CHARLOTTE, NC — Carolina Foods, a manufacturer of sweet goods, celebrated its 90^th anniversary and the grand opening of its second facility in the Charlotte suburb of Pineville.  

"This pivotal milestone symbolizes a new era and the culmination of decades of dedication and commitment to the customers we serve," said Dan Myers, chief executive officer of Carolina Foods. “The delicious smell of our honey buns now fills the air in Pineville, a testament to the innovation and quality that has kept us thriving for 90 years, and we are grateful to celebrate this new chapter surrounded by our esteemed employees, community members and partners.”

Paul Scarborough, son of founder Vernon Scarborough, attended the celebration as well as representatives from Carolina Foods’ parent company Falfurrias Capital Partners and civic leaders from Mecklenburg County. 

Founded in 1934 by Vernon Scarborough as a sandwich business and bakery, Carolina Foods expanded into donuts and pies after World War II. In the 1990s, Carolina Foods dropped the sandwich business to focus solely on sweet goods. Newly formulated for a longer shelf life allowed the company to expand distribution beyond the region. Its original 100,000-square foot production facility in the South End neighborhood of Charlotte allowed it to service its wide variety of customers throughout the United States and Mexico. 

In 2021, Falfurrias Capital Partners acquired Carolina Foods. In order to support the company’s growth, a new facility was needed. 

“We couldn’t grow the business because we were constrained by the facility,” Myers said. “According to the Scarborough family, Falfurrias was the only potential buyer who was committed to building a new facility.” 

Falfurrias, also headquartered in Charlotte, cemented the commitment for the company to remain in the area. 

“The new site was ideal because it’s 10 miles from the original facility, and a high percentage of our employees are able to commute to the new site,” Myers explained. “Retaining our workforce was vitally important because we needed to keep that organizational knowledge.”  

Working with Beacon Partners as the developer, they broke ground August 2022, and earlier this year, Carolina Foods received its certificate of occupancy. The first production line — a state-of-the-art honey bun line — launched on March 11. 

The new facility is 428,000 square feet. While the bakery is operational, work will continue to install seven production lines and 20 packaging lines, which will double the capacity of the South End facility. With the new bakery up and running, Carolina Foods plans to phase out its original facility by the end of 2025. 

“South End has made a high-quality product and provided great service, but we’re taking it to the next level with technology, climate control and the use of data to drive improvements,” Myers said.