Two longtime food service distributors based in the Baltimore region are set to team up.

Saval Foods, LLC has acquired Pastore’s Italian Wholesale Distributor. Combined, the two local companies have about 220 years of experience.

Based in Elkridge and founded four generations ago in 1932, Saval delivers ingredients to restaurants across the mid-Atlantic. By adding Pastore’s, it “aims to expand its Italian product portfolio,” according to a news release Monday.

Pastore’s Baltimore history dates to the 19th century, when two Sicilians started a grocery and produce store. Initially headquartered in Little Italy, the operation grew into a wholesaler and relocated to Highlandtown in 1989.

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Its “Sun of Italy” brand will be preserved as part of the acquisition, and Mike Pastore Jr. will join Saval Foodservice as business development director for Sun of Italy, according to the release.

Mike Pastore Sr. grew up on Lombard Street’s “Corned Beef Row” and recalled that just down the block was Saval Foods.

“We all knew each other back then, and that connection is what led me to reach out to Paul and Brian [Saval],” Pastore Sr. said in a statement.

Brian Saval, executive vice president of Saval Foodservice, said in a statement that the move would allow the company to expand its “support of Italian restaurants throughout the region.”

Brian Saval’s father, Paul Saval, who is president of Saval Foodservice, said Sun of Italy is a brand his company has admired for decades.

“We’re committed to preserving what has made it special while helping it reach more kitchens, from homes to restaurants, across the region,” he said in a statement.