W.R. Vernon Produce circa 1930’s

Since the late 1920’s it has been the goal of W.R. Vernon Produce Company to provide the freshest, highest quality fruits and vegetables at a competitive price. Our focus on quality, superior customer service and our attention to detail has not wavered from the first day we opened our doors.
As we enter our 84th year in business, our third and fourth generation leadership continues to instill the same values. We look forward to a bright future that will allow us to continue to serve our customers, remain active in our community and serve as a role model to our industry.

Our History

In the late 1920’s, William Roy Vernon would bring apples from his hometown in Carroll County Virginia to North Carolina to sell to local produce stands. Demand for his products and services were soon strong enough to open his own produce stand in Winston-Salem. In 1931, he converted his home on the corner of Cherry and 7th streets to W.R. Vernon Produce Company. He rented out rooms in the house to veterans coming back from the war to assist in paying expenses. It wasn’t long before the business was large enough that W.R. Vernon was able to bring in his four children to help with the day to day operations.

Nina Mae (Vernon) Doss, Jesse Lee (Vernon) Brown

By the early 1940’s the business was becoming so successful and the need for refrigeration was becoming more apparent that the company was moved to a larger facility across the street. The business continued to prosper through out the 1940’s and into the early 1950’s with incorporation coming in 1953. W.R. Vernon began to hire out transportation as well as rely on trains to deliver refrigerated railcars of produce. As the business continued to grow the need for more space became paramount. Land was found two blocks away and construction began on a new 14,000 square foot building. The new facility was twice the size of the current location and dock space was increased from two trucks to 40. The business was then moved to its current location in 1965.

W.R. Vernon, Glenn Vernon, Arlis Vernon

From 1965 through 2001 the W.R. Vernon Produce facility was added on to four more times to bring the total storage capacity to approximately 50,000 square feet. Also added were 12 banana ripening rooms and dock space for an additional 20 trucks.
In 2006 we were back at the drawing board, this time to add on an office suite for our expanding staff. This expansion allowed us to consolidate all of our accounting and IT personnel into one location for streamline efficiency.

The business is still family owned and operated by members of the 3rd and 4th generations. W.R. Vernon Produce continues to offer a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables to retailers, wholesalers, and food service distributors as well as the general public.