Ben E. Keith is expanding in the Southeast.
The Fort Worth-based food service distributor announced on Wednesday it will build a 425,000 square feet distribution center in Alabama with expansion capacity of up to 1 million square feet.
The new facility is set to create 80 new jobs over the course of the next 5 years. The Associated Press reports the distribution facility is valued at $100 million.
 “When we acquired Kelley Foods in 2016, we saw it as our gateway to expand in the Southeast to better serve new and existing customers and to uncover new opportunities,” Mike Sweet, president of Ben E. Keith Foods, said in a statement. “We are deeply committed to the communities of Alabama in which we live, work and serve, and we look forward to many more years of shared success.”
Construction on the project, located in New Brockton, Coffee County, will begin by December. It is scheduled to be completed in two years.
“Coffee County is proud to continue our relationship with Ben E. Keith and honored to serve as the site of their Southeast Regional Headquarters. It is always gratifying when our existing corporate partners make such a substantial new investment in our community,” said Dean Smith, Coffee County Commission Chairman.
New Brockton is about 80 miles southeast of Montgomery, Alabama.