Charlotte’s Wilmore neighborhood has smelled like a honey bun bakery for nearly a century, but that’s coming to an end in the next year.
Carolina Foods, which makes honey buns, donuts, pies and a host of other Duchess brand products, is moving to a 423,000-square-foot plant developed by Beacon Partners in Pineville in south Mecklenburg County.
Charlotte-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners bought Carolina Foods in March 2021. The business employs 300 to 400 people.
The Scarborough family owns the Wilmore property, which has been Carolina Foods’ home since 1934. Site work on the Pineville plant will start in August and production is expected to start in late 2023.
“In addition to being twice the size of our current space, our new facility will be totally climate controlled, providing a pleasant work environment that also allows us to maintain our high quality standards,” Carolina Foods CEO Dan Myers said in a release.
This transaction is a build-to-suit lease with a 15-year term and multiple extension options. Other terms were not disclosed.
The Wilmore property is in the midst of Charlotte’s red-hot South End neighborhood. Once mainly a warehouse and manufacturing area, it now teems with apartments, brewpubs and offices housing major Queen City employers such as Lowe’s Cos, Allstate and LendingTree.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company is the general contractor and Jacksonville, Fla.-based Stellar will oversee engineering and design.
