Audio clip
J. Ed. Marston
Chattanooga Bakery is renovating what's believed to be the oldest part of its Hamm Road plant.
Sam Campbell, president of the MoonPies maker, said the company is rebuilding more than 50,000 square feet of the facility it has used as warehouse space.
He said officials think that section of the plant was built before the 1940s.
"That was long before we got in," Mr. Campbell said. He said Chattanooga Bakery occupied the structure in the early 1980s.
Mr. Campbell, who declined to say how much the renovation cost, added that the building has held a high-voltage wiring manufacturing company and an iron works.
J.Ed. Marston, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of marketing, called the bakery "a legacy business."
"MoonPie is an iconic brand," he said, adding that it's "heartening" when companies continue to invest in their businesses.
MOONPIE MAKER
Chattanooga Bakery was founded in 1902. The MoonPie was born 15 years later, according to the company.
Mr. Campbell said the renovation, which includes a new roof and outside wall, is expected to be complete by summer.
"Trying to run a food business with a major project like this is a safety issue and a sanitation issue," he said. "This piece has been in need for quite awhile, and it was time to do something about it."
Late last year, Chattanooga Bakery purchased Betsy's Cheese Straws, an Alabama company.
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
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