U.S.-based foodservice distributor Chefs? Warehouse Inc.?s credit metrics have improved through good execution of its customer and product category growth strategy, as well as debt reduction consistent with its financial policy. In our view, Chefs? continues to have a narrower customer scope, smaller operating scale, and limited positive free operating cash flow (FOCF) generation relative to higher rated peers. Therefore, we affirmed our 'B+' issuer credit rating on Chefs' and our 'BB-' issue-level rating on its senior secured term loan. The '2' recovery rating indicates our expectation for substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 80%) recovery in the event of a default. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the company will continue to increase its EBITDA base by expanding its presence
