities, and fulfillment locations that could make ground shipping a more economical option for more perishables.

The destination may change. The mission doesn't.

Food Shouldn't Be Out of Reach

Onatru connects specialty food distribution with the people who need it. We believe exceptional ingredients shouldn't depend on living near the right distributor, and that quality and service deserve equal care.

Above all, we believe in doing right by the people who trust us to deliver.

Whether you're running a restaurant, cooking professionally, planning a special occasion, or searching for an ingredient you thought was impossible to find, welcome to Onatru.