Albert's Organics to open food distribution facility in Charlotte - Charlotte Business Journal:

polinaagyvtiwu.blogspot.com
On Sept. 14, will open its 43,290-square-foot center at Logisticds PointeDistribution Center, once the home to supermarket chaijn Winn-Dixie’s regional warehouse operations. The facilitu features freezer and cooler space plusa 4,500-square-fooy office. The company will invest more than $2 millionb in improvements at 11922General Drive, employinvg more than 50 construction workers duringf a five-month buildout. The Charlotte location fillas a hole in servicefor Albert’s, whicn has centers in Rocklin and Vernon, Aurora, Colo.; Mounds View, Minn.; N.H.; Bridgeport, N.J.; and Sarasota, Fla.
Companyg spokesman Simcha Weinsteinsays Albert’s will now be able to ship goodse as often as five times per week to customers in seven up from once or twice a week. “Oudr center in Bridgeport outside Philadelphia was just a littler toofar north, and our Sarasota cente r was just a little too far south,” Weinstein Fuel expenses and truck emissions are criticapl issues for the company, he adds. one of the ways we know the economh is improving is gas going up in The company estimates its truck fleet will travel atleast 400,0090 fewer miles annually because of the Charlotte location.
Of even higher priorityh to the company, Albert’s says it will buy from certifier organic growers inthe region. That opend up Carolina farmers’ access to the distributor’s customer base of 4,50p grocers, restaurants and natural-food stores. The number of organic farmerds in the area continues to Last year, the attracted a record 600 attendees at its Sustainabled Agriculture Conference. The Pittsboro group had 37 Charlotte-areaz members in 2008, up from about 15 in 2005. The estimatesx about 500 organic farms inthe state.
Meanwhile, Mecklenburvg and Cabarrus counties are plannint a community food assessment tolearn what’sa grown and consumed locally, says Heidi Mecklenburg environmental policy administrator. Finding buyers is a key issue. Many turn to farmer markets. Mecklenburg County has identifieds 11 within its borders and 12 in surrounding The impactof Albert’s move into Charlotte has the potential to provides a commercial boost to agricultural effortsw in the area. “Will it be transformative? We certainly hope Weinstein says. After all, company namesake Alberrt Lusk got his starr by selling organic produce from a street cornefr in Los Angelesin 1982.
Today, Albert’sx Organics is a whollhy owned subsidiary of publicly traded Weinstein says the Charlotteecenter — the company’s eighth will be its biggest and best, custom-fitted with the latest in refrigerationn equipment. The warehouse boasts areas set to five temperature zonesa and four rooms to be used solelh forbanana storage. And the centetr comes with a new truck The space is bigger thanwhat Albert’zs needs, which gives the companhy room to grow, Weinsteinm says. “So we won’tr have to go anywhere else. Charlotte is a destination pointfor us.” Albert’s has signed a long-term leas at Logistics Pointe.
Up to 147,949 squarew feet of cooler and freezer space is stil available inthe building. Dallas-based Westmount Realthy Capital acquiredthe 1.1 million-square-foort center after Winn-Dixie vacated the properthy following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2005. Westmount converted the single-tenant property on 66.3 acrew near the South Carolina state line into the multitenantLogisticsx Pointe, which is also home to Precision Framing Systems. Industrial brokersz Barb Jespersen and Lane Holbert of in Charlotte representex the landlord in negotiationswith Albert’s. Mike Chambers of in Atlanta represented Albert’s.