Garner Foods has broken ground on a warehouse on 31 acres of land in Forsyth County.
“We are very excited about this much needed expansion to our company’s capacity,” said CEO Ann Garner Riddle at the Aug. 24 ceremony. “We’ve been very grateful for the support and leadership so many within our region have extended to us to help make this project a reality.”
The project on 31 acres of currently undeveloped land will provide room for the “phase 1” facility construction and adequate room for future planned expansions, the company says in a statement. Initially, the work will provide a 65% increase in usable warehouse space.
“Today’s groundbreaking event is something I’ve looked forward to being a part of,” stated Allen Joines, Mayor of Winston Salem. “Garner Foods has always been an excellent partner for our city, and their commitment to continue to grow their business here in Winston Salem is something we are excited to celebrate with them.”
“We spent nearly four years trying to find an existing facility that would meet our needs, but nothing could be found,” said Heyward Garner, COO for Garner Foods. “So, we moved to a plan to seek out a potential green field property with the space that allows us to continue to expand in the future as we continue to grow. We were very happy to find such a prime property that allows us to continue to succeed and grow with our hometown area.”
The current plan is to be able to complete and move into the new phase 1 warehouse by May 2022.
The site at 4897 Lansing Dr. had been used Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS). Maintenance Division for its school buses.