Church Bros. and True Leaf acquire Pride of San Juan plant
Church Bros. and True Leaf acquire Pride of San Juan plant
Salinas, CA-based grower-shipper Church Bros. LLC and its processing entity True Leaf Farms have acquired Pride of San Juan's processing facility in San Juan Bautista, CA.
Church Bros.' commodity and processing operations had been previously located in various areas throughout the Salinas Valley. By acquiring the Pride of San Juan plant, all field-packed and processed items in the company's northern operations will be consolidated and shipped from the new facility. Church Bros. has grown and expanded since re-opening in 2004, creating the need for a new, centralized location, according to Steve Church, sales manager and partner in the company.
The state-of-the-art facility is located close to Interstate 5, allowing full product line shipment without traveling to Salinas. Church Bros. previously operated at Salinas Valley locations Easton Cooling, Paul's Pak and True Leaf King City Processing Plant, with a combined total of 62,400 square feet of refrigeration space. The Pride of San Juan facility has 160,000 square feet under refrigeration.
The new facility will continue to operate as Pride of San Juan Cooling, although True Leaf Farms -- a partnership of Church Bros., Rio Farms and Pride of San Juan principal Stephen Wyrick -- is the owner.
Pride of West Cool is the cooler management company in which Church Bros. and True Leaf are partners.
Matt Yanez, who has managed the cooling operation for the past two years at Easton Cooling, will manage the shipping and receiving operation year round at Pride of San Juan Cooling.
Church Bros. began shipping out of Pride of San Juan Cooling in a small way on Monday, March 26. The company is transitioning from the desert and expects to be fully operational at the Pride of San Juan Cooling facility by April 4, with lines that include broccoli, spring mix, spinach and whole-leaf lettuce.
The facility also will consolidate and ship seasonal items such as cantaloupes, avocados, carrots, peeled onions, Iceberg lettuce and Romaine hearts, Mr. Church said. The "Pride of San Juan" three-pound spring mix pack will be available as well, he said.
Mr. Church said he is "absolutely blown away" by the attributes of the processing plant.
Mr. Church's brother Tom Church -- president and partner in Church Bros. LLC -- said that the move is being well received by Church Bros.' customers. "For the most part, everyone is excited," Tom Church said.
When Pride of San Juan operated the facility, it scored superior ratings for more than four straight years from Primus Laboratories and AIB International, according to Steve Church.
True Leaf's last scores from Primus and AIB also have been superior, he said, adding that the HACCP program, Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices that True Leaf and Church Bros. have established will be followed at its new facility.
Under the new arrangement, Church Bros. LLC as the sales arm for Pride of San Juan will consolidate Pride of San Juan Herbs -- a full line of herbs and edible flowers grown under the continued supervision of Pride of San Juan's Mr. Wyrick -- and offer the line along with its other products.
Pride of San Juan customers still will be able to get the gourmet and specialty items that Pride of San Juan provides, and the "Emeril's" and "Pride of San Juan" brands will remain. As a grower arm, Pride of San Juan will grow product for Church Bros.
Church Bros. and True Leaf Farm's new "Disney Garden" line, which presents a variety of commodity vegetables and value-added items designed to reach younger consumers, will be produced at Pride of San Juan Cooling with late April as a targeted starting date.
The "Disney Garden" line will feature Disney characters.
Church Bros.' commodity and processing operations had been previously located in various areas throughout the Salinas Valley. By acquiring the Pride of San Juan plant, all field-packed and processed items in the company's northern operations will be consolidated and shipped from the new facility. Church Bros. has grown and expanded since re-opening in 2004, creating the need for a new, centralized location, according to Steve Church, sales manager and partner in the company.
The state-of-the-art facility is located close to Interstate 5, allowing full product line shipment without traveling to Salinas. Church Bros. previously operated at Salinas Valley locations Easton Cooling, Paul's Pak and True Leaf King City Processing Plant, with a combined total of 62,400 square feet of refrigeration space. The Pride of San Juan facility has 160,000 square feet under refrigeration.
The new facility will continue to operate as Pride of San Juan Cooling, although True Leaf Farms -- a partnership of Church Bros., Rio Farms and Pride of San Juan principal Stephen Wyrick -- is the owner.
Pride of West Cool is the cooler management company in which Church Bros. and True Leaf are partners.
Matt Yanez, who has managed the cooling operation for the past two years at Easton Cooling, will manage the shipping and receiving operation year round at Pride of San Juan Cooling.
Church Bros. began shipping out of Pride of San Juan Cooling in a small way on Monday, March 26. The company is transitioning from the desert and expects to be fully operational at the Pride of San Juan Cooling facility by April 4, with lines that include broccoli, spring mix, spinach and whole-leaf lettuce.
The facility also will consolidate and ship seasonal items such as cantaloupes, avocados, carrots, peeled onions, Iceberg lettuce and Romaine hearts, Mr. Church said. The "Pride of San Juan" three-pound spring mix pack will be available as well, he said.
Mr. Church said he is "absolutely blown away" by the attributes of the processing plant.
Mr. Church's brother Tom Church -- president and partner in Church Bros. LLC -- said that the move is being well received by Church Bros.' customers. "For the most part, everyone is excited," Tom Church said.
When Pride of San Juan operated the facility, it scored superior ratings for more than four straight years from Primus Laboratories and AIB International, according to Steve Church.
True Leaf's last scores from Primus and AIB also have been superior, he said, adding that the HACCP program, Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices that True Leaf and Church Bros. have established will be followed at its new facility.
Under the new arrangement, Church Bros. LLC as the sales arm for Pride of San Juan will consolidate Pride of San Juan Herbs -- a full line of herbs and edible flowers grown under the continued supervision of Pride of San Juan's Mr. Wyrick -- and offer the line along with its other products.
Pride of San Juan customers still will be able to get the gourmet and specialty items that Pride of San Juan provides, and the "Emeril's" and "Pride of San Juan" brands will remain. As a grower arm, Pride of San Juan will grow product for Church Bros.
Church Bros. and True Leaf Farm's new "Disney Garden" line, which presents a variety of commodity vegetables and value-added items designed to reach younger consumers, will be produced at Pride of San Juan Cooling with late April as a targeted starting date.
The "Disney Garden" line will feature Disney characters.
