Pictured: Detwiler's new distribution center will feature 130,000 square feet of state-of-the-art storage facilities. Photo provided by Amanda Ballard

Detwiler’s Farm Market started as a roadside produce stand in 2002, but today, the brand has grown into six stores to meet local demand for fresh and affordable groceries. To accommodate that demand, the Detwiler family is opening a brand-new distribution center, with 130,000 square feet of space for goods, which will be distributed across the Detwiler’s stores throughout Sarasota, Palmetto and Venice.

The new distribution center, which the Detwiler’s team broke ground on in May 2024, will be a significant upgrade from the current facilities the brand is using. “Currently, we have two different distribution centers that we ship out of. One is around 20,000 square feet and the other is around 10,000 square feet. So we are consolidating two centers into one,” says President Sam Detwiler. Starting soon after the September 29 ribbon-cutting for the new facility, Detwiler and his team will begin the transition process of redirecting food shipments to the new center.

The brand has been through several different distribution centers, having moved several times as it continued to outgrow each former facility. They moved to their current location in 2016, which they soon realized they would eventually need to upgrade. “I remember moving in and thinking, ‘Wow. We’ve got plenty of room here,’ because it was three times the size of our other one. That was our third distribution center, and for about five years, we continued to add stores, and our volume in our stores continues to grow. We were talking to Dad, we said, ‘Dad, we don't have enough room,’” remembers Detwiler.

At the new center, Detwiler’s will be able to bring all of their goods and processes under one roof. The state-of-the-art facility features areas and rooms for storing fish, meats and produce, but also a space for preparing their premade items, including their highly popular guacamole and salsa dips. Detwiler also notes that the new facility will allow his brand to grow intentionally. Although he is excited about the company’s growth, Detwiler wants to ensure that with expansion, his stores always maintain the same high quality that Detwiler’s is known for.

Detwiler, who was 14 when his parents began selling produce under a tent beside the road, has seen the company through all of its stages and intends to keep the same focus on community even as it expands. “We are very grounded in this community. I was born and raised here, and to say we're humbled is an understatement of the love and support of all of those who shop our stores,” says Detwiler. “We feel like we don't deserve the type of loyalty that customers have given us, even though we worked hard to earn it. Our goal is that we remain faithful in what God has given us and continue to touch new neighborhoods.”

Pictured: Detwiler's new distribution center will feature 130,000 square feet of state-of-the-art storage facilities. Photo provided by Amanda Ballard