That sweet honey bun scent in Pineville? Take a look inside Carolina Foods’ new bakery
The sweet aroma of Duchess Honey Buns has shifted 10 miles south as Carolina Foods has outgrown its South End facility after 90 years and moved its headquarters to Pineville.
Charlotte’s iconic honey buns maker has started moving into its 428,000-square-foot facility on 40 acres at 12031 Carolina Logistics Drive. The treat maker’s new neighbors include Amazon and Grainger in real estate firm Beacon Partners’ industrial park.
Along with its honey buns, Carolina Foods is known for Gem Donuts and pies.
Over the past two years, Carolina Foods’ business has grown 60%, CEO Dan Myers said. “This doubles our capacity,” he said before The Charlotte Observer toured the new facility on May 17.
Myers declined to say how much the company is investing in the new headquarters, which is part of Charlotte-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners’ growth plan. In 2021, Falfurrias, which also owns Duke’s mayonnaise brand, made an undisclosed investment in Carolina Foods.
The move from South End to Pineville
Honey bun production has already started at the Pineville bakery.
As more production lines are installed, operations at the just over 100,000-square-foot South End plant will be phased out by the end of 2025.
Carolina Foods’ 100,000-square-foot warehouse on South Boulevard also will be consolidated to Pineville.
Carolina Foods expects to be fully moved out of South End by the first quarter of 2026.
Plans have not been determined for the South End property, which is still owned by Carolina Foods’ founding Scarborough family.
Inside Carolina Foods’ new Pineville plant
The single production line operating at the new Pineville plant makes 640 honey buns per minute and is 400 feet long.
The two bakeries together make more than 1 million honey buns a day, Myers said.
There will be seven production lines when the new facility is fully operational.
From start to finish it takes about 150 minutes to make one honey bun, said Greg Lewis, head of engineering for Carolina Foods.
The new facility includes a test kitchen, climate control technology and more automation.
The South End bakery had 370 employees. Once fully operational, the new bakery will employ up to 450 workers, Myers said.
More about Carolina Foods
Based in Charlotte, Carolina Foods was started in 1934 by Vernon Scarborough as a family-owned sandwich business serving textile mills, furniture manufacturers and lunch counters throughout the Carolinas.
After World War II, the company expanded to include glazed donuts and pies, becoming one of the first wholesale bakeries to perfect the honey bun.
Carolina Foods products are sold in all 48 continental states, plus Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico. Duchess brand honey buns and Gem Donuts are stocked in grocery, convenience and other retail stores nationwide.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2024 at 5:46 AM with the headline "That sweet honey bun scent in Pineville? Take a look inside Carolina Foods’ new bakery."