Lakeside Produce has announced expansion plans. The company is to start a new tomato venture in North Carolina. Lakeside Produce will start the realisation of a 15 acre greenhouse and end up at a 45-acre facility. It will be the largest in the state of North Carolina.
Chris Cervini, owner and CEO of Lakeside Produce, said the first $23-million, 50-job phase of the project is set to start harvesting tomatoes in the fall of 2019. Project Manager Mary Scerbo said construction work will begin in late July or August.
The next two phases, also bringing $23 million in investment and 50 jobs each, are scheduled to be brought online in the next six to eight years.
Lakeside has sold its produce in North Carolina for years, but with this move, that produce will become local, Williams said. The greenhouse facility is set to grow both organic and conventional tomatoes and other vegetables on 116 acres off Ladson Road, just outside the town limits of Mills River.
Today, Lakeside has conventional and organic greenhouses, warehouses, pack houses, and distribution centers spanning across North America including in Leamington, Ontario, Taylor, Michigan, and McAllen, Texas.