Ben E. Keith to add 80 jobs at Little Rock operation

Ben E. Keith Company announced Monday (Dec. 9) that it has purchased 70 acres in North Little Rock and will build a $60 million, 350,000-square-foot distribution center.

The facility will be built at the northwest corner of the intersection of Interstate 440 and U.S. Highway 70 and is expected to open in early 2016. The new distribution center will consolidate the company’s two existing Arkansas facilities.

Fort Worth-based Ben E. Keith, one of the oldest and largest food distributors in the U.S., said it anticipates hiring 80 additional employees when the facility opens. Currently, its Arkansas employment is 275 workers.

“We are delighted to announce today our plans to construct this new state-of-the-art distribution center in North Little Rock,” said Mike Roach, president of Ben E. Keith Foods. “We are excited about enlarging our base of operations in Arkansas, and this new center will allow us to greatly expand our product line and better serve our thousands of valued clients in this market.”

Construction on the new distribution center will begin in spring 2014, and the facility will include a multi-temperature warehouse, administrative offices, training center, truck maintenance garage, fueling station and truck wash. The site includes room for future expansion.