Joel Janecek is responsible for growing Moesle Meat Distribution Co. (one of Whetstone Distribution’s operating companies) from a small family business to a major player in Chicago and the surrounding area. He purchased the Company from the Moesle family in 2017, when it was a small-scale pork processor and wholesaler with roots in the historic Fulton Street Market area. Joel built a team of talented salespeople and expanded the business in every way. It is now in a state-of-the art cold storage and USDA processing facility on Millard Street (Back of the Yards), supplying beef, pork, poultry, seafood, and complementary products to independent and chain grocery and redistribution customers in the Midwest. Along this journey, Joel has done the most hands-on jobs as well as provided strategic direction to grow the business to where it is today, which included the purchase of Queen Foods (Kansas City, KS) in late 2021 expanding the distribution footprint of the organization further into the Midwest and also in the food service channel.
Joel began his career working in audit, transaction services, and investment banking at BKD, Ernst & Young, PWC, and Houlihan Lokey, giving him a strong technical business foundation prior to his entrepreneurial journey at Moesle Meats.
In his Corporate Development role at Whetstone Distribution, Joel fosters relationships with business owners at similar businesses looking to partner with Whetstone. He visits warehouses, processing facilities, and offices to learn more about each business and get to know the team on a personal level. He then works hand in hand with the team through their partnership process with Whetstone Distribution.
