TALLADEGA — City leaders and company executives gathered Friday for the grand opening of Flowers Bakery store and distribution center on Haynes Street in Talladega, marking the arrival of another new business to the area.The 5,800-square-foot facility will replace the distribution center in Sylacauga on U.S. 280 and coordinate delivery for eight routes, including lines to Childersburg, Lincoln, Pell City and Ashland, said Carter Wood, bakery president for Flowers’ Birmingham plant.
“We just think to serve this area, this would be the most logical location,” Wood said. “… Pell City continues to grow, Lincoln continues to grow and Talladega continues to grow. And this is a better opportunity to put a retail thrift store back in this area.”
The old Talladega store location on Alabama 21 closed last year, but jobs from the Sylacauga distribution center have been transferred to the new location.
“This gives us an opportunity to put local management here in Talladega so we can be a bigger part of the community,” Wood said. “It makes us more of a hometown operation with this location than it did before.”
Managers did not work at the old stores, so business was conducted from the company’s district office in Birmingham.
With Flowers Bakery opening a new facility in Talladega, two new management positions have been created and seven jobs have been transferred from surrounding cities, including Sylacauga and Pell City, said Bob Hayes, director of sales for Flowers Bakery.
The grand opening also marks an important step for the company, which previously had one to two routes centered at each of its distribution centers.
“The days of one- to two-route locations are over because the cost of transportation is so high,” Wood said. “Now we’re concentrating on eight to 10 routes at each location.”
The new store, which was already humming with customers Friday, will offer numerous brands of bread, such as Nature’s Own and Sunbeam, at discount prices.
Construction for the facility took about 120 days, and officials got to work soon after Flowers announced the move last year.
“We’re just glad to be part of this community and we want to grow with this community,” Wood said. “We want to thank everyone from the mayor to the city departments who have helped us make this transition in a timely manner.”
